6. Colorado
> Tradition: Frozen Dead Guy Days
> When: Three days in March
Frozen Dead Guy Days are coffin races held in Nederland, Colorado. The competition consists of six “pallbearers,” who carry another team member in the coffin over an obstacle course of snow and mud. The event is named after a man who passed away in 1989 and is kept in a cryogenic state in a shed in Nederland. The event, which began in 2001, also includes a salmon toss and a hearse parade.
7. Connecticut
> Tradition: Turkeys painted neon colors
> When: Weeks before Thanksgiving
Each year, the turkeys at one turkey farm in Guilford, Connecticut, are painted in neon colors ahead of Thanksgiving. The dye is not toxic and vegetable-based. The tradition began about 45 years ago by the turkey farm owner’s grandmother to entertain children.
8. Delaware
> Tradition: Return Day
> When: Thursday after Election Day
Return Day is a Delaware tradition and a state holiday in which officials from the Democratic and Republican parties meet in Georgetown to “bury the hatchet” to end differences arising from the recently concluded election campaign. Officials meet on stage and together stuff a hatchet in box of sand.
9. Florida
> Tradition: Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival
> When: July 4
This music festival is an offbeat concert held to bring attention to reef preservation. The music is broadcast to divers and snorkelers underwater from speakers located in boats above the reef and is ocean-themed. Hundreds of boats assemble at the site, which is about 6 miles south of Big Pine Key.
10. Georgia
> Tradition: Dropping a possum at New Year’s
> When: New Year’s
Every New Year’s in Tallapoosa, Georgia residents drop a stuffed possum named Spencer, who is encased in a wire frame ball that is covered with lights, to bring in the new year. The possum is roadkill retrieved by a man who had it preserved by a taxidermist. The possum was named after a local businessman. The tradition of dropping Spencer began in the early 2000s.
