The Larry Spring Museum in downtown Fort Bragg is hosting its second annual Poisson d’Avril on Saturday April 1. The event celebrates the history of April Fools’ Day with a series of freaky, silly, funny and eccentric activities for all ages, as curated by the museum’s artistic director and local artist Nathan Maxwell Cann.
Here’s the announcement with details on the event:
The Larry Spring Museum is excited to announce our second annual celebration of Poisson d’Avril, a spring festival of fish and fools. Poisson d’Avril takes place at the idiosyncratic Larry Spring Museum, which is a small coastal museum with one foot in the absurd.
But first, a brief History of April Fools’ Day… A long, long time ago, the New Year started on the 1st of April or the Vernal Equinox, a natural progression for pagan renewal. In the 1500s, the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar moved the New Year to January. Those who didn’t get the memo or refused to play by the new rules were poked fun at and had paper fish (poisson d’avril, or April fish) sneakily placed on their backs. A poisson d’avril symbolized an easily caught fish and, by extension, a gullible person. The Feast of Fools was a term given to many medieval festivals celebrated during the sixteenth century in Europe, and these celebrations developed a tradition of practical jokes.
Fast forward to 2022, when Artistic Director Nathan Maxwell Cann brought these festivities to the Larry Spring Museum in Fort Bragg. With support from Theatre de la Liberté, Lost Coast Found and volunteers, the 2022 festival attracted over 100 participants from the local community.
This year, Cann is doing it again this upcoming Saturday April 1 in Spring Commons. The fun starts at noon! Enter Spring Commons through the gates beside 225 E. Redwood Ave. in Fort Bragg.
12 PM: Traditional Louisiana party music with Sauce Piquante, snacks by Floyd & Connie, arts, crafts and carnival style games
1 PM: Rotten Egg Race
1:45 PM: Crowning of the April Fool
2 PM: Parade around downtown Fort Bragg
3 PM: Puppet show by Theatre de la Liberté in Spring Commons
3:30 PM: Raffle a.k.a. The Wheel of Disappointment
Put on your fashion-forward fish-wear and let’s fill this town with joyous noise!
Larry Spring Museum, 225 E. Redwood Ave., Fort Bragg, (707) 962-3131, larryspringmuseum.org.
