Monday: National Walking the Dog Day
Start off the week right by bundling up and taking your furry friend for a walk on the town with National Walking the Dog Day. By both keeping you and your favorite mutt active, you can make a difference in your dog’s health well into their senior years by either starting or building a routine a few times a week. To celebrate, check out this thorough Bangor-area trails map by Bangor Greendrinks that offers several Bangor, Veazie, Orono and Old Town trails at easy, moderate and advanced levels, perfect for finding the right pace for Fido and friends.
Tuesday: World Spay Day
As the last Tuesday in February, World Spay Day aims to spread awareness of the long-term health benefits of spaying and neutering your cats, dogs and rabbits. Not only does it enable your furry friends to live longer as according to the Humane Society of the United States, it also helps keep shelter and stray populations down. By using this national holiday as a reminder, remember to check in with your veterinarian about the best time to spay or neuter your pets, which may vary by age, weight and sex.
Wednesday: National Tortilla Chip Day
Turn up the heat and grab your favorite pairings for National Tortilla Chip Day. Popularized by Rebecca Webb Carranza, tortilla chips were first mass-produced in the 1940s as a way to repurpose misshapen tortillas. To celebrate, either spice it up with your favorite salsa or branch out by keeping it local with some funky Todd’s maple and pineapple flavors and settle in with a taco night with friends or family. If take-out is more your style, check out Margarita’s or Tacorita! in Orono for daily, weekly and month-long specials.
Thursday: National Clam Chowder Day
Can you really call yourself a true Mainer if you don’t celebrate National Clam Chowder day? Do it up big by trying Taste of Home’s “Contest-Winning New England Clam Chowder” recipe which uses simple ingredients (yes, including bacon) and takes only 20 minutes to prep and 35 minutes to simmer on the stovetop. If seafood just isn’t your style, supplement with a corn chowder from Natasha’s Kitchen that takes just a little less time (but still includes the bacon).
Friday: National Skip the Straw Day
As the last Friday in February, National Skip the Straw Day aims to spread awareness about ecosystem damage caused by disposable plastics, such as drinking straws. This day was founded by the Coral Keepers student group in Whitehall, Michigan and Susan Tate, their advisor in 2017. Aside from the horrific scene of wildlife finding themselves entangled with single-use plastics, plastic straws don’t biodegrade, but break up into smaller pieces called microplastics. They end up being recycled into the ecosystem and ingested all the way up the food chain. Use this day to “skip the straw” and switch to glass or metal drinking utensils. Easy to wash and reuse, these alternatives last until they are recycled.
Holidays were taken from nationaldaycalendar.com.
