#NipClub

March 23, 2025

National Cherry Blossom Festival Celebration #Nipclub Thursday, March 27, 2025

Please drop any $ you can into the Tip Jar to help pets at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Every penny helps! Thanks!

The 2025 National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. is from March 20th to April 13th, so we are celebrating this week at #Nipclub!

Washington D.C. has about 3,800 cherry blossom trees now. Most of the trees are Yoshino and Kwanzan. Some places you can see the trees include near the Tidal Basin, along the National Mall, North of the Lincoln Memorial, and near the Washington Monument.

Here's Ten Interesting Facts about Cherry Blossom Trees and the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival:

1. Cherry blossoms symbolize renewal. They're also a symbol of spring.

2. The first US cherry blossom trees in D.C. were planted in 1912. Japan sent 3,000+ trees (12 varieties) as of gift of friendship.

3. The Japanese cherry blossom is known as 'sakura,' which means "to bloom" or "smile."

4. Picknicking beneath the cherry blossom trees in Japan is a century-old custom in Japan known as 'hanami,' which means "flower viewing."

5. The cherry blossom colors can range from pale to bright pink or white to ivory.

6. The trees are cultivated for their blossoms, not fruit. They sometimes produce cherries in the summer. They aren't edible for humans but the birds love them.

7. The National Park Service (NPS) makes the bloom prediction in March every year.

8. Once the trees flower, the blooms only last a week. The petals fall and carpet the ground with pink.

9. Removing a cherry blossom or tree branch in D.C. is considered vandalism of federal property, which can lead to a citation or arrest.

10. Fun fact: Washington, D.C. does not have the most cherry blossom trees in the world. Neither does Japan. Macon, Georgia is home to approximately 350,000 cherry blossom trees which gives them the title of the "Cherry Blossom Capital of the World." They also host the International Cherry Blossom Festival annually in March.

Bea looks lovely in pink!

Tiggy looks so handsome!

@KConlon1's Jonas is enjoying the blossoms!

This week's menu is a combination of some favorite Japanese foods and some cherry blossom-themed yummy concoctions.

Noms and Drinks

Chicken Katsu Ramen

Sushi Plate

Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box

Shrimp Tempura

Hibachi Steak and Veggies

Cherry Crepes

Cherry Blossom Ice Cream

Cherry Blossom Cake

Cherry Blossom Shortbread

Cherry Blossom Ale

Cherry Blossom Meowtini

Coffee with Cherry Blossom Latte Art

Please drop any $ you can into the Tip Jar to help the pets at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Every penny helps! Thanks!

Check out Best Friends Animal Sanctuary site HERE where there is more about them.

Fallow Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on X/Twitter HERE

Like Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on Facebook HERE

See more of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on Instagram HERE

Watch Best Friends Animal Sanctuary videos on Youtube HERE

Get your printable #Nipclub calendar HERE

A gift from Gator

March 17, 2025

70s Roller Disco #Nipclub Thursday, March 20, 2025

Please drop any $ you can into the Tip Jar to help pets at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Every penny helps! Thanks!

Get your roller skates out and your 1970s attire for a 70s Roller Disco!

We are combining two fun things from the 1970s: Roller skating and disco music!

@psiangelic Heath is ready to roll!

@mariapulk Willow and Cooper

@elvis_cat

@timhoyt14 Bingo

Here's 10 Interesting Facts about Roller Skating:

1. Roller Discos began in the early 1970s. It evolved from the roller rinks of the previous decades and paired with the high-energy rhythms of disco music.
2. In 1983, Ronald Reagan declared October was National Roller Skating Month.
3. Roller skating carhops became a common sight at drive-in restaurants in the 1950s and early 1960s.
4. The two main types of roller skates are 1) quad skates, which have 4 wheels arranged in rows; and 2) inline skates, which have a single line of wheels.
5. Roller skating is popular in several regions around the world, including the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, China, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia,and South Africa.
6. Disco balls were installed in roller rinks in the mid-70s as disco popularity rose.
7. The quad roller skate was invented in 1863 by Massachusetts inventor James Plimpton. It is the skate design most used today.
8. In the 1990s, some young Amish people adopted rollerblades for transportation, even though not all the elders approved.
9. Roller disco was popular in the 1970s and 1980s where skaters wore colorful outfits and grooved to the funky music.
10. The largest indoor skating rink in the world is Guptill's Arena in Latham, New York, that opened on Valentine's Day in 1951. It is 50,000 square feet.

Enjoy the selection of 70s retro foods and drinks!

Noms And Drinks

Mini Quiches

Pigs In Blankets

Disco Cheese Ball and Crackers

Funky Fries

BBQ Cocktail Meatballs

Ambrosia Fruit Salad

Groovy Gobblers

Cheeseburger

Corn Dogs

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Root Beer Float

Lemonade

Cherryade

Orange Crush

California Cooler

Beer

Grasshopper

Tequila Sunrise

Please drop any $ you can into the Tip Jar to help the pets at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Every penny helps! Thanks!

Check out Best Friends Animal Sanctuary site HERE where there is more about them.

Fallow Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on X/Twitter HERE

Like Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on Facebook HERE

See more of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on Instagram HERE

Watch Best Friends Animal Sanctuary videos on Youtube HERE

Get your printable #Nipclub calendar HERE

A gift from Gator

March 8, 2025

St. Patrick's Day Celebration #Nipclub Thursday, March 13, 2025

Please drop any $ you can into the Tip Jar to help pets at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Every penny helps! Thanks!

We are off to Ireland this week to celebrate St. Patrick's day!

Pearl will fly us there in the Nipclub plane.

There's plenty of room in the plane for everyone!

Breeze is all ready to party!

Gator and Marta are kayaking in the Chicago River that's dyed green every year.

Coop and Willow are all decked out in green!

MizzBassie looks lovely in green!

Tiggy looks so handsome in his green barktending attire!

Breeze getting ready to kiss the Blarney Stone!

Here's 10 Interesting Facts about St. Patrick's Day:
1. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.
2. It's believed that St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died on March 17, which is why St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th.
3. "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" came from the legend that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will be endowed with the gift of gab (eloquence, flattery, and persuasion).
4. Pubs were closed on St. Patrick's Day in Ireland until the 1970s because it was a religious holiday. It became a non-religious holiday as a way to showcase Irish culture.
5. St. Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland in 1903.
6. The first St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland was in Waterford, in 1903.
7. In the US, St. Augustine, Florida held their first St. Patrick's Day parade in 1601. New York City held their first parade in 1762.
8. St. Patrick was originally associated with the color blue. The shift to green came during the 18th century when the shamrock became a symbol of Ireland.
9. The Chicago River has been dyed green every year since 1962 with 40 lbs of vegetable dye by the local plumbers union.
10. Over 400 iconic buildings/structures around the world turn green every year for St. Patrick's Day.