The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1466134
My So Called Millennial Life By Stephanie Hayes A Millennial lurks inside Peppa Pig Theme Park C-2 Wednesday, April 27, 2022 The Press-Dispatch The Peppa Pig cinema was the Elysium of this theme park, a respite from chaos not unlike the cartoon itself. Sweaty parents filtered into a dark, cool room and thrust bags of Fruit Loops upon their children, slumped over bean- bag chairs. Peppa Pig played on a big screen. Specifically, "Digging Up The Road," an episode in which Peppa's family heads to the playground and encoun- ters a water leak in the street. "Is it going to take long? " Mummy Pig asks. "It will take as long as it takes! " huffs Mr. Bull, the con- struction worker. Later, Peppa repeats the same line to her ungrateful little playmates. Ah, there she was, our con- fident hog! Our pink princess! Our pop-culture porker! She can confront any cross-spe- cies situation, soothe nearby toddlers, even transcend pre- school to fascinate a genera- tion beyond her intended tar- get. But can she carry a whole at- traction? For everyone? I, pushing 40, ventured suspiciously alone to lurk at the plainly named Peppa Pig Theme Park (guess they want- ed those Google hits). The park opened in Winter Ha- ven, Fla. in February, steps from Legoland. On a Wednes- day afternoon, small humans ran roughshod over the hal- lowed grounds of their hero. My first Peppa Pig exposure came years back as a new step- mom. I hadn't watched kids cartoons since I was a kid my- self in the clunky, pre-digital 1980s. But Peppa was differ- ent, and the show fascinated me as much as it did the child. "Peppa Pig" chronicles the exploits of Pep- pa, her brother George, Mum- my Pig, Daddy Pig and a cast of mammalian friends. It's al- most punk in simplicity, ag- gressively two-dimension- al and pastel, wry and clever compared to, say, "He-Man." Describing the aesthetic re- quires a virtuosity unto itself. Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a rambling speech, once compared Peppa's visage to a "Picasso-like hairdryer," which isn't wrong. It's addictive, not just for American children adopting British accents. In one episode that went viral, Peppa strug- gles to whistle. She calls Su- zy Sheep to feel some schaden- freude. But when Suzy easily whistles into the receiver, Pep- pa hangs up, wordless, with one wicked, porcine finger. It's high art! It's permission to leave toxic relationships! Peppa has been memeified countless times. One internet rumor claimed she was 7 feet, 1 inch tall. She released an al- bum called, um, "My First Al- bum," and the tracks inadver- tently became LGBTQ an- thems. Kanye West has had a longstanding feud with Pep- pa (reviewers liked her album better). When I visited a college class last month and men- tioned Peppa Pig Theme Park, the 20 -somethings erupted as if a dormant part of their per- sonality had been hacked open. Given Peppa's clout, it makes sense for the park to wink at her adult allure. But tru- ly, this would be a fruitless and ex- pensive ironic trip. Though it's part of Legoland, Pep- pa Pig Theme Park requires a separate $ 35 ticket, plus $25 parking. It's best to bundle the day with Legoland, because Peppa will not take that long. This tiniest of parks is de- signed for little legs and wheels. It's disability-friend- ly and is a Certified Autism Center full of sensory guides. I lapped the entire place in five minutes, passing Daddy Pig's Roller Coaster (I didn't ride, fearful of being even more of a creep), Peppa's Pedal Bike Tour, George's Tricycle Trail, Muddy Puddles Splash Pad and a wacky hall of mirrors manned by that smug whis- tler, Suzy Sheep. It was time for the stage show. "Will you help me shout for Peppa? " the host asked, and the kids screamed her name into the hot spring air. Then the grande dame emerged. I am here to confirm she actu- ally is 7 feet tall. They sang a hot track off the album, "The Bing Bong Song," which goes (pay at- tention) "bing, bong, bingly, bungly, boo." Toddlers barely upright teetered to the stage while harried Peppa keepers delicately nudged them back. Peppa swayed her gargantu- an pink arms to a cacophony of squeaky Crocs and cries. Surreal! The Pepp-sistence of Memory! This was a good reminder. The internet can co-opt a lot of things. Joy can come from the purest places, and intelli- gent cartoons diffuse the toil of parenting. But not everything is for ev- eryone. This park is not for pe- culiar adults with phones, des- perate to be distracted by one more meme. This park is for teeny tots learning to use their words. Still, maybe there was a glimmer of rawk? Mr. Fox's gift shop offered Peppa purs- es, cookies and plastic trucks galore. One T-shirt, though, stood singular, black with a pink font my soul recognized. It was the font of Nirvana. Be- low it, a crude line drawing of our high priestess, Peppa. A dad hoofed by the gift shop pushing a stroller. He was wearing a real Nirvana T-shirt, bathed in the glow of swine immemorial. Stephanie Hayes is a colum- nist at the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. Follow her at @ stephhayes on Twitter or @ stephrhayes on Instagram. Sweet's Column By Barb Sweet 1208 N RAVEN AVE, PETERSBURG: Charming home offers living room, kitchen, family room, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, rear deck, spacious yard, extra-large 2-car detached garage, and shed. $178,000. MLS#202204757 8417 W HIMSEL RD, OTWELL: Don't miss out on this beautiful country home on 6.5 acres +/- with 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, fireplace, enclosed porch, pole barn, and electric fenced-in pasture. $445,000. MLS#202203799. 2108 State St, Washington • 812-254-5204 • www.century21classicrealty.com OPEN HOUSE Sunday May 1 2-4 PM OPEN HOUSE Sunday May 1 2-4 PM FRUIT FLUFF FRUIT FLUFF By Jennifer Vallee Believe it or not, this simple recipe has been more than 20 years in the making. A long time ago, a lovely woman I used to work with added instant vanilla pudding mix to fruit and it was delicious. Although I really like it, I immediately started to play with the recipe. I tried different fruits and flavors of pudding mix- es. I added marshmallows and finally figured out my favor- ites. It was really good, but not perfect until my stepdaugh- ter asked if I was going to add whipped topping. That sim- ple addition was exactly what was needed and my version of fruit fluff was born. I tried it out on the family for Easter and it was a huge hit. I hope you and your family will like it too! Enjoy! INGREDIENTS • 2 cans crushed pineapple, in juice • 2 cans mandarin oranges • 2 cans maraschino cherries, without stems • 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix • 1 box instant French vanilla pudding mix • 1/2 bag mini marshmallows • 1 tub whipped topping, thawed DIRECTIONS 1. Drain pineapples and reserve the juice for later. 2. Drain the mandarin oranges and reserve the syrup for later. 3. Drain and rinse cherries. Discard juice. 4. Mix fruit with pudding mix. 5. Mix pineapple juice with 1/4 of the orange syrup. 6. Slowly mix the juice in with the fruit mix until the pud- ding mix is incorporated and it has a glazed appearance. 7. Add remaining ingredients until it is well mixed and ap- pears fluffy, much like the Hawaiian salads you find in many delis. 8. Refrigerate at least four hours before serving. 9. Before serving, give it a good stir to freshen up the look of it. 10. Please note that marshmallows can be omitted, and sug- ar-free pudding mix and whipped topping can be used to reduce the sugar in this dish. Hi stars and welcome to the big stage all lit up in bright colorful lights and dec- orated to help celebrate with all our stars who will have a birthday or anniversary in the week of April 28 to May 4. Come up onto this stage and take a bow. BIRTHDAYS April 28 -William Theodore Nicholson turns 57; Maegan Tabor turns 32; Jim Gatwood turns 51; Ember Joelene Ride- nour turns 6. April 29 -Larry Platt; Ashley Elenbass turns 38; Kassie Traylor turns 26; Sarah Vinnedge; Edmund Divine turns 2. April 30 -Katy Aldridge; Tim Glosser turns 51; Tommy Culbertson turns 49; Taylor Gatwood turns 27. May 1-Daniel Kuth; Cameron Michael Tooley turns 17; Jeremy Meier; Melanie Edmonds Ennis; Dale McKinney; Allan Mills turns 70. May 2-Jonathan Robert Faith turns 14; Jaclyn Mae Hall turns 13. May 3-Tasha Meyer turns 34; Jessica Catt; Joshua and Becky Popp celebrate 14 years. May 4-Alfred Braunecker turns 31; Al- ycia Church; Reagan Boswell turns 5. May all our stars have a really great day and may all your wishes come true. Keep in your heart and in your prayers all our stars who need that card, visit, phone call and that daily thought of them to have a happier day. Special thoughts and prayers for Tim, Teresa, Lisa, Rhea, Mike, Katy, Annabel and Benny. EVENTS April 29 -Arbor Day. April 30 -Open Fun Horse Show at noon, at the Rockin' G. Saddle Club, on 257 south of the junction. Food and drinks available. See you there! For more info, check out the Facebook page or con- tact Dallas at 812-582-9661. May 3-Primary Election May 5 -Cinco De Mayo; Winslow Li- ons Club meets at 6 p.m. at the Gamble's house. May 7-The 32nd Poehlein Spring Bass Tourney, 5 a.m.-5 p.m. For more info, con- tact Greg 812-789 -3778. May 8 -Mother's Day (mom's love things made by their chil- dren). May 9 -Winslow Town Hall at 6 p.m. May 10 -Winslow Beautifi- cation and Economic meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Snyder Com- munity Center; Oakland City Loins Club. May 12-Petersburg Lions meet at 6:30 p.m. Winslow senior citizens are meeting on Monday and Tuesday at the Snyder Community Center. Petersburg seniors meet in the courthouse basement. Send postcards and notes of interest to: Sweets Column, Winslow, IN 47598. There were none this week. Winslow Patoka River is high, but not overflowing at Riverside Park. Our last rainfall was April 18, with 3.25 inches and with the rain and showers on the 21st, which was another one half inch. Patchy frost was on the 19th. Temps were in the 50s to 60s, then rose again into the 70s and 80s over the weekend, April 22-23. The woods have trees with red buds, leaves of light and dark shades of green and some look like a tan color. The ma- ple tree's 'helicopter' seeds have a red to tan color, as some have fallen. To the kids who love to make pictures, use the color- ful 'helicopter' seed to paste on a piece of colored paper and arrange into a piece of art, like a flower for Mom on Mother's Day. I still have my pictures from Kyana. Did you see the Pink Full Moon? It was really bright. Several colors of tulips, and the peonies are growing taller, the apple trees have white blooms and the peach trees have pink blooms. We saw a photo that showed the Morel Mushrooms that are bigger than the 70 they found in one day. Hope everyone does well in the hunt for the morels; and good luck in finding a place to hunt them, since it's mostly pri- vate property. Norm couldn't wait any longer to use the mower and weedeater, it was be- fore Easter. He wasn't the only star, I heard more mowing in the areas near- by. Most yards didn't get cut until af- ter Easter, then the mowers were heard and seen almost all week. Norm left the white blanket of flowers around the tree with a swing. The pur- ple flowers are still seen even after they were cut in the cor- ner lot. We didn't have any egg hunts at our house, but hope all the children had a fun time as you found the col- orful Easter eggs that Peter Rabbit hid in the yards. Easter dinner included ham, potatoes and green beans. They were tasty, as Laura ate with us. For dessert we had a chocolate peanut butter egg. We went to see Mom and she wore a bun- ny eared headband, and everyone loved them. She got candy, peeps and a white bunny with purple ears. Laura and Nate had a good visit with Mom. There are little kids in the neighbor- hood again, as I saw the boy riding a bike with training wheels. He knows how to pedal standing up, until several times go- ing up and down the incline. The little girl with him was younger and she ran up and down with him, until she got tired. They both had fun that day. Zoe is back at our house, since Turtle and Annie work the restaurant and have no time to work with Zoe. Norm has his routine and Zoe always loves to play, even with a stick. The Indy 500 will be here soon. Do you have a favorite driver? As of April 21, they have 102 cars to race. And the Indiana State Fair theme is "Fun at the Speed of Summer." I have heard, this year, that some of us have no sense of humor and no sense of what words do to hurt a person, so stop the lies and if you want to say something, say it with kindness. Get your facts right, if you can. The lights are about to dim for this week. Keep an eye on family and friends. Slow down and see all the wonders in your area. Always smile, wave and say "hi" to everyone you see this week. Opal SermerSheim BROKER ASSOCIATE 812-582-0776 Call 215 N 10th Street, Petersburg PICTURE PERFECT! This 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath Home Offers Beautiful Hardwood Floors, a Remodeled Bathroom and a Gorgeous Built-In Pantry in the Spacious Kitchen. Home also includes a Full Unfinished Basement with Attached 1 Car Garage and an Awesome Large Deck on the back! Relax in the Enclosed Front Porch while watching the day go by! MLS# 202214583 $119,000 7311 E Waylon Drive, Winslow PEACE AND TRANQUILITY! This Beautiful Log Home was Built in 2003 and Offers 2-3 Bedrooms and 2 Baths! Located just outside of Otwell and within 15 minutes to Jasper, 10 minutes to I69 and 30 minutes to Toyota. Relax on the Front or Back Porch While Watching the Day Go By. Go Fishing in the Perfect Pond that is Stocked with Bluegill and has Albino Catfish!! Home offers Hardwood Floors Upstairs with a Loft Area that can be Converted to a 3rd Bedroom or Use it as an Office Space. Both Bedrooms are Huge and the Main Bedroom Offers His and Her Closets. The Kitchen Has Gorgeous Cabinets with Plenty of Counterspace. All Appliances are included as well as the Washer & Dryer. The Home Offers a Full Unfinished Basement and has 3 Acres of Sweet Country Living! Also Includes a 2 Car Detached Garage with a Side Porch for those BBQs! Seller is offering a $5,000 Flooring Allowance. MLS# 202214773 $320,000 216 W. 6th Street, Jasper, IN 47546 Be the proud owner Be the proud owner of a Pike County home! of a Pike County home! NEW LISTING NEW LISTING NEW LISTING NEW LISTING