The hottest days of the year are upon us, but whether it's refreshing water from a dunk tank, getting pelted with balloons, or being caked in wormy mud, Wicked's Rest will keep you cool! Just don't get too heated over the sandcastle contest...
Itâs important to celebrate those who really make Wickedâs Rest what it is. Not the tourist trap shops on Amity Road or the fishing vessels hauling up lobsters, or even the dedication of Club Cryptid⊠no, the true stars of the town are the worms. And so, Wormfest is a joyous occasion put on by the township when the worms are at critical mass, spanning late summer and into late fall, with some time-limited attractions. Stretching across about half the Common, Wormfest is full of wormy activities, Wormy memorabilia, a petting zoo, wormwatching opportunities, mud wrestling, worm rides, and more. Admission is free and memories are forever, which isnât actually that long if youâre a worm.
Early Bird Package! Are you a worm enthusiast? While Wormfest is free, worm lovers might want to purchase the Early Bird Package for guaranteed admission priority, a Worm Starter Kit, a t-shirt (âI got the worm at Wormfest!â), a membership pin, a worm-catching net, and a fistful of mud in a bag. The package also allows access to the Taperoom, where 21+ worm lovers can escape the chaos of the festival and socialize with some brews.Â
While many towns have a seasonal carnival every year⊠this is it! The Common is full of wormy rides, most (not all) of them family friendly. Thereâs the worm carousel (one of the worms is real; see if you can sit on it), booths to test your skills for a prize (plush worms or delectable candy worms), a kissing booth, spinning wormcups, the tunnel of worms, and the Worminâ Wormicoaster. Some of the rides are safer than others, but if you die, you have plenty of worms around to help compost you quickly.
The tunnel of worms is here to answer a very important question: would you love me if I were a worm? Take a ride through the tunnel with a loved one and experience the very convincing âopticalâ âillusionâ that will randomly turn one person into a worm. Your reaction will be photographed, which you can purchase at the end of the ride.Â
The worm petting zoo is one of the stars of the show, even though itâs technically a big compost pile. So many people have no idea what a great diversity of worms live in Wickedâs Rest. Local stables provide a few tame-ish mountain wurms for riding, and everyone will delight in getting their hands on 18 different species of worm. Some of them might be more dangerous and/or supernatural than others, but at least theyâre mostly small. For now. And donât be alarmed if you canât stop bragging after giving the little bragworms a pet.
Though not an official or even seen-by-most attraction, nidhoggs seem to know this festival is all about WORMS and are there to take the spotlight. The problem is they do this by spinning peoplesâ moral compasses aroundâand where there are a lot of nidhogg, there may end up being a bighogg.
It wouldnât be a festival without shows and performances. Catch the worm fashion contest, which is available for anyone to enter. Walk the wormwalk and you might come home with a prize if you wow the crowd.Â
There are also musical performances from a variety of the most popular artists. Nine Inch Worms, Fleetworm Mac, Squirm Against the Worm, Megan Thee Worm, and more. Winding W. Ormy couldnât make it (sheâs always fully booked it seems) but has provided some new tracks as festival ambience.Â
Gone are the laidback, boring sandcastle contests of yesterday. This yearâs sandcastle competition⊠is to the death! (The weapons are made out of sand; probably no one will die.) With new and exciting themes, the contest is sure to be a hit (donât hit your enemies). Judging will take place at the end of summer (date TBD) but the process of elimination should only leave a few entries left standing, anyway. (Better the castle falls than you!)
There are three categories this year: horror, worm, and around the world.Â
Anyone can enter! Post your characterâs castle or sculpture on their blog some time prior to judging, with the category theyâre entering under (and send a link in ModMail). Everyone who enters will win a prize, but only the winner will live to see another day (kidding!)
Once castles have been built, contestants enter the castle defense phase of the competition. What good is a sandcastle that isnât fortified? Competitors are expected to try to destroy the competition while also defending their own creations. Weapons are allowed as long as theyâre made of sand. Legally the competition cannot advise people to use their fists or something instead, if they really want to win. Legally.
We will announce a more specific deadline for judging in a few weeks, and will be hosting 1 or 2 castle defense group threads over discord. Castle defense threads between players, or just dash nonsense, are also more than welcome! You can enter the contest without joining castle defense and can join a castle defense group thread even if you didnât submit an official entry.
Good luck! Donât go down with your castle!
Summer heat is no fun for anyone, least of all hospital staff! After a series of heat-related injuries in late spring found those working in the ER overwhelmed, the hospital administration teamed up with the town council to find a solution. Unfortunately, that solution is a dunk tank. Located at the center of the Common, the dunk tank is a fun summer activity for people of all ages to participate in! And donât worry â everyone will get a turn!Â
No, literally! Everyone has a go! Dunk tank⊠participants are chosen at random, meaning at any given time, characters may find themselves mysteriously transported inside the dunk tank! Attempts to escape can be made, though theyâre not likely to be successful. The dunk tank doesnât appear to open from the inside, and the glass making up the walls is impossible to break, so if you wind up in the tank, your best bet is to just wait it out.Â
The amount of time a personâs âturnâ in the dunk tank might last will vary, meaning while some people might find themselves in the tank for just a few minutes, others might be trapped for hours. Letâs hope youâve got some snacks on you!
Passersby may find themselves supernaturally drawn to the dunk tank, filled with the inexplicable desire to dunk whoever happens to be inside of it at the time. The desire can be overwhelming, becoming a singular focus for some who may find themselves standing at the dunk tank tossing balls until theyâve successfully dunked their victim.
Balls are provided, and seem to be in endless supply. The basket of balls standing at the line participants are expected to stay behind is evidently bottomless. So you get as many tries as you like!
Speaking of that line you have to stay behind, it moves! Sometimes, itâs ten feet away from the tank. Other times, twenty. If youâre really unlucky (or whoever is in the tank is really lucky), it might be a hundred feet away from the tank. And if youâre holding a ball, youâll find yourself physically unable to step over the line. So, no cheating!
Donât worry too much about getting dunked. While it may be inconvenient to be trapped in a dunk tank, itâs just water!Â
Not your turn in the dunk tank yet? Not a problem! There are plenty of other ways to cool off in Wickedâs Rest. Specifically, an ongoing water balloon fight downtown, with pre-filled balloons hidden throughout the neighborhood in buckets! Careful, though â while these balloons will cool you off, some of them arenât entirely what they seemâŠ
Hidden around the Downtown neighborhood by a faction of mischievous spellcasters, many of these balloons have magical properties. Some are standard water balloons filled with normal water, but others might be enchanted to induce⊠unexpected results.
In some cases, the colors of the balloons may provide some clues as to what they might do to you. Of course the blue balloon runs the risk of dyeing your skin blue for a few hours, and why wouldnât the yellow one make the air taste like lemons? But this isnât a hard and fast rule, either; some of the effects are entirely random.Â
In addition to magical balloons, there are other balloons that may not have just water inside them. One balloon might be full of goo. Another? Worms. Strangely, some of the balloons seem to be filled with things that shouldnât fit inside a water balloon. How did someone manage to get an entire fursuit in that green balloon? Itâs probably best not to ask too many questions.
Sometimes, balloons seem to be thrown from nowhere, even when the streets are empty. Donât think doing your business Downtown at night when no one is around will save you from a water balloon fight â it might just ensure thereâs no one there to give you a hand if that balloon freezes you like a statue in the street instead.
Not looking to get caught up in the downsides of the townâs attempts to beat the heat? Donât worry! There are plenty of miscellaneous activities around town for you to enjoy without getting wet. You might be a little sweaty while enjoying them, but at least you wonât wind up cursed by a water balloon or trapped in a dunk tank⊠for now, anyway.
A local ice cream truck is parked out by the public pool selling popsicles. Weird popsicles. No matter how long you spend licking them, they never seem to get any smaller. Talk about bang for your buck!
The public library has released their list of beach reads! Specifically, theyâve released those books onto the beach. Theyâre buried in the sand. Also, weirdly, none of them are particularly beachy? And, you know what? Maybe some of them were buried for a good reasonâŠ
Summer brings with it a slew of lemonade stands around town! Or⊠wait. Just one lemonade stand that travels? Oddly, this particular stand seems to appear anywhere someone voices their thirst aloud. The lemonade they sell is tasty and served in a bucket to properly quench your thirst, but it does turn your hair bright yellow for a day or two after you drink it. Worth it, though.
The summer heat is bringing certain creatures closer to town. Donât be surprised if you see a ballybog cooling off in a shaded puddle, or a fire salamander sunbathing on a brick wall. Donât bother them and they wonât bother you⊠unless itâs something that wants to eat you.
Bigfeetâs Adventureland is expanding their business plan a little for the summer. They now have an area of Darkling Lake set up for inflatable paddleboard jousting! Join with a friend, or be randomly paired with a stranger. There are individual jousting matches as well as weekly tournaments, so you can participate however you choose. Tournament winners will be awarded certain prizes, but it seems the same prize is never given out twice, so who knows what you might get!
