Giveaway!

To Enter:  Post a photo on my Facebook page of me on top of Taco Johns Muscatine – I’ll be there on May 3,4,5.
To win, make it a good photo! See if you can include yourself or your friends in it.

On Saturday (May 5), I’ll choose my favorite photo and award a kids (or small adult) sized River Monster T-shirt to whoever posted it.    I’m going to look for happy people having fun!

(I’ll contact the winner on FB)

Get Kraken!

Post your photo on my timeline: MuscatineRiverMonster on Facebook   (Be sure to tag Muscatine River Monster)

(Yes you can post more than one – if they’re good!)

Folks in Muscatine have all seen ‘TACO’ Tom Hendricks

Well, this weekend, ‘TACO’  Tom decided to do something else fun for Muscatine: The first Kraken appearance of 2012!

I’m spending Cinco de Mayo weekend at Taco John’s in Muscatine, Iowa.

May 3,4,5   (Thursday – Saturday)
Taco John’s Restaurant
506 Grandview Ave
Muscatine, Iowa

10am-10pm  (times are approximate and weather permitting)

Thunderstorms this weekend might make me duck in and out of hiding for short times – but I promise to be visible as much as possible.  Light rain I don’t mind – but high winds don’t agree with me!

Stop by and say hello!

To celebrate my first appearance of 2012, I’m doing a giveaway! Want to win a River Monster T-shirt?

If this is the first you’ve heard of me, welcome!  Take a look at my ‘Legend‘ page to see what I’m really about:-)

Here are some photos from the 2011 Children’s Festival in West Liberty, Ia shot by Yefei He – They might be the last photos of me shot on real film!

For fans of real film photography, Yefei He shot these on a medium format Bronica ETR-Si 6×4.5.  You can see the whole gallery on Yefei’s Flickr: yefeihe

I can’t wait to see you this summer… I’ll be keeping a giant eye out for you!
The Kraken

Who’s looking forward to the Muscatine Holiday Stroll?!

While I won’t technically be ‘strolling’, I’m going to be watching all from the Stanley Consultants’ Laural Building! That’s right, I’m going to be at the very first building I set my sights on in downtown Muscatine…and just in time for a very fun occasion.

I often hear people say, “The  Holiday Stroll is one of my favorite community events here in Muscatine.” I agree!   I can’t wait to see what this year’s event brings.  Remember Flynn Collier’s Christmas Karaoke? He’ll be back this year…

27th Muscatine Holiday Stroll
2nd St. Downtown Muscatine
Friday, December 2
5:30-8:30 p.m

See you there. This will likely be my last appearance in Muscatine this year!

ps: If you post a photo on twitter and tag me, @MuscatineKraken,  I’ll tell you what I think about it!

I enjoyed everyone who looked up at me with gawking stares, who asked excited questions, “What is it?!”, “Why is it here?!”, and most of all I enjoyed the satisfied smiles of people who just stumbled upon me somewhere in Iowa City.  You’ve warmed my heart!

A Huge Thank You to the sponsors and organizers who made my time in Iowa City great.   These people understand how to make a city a destination!

Gina Tarullo – Iowa City Chamber of Commerce
Marc Moen – Moengroup
Mark Ginsberg – MC Ginsberg
John Logsden – University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums
Beth McQuillen & Louie De Blois - Micky’s Irish Pub & Grill
And of course ‘Kraken Wranglers’: Jacob, Doug, and Andrew

Thank You Iowa City!
The Kraken

ps:  I’m likely to turn up again… (Add your email to get advance warning about future appearances)

See all my Iowa City activity here.

Photo by Samantha Szlembarskie

This was also where KGAN CBS2 came down to show me on their Morning News Show on October 27!  Details and watch a clip from the newscast here.

The only downside of this place was being directly above Pancheros!  The delicious aroma of  fresh burritos wafting gently upward ALL day will make anyone hungry!

photo by Zak Neumann

Next I went to the Old Iowa Capitol! On October 28, the Old Capitol Musuem and the UI Natural History Museum held their 6th annual Creepy Campus Crawl – a family oriented Halloween event.  The theme at the Natural History Museum was ‘Superheroes’ so I felt right at home…

Photo by Miles Dietz

Photo by Kathie Gonzales

This next shot will take your breath away: Hotel Vetro – Plaza Towers.

Photo by Zak Neuman

Hotel Vetro – Plaza Towers was such a cool backdrop, don’t you think?  I love the contrasting curvy lines and right angles.

On Oct 31,  Halloween, I was on Micky’s Irish Pub & Grill. With Halloween falling on a Monday, I think many people had partied themselves out.  But the people still going out were the hardiest and most enthusiastic – Did you see that zombie bridal party?! Amazing costumes.  And, apparently, the bride and groom were really getting married!

I’m still waiting for a photo of me on Micky’s Pub to come in! If YOU have one, feel free to send it to me: MuscatineRiverMonster@gmail.com

Click here to see all my activity in Iowa City.

Thanks for a great time!
The Kraken

Happy Halloween! I’ve been celebrating all weekend, but on the actual day of Halloween, I’m going to be at Micky’s Irish Pub in downtown Iowa City.

And by At, I mean On…the Roof. So those of you lucky enough to sit under the cool stained glass ceiling panels in the back of Micky’s can look up…and imagine I’m about to crash through at any moment…!

I’ll be there most of the day, from late morning on through till just about closing time…so there’s plenty of time to come by and say hello.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, I have photos of my amazing time on the iconic Old Iowa capitol coming soon:-) For those of you who just can’t wait, take a look at this flickr set.

(If you want to submit a photo for my ‘photo roundups’ just email it to MuscatineRiverMonster@gmai.com   Almost all of the photos on my site are sent in by people like you!)

Two of my ‘managers’ (they like to think!) were there to talk me up.  Andrew K Anderson explained what I’m about and announced the upcoming UI Old Capitol visit. Ethan Anderson, who builds websites like mine, told how I keep in touch with people.  (The third Kraken collaborator, Jacob Lane, opted to get a proper nights sleep)

Watch a good clip from the newscast. (Notice how Josh has the anchors running in circles at the end:-)

Downtown Iowa City’s ped-mall starting to pick up speed on a Saturday night.

I love the little tentacle reflection in the photo above!

See the full gallery on Julie’s flickr account

Julie is also a contributor to IowaCity.Patch.com where she’s keeping a 365 photo project centered around Iowa City.

Thanks Julie!

Photographers: If you want to send 3-4 of your favorite Kraken shots, I might feature them on my website.  I love showing off your work!   Send to MuscatineRiverMonster@gmail.com

The KRAKEN!

I’m going to a party!  At a museum!  Here’s the press release from the UI Pentacrest Museums:

Calling all ghouls and goblins! The University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums—Old Capitol Museum and the UI Museum of Natural History—in collaboration with the UI Department of Geoscience, will host the sixth annual Creepy Campus Crawl this Friday, October 28.

This ghostly night, full of spooky fun, is free and open to the public and will haunt the three locations from 6:30–8:30 p.m.

The University of Iowa Old Capitol Museum is being invaded by The Kraken!

The Kraken, otherwise known as the Muscatine River Monster, will be on display on the Old Capitol Museum for the sixth annual Creepy Campus Crawl on Friday, October 28.

The Kraken will appear on the Old Capitol building by 5:00 p.m. and will remain on display after the annual Halloween party, 6:30-8:30 p.m., until 10:00 p.m.

For more information on the Creepy Campus Crawl or the Pentacrest Museums please visit our websites, www.uiowa.edu/oldcap or www.uiowa.edu/mnh.