Ghetto BLaster: August 2009

Lombard To Turn Into Giant Candyland Game

In honor of the board game's 60th anniversary, San Francisco's Lombard Street will get a sweet makeover on Wednesday. (Heh.) The crooked street will transform into a giant Candyland board. According to SF Appeal, "The street will be closed to traffic as children from the University of California, San Francisco Children's Hospital participate in the game as colored game pieces and interact with life-sized game characters, according to organizers." (Why do only children get to play?! Bah. Nevertheless, it still sounds seriously awesome.) The game, introduced in 1849, was designed by Eleanor Abbott, while she was recovering from polio. Candyland's first ads promised parents that the game fulfilled "the sweet tooth yearning of the younger set without the tummy ache aftereffects." Some alterations to modern versions of the game include changing the name of Queen Frostine is Princess Frostine, which is stupid, and renaming Molasses Swamp to Chocolate Swamp, which makes sense because no normal child should know what molasses is. Wednesday's event will also feature a big party and delicious cake.