“Many travelers have seen the drums of the great apes, and some have heard the sounds of their beating and the noise of the wild, weird revelry of these first lords of the jungle, but Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, is, doubtless, the only human being who ever joined in the fierce, mad, intoxicating revel of the Dum-Dum. From this primitive function has arisen, unquestionably, all the forms and ceremonials of modern church and state, for through all the countless ages, back beyond the uttermost ramparts of a dawning humanity our fierce, hairy forebears danced out the rites of the Dum-Dum to the sound of their earthen drums, beneath the bright light of a tropical moon in the depth of a mighty jungle which stands unchanged today as it stood on that long forgotten night in the dim, unthinkable vistas of the long dead past when our first shaggy ancestor swung from a swaying bough and dropped lightly upon the soft turf of the first meeting place.”
With those words, Edgar Rice Burroughs advanced the concept of the “Dum-Dum” and today fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs and descendants of the author are gathering for the annual Dum-Dum, this year in Clinton, Connecticut — a Thursday through Sunday fest that features the sale of memorabilia, speeches and panels, and the annual Tarzan Yell competition.
Here is what the New Haven Register has to say about it:
There is one, and only one, of history’s most distinguished authors whose literary achievements annually are celebrated by people whose attire trends to T-shirts labeled “Dum-Dum” and who happily compete to perform the best imitation of the victory cry of the Great Ape.
Cue Johnny Weissmuller. Enter the 2015 edition of the annual Dum-Dum convention of the Burroughs Bibliophiles from Thursday through Saturday at William Stanton Andrews Memorial Town Hall.
Since 1960, the nonprofit literary society has gathered each year to honor the achievements of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the prolific writer of science fiction stories and novels made internationally famous with the publication of his first “Tarzan” story in 1912.
Read more here.
The Hartfort Courant also has an article:
Pardon the Tarzan yell coming from Andrews Memorial Town Hall this coming weekend. It’s all good.
The Edgar Rice Burroughs Bibliophile Convention, also known as Dum Dum, will take place from Thursday through Aug. 23 at Town Hall, 54 East Main St. — and will include a Tarzan yell competition judged by Burroughs family members.
The convention will celebrate the author’s iconic fictional creations, including John Carter of Mars and Tarzan.
Founded in 1960, 10 years after Burroughs’ death, the Burroughs Bibliophiles sponsor an annual convention or Dum Dum (taken from the word in “Tarzan” for gathering of the apes), which this year is being organized and hosted by Peggy Adler, along with fellow Clintonite Harry Swaun.
The Author’s Guild has it this way:
“Tarzan”, “John Carter” (Warlord of Mars) and members of Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) family, along with ERB comic strip writers & artists, authors of ERB related books; and Burroughs Bibliophiles are all coming to Andrews Memorial Town Hall, 54 East Main Street, Clinton, CT to celebrate Burroughs’ genius – August 20-23, 2015.
A movie marathon; panel discussions; presentations and demonstrations; a Tarzan yell competition (judged by members of ERB’s family); a video tribute to the late Denny Miller; an auction of ERB memorabilia; and vendors galore will all be there. And the public is invited – FOR FREE. The public may also dine at the Dum Dum banquet, at the Clinton Country Club — for the same fee as the Bibliophiles. There, the guest of honor and banquet speaker will be Tony Award winner, Bill Berloni, talking about training animals for performance. And the 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award will be given, posthumously, to Denny Miller.
We just got a text from Linda Burroughs and daughters Llana and Dejah … they’re “an hour away” from Clinton …. so we’re looking forward to getting some updates from them over the weekend.
Meanwhile if you can’t go …. an alternative is the 2012 Centennial Celebration DVD which JCF coproduced with Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Here it is, check it out, click on the image to view on Amazon, where it’s for sale:
