Umbrella Cover Day

Umbrella covers are the little sleeves, slipcovers, cases or sheaths that come on a new umbrella when they are first purchased. Usually made of the same material as the umbrella, they are a tight and attractive bit of packaging, but can sometimes impair the speed of releasing the umbrella in a sudden shower!

How to Celebrate Umbrella Cover Day

Wondering what in the world a person might do to pay heed to this interesting but obscure day? Have fun and enjoy Umbrella Cover Day with some special ideas like these:

Dig Out Those Umbrella Covers

Umbrella Cover Day celebrates the stories behind that unassuming little cover, and encourages folks to hold onto and dig out those umbrella covers from the bottom of drawers, the backs of cupboards and from, unsurprisingly, ones on those actual umbrellas. Once they are found, it’s time to get on board with celebrating the mundane and everyday things in life, certainly not the least of which is the umbrella cover.

Visit the Umbrella Cover Museum

On this auspicious day, an important activity to participate in might be to head over to the only Umbrella Cover Museum known to the world. Located in Peaks Island, Maine, in the United States, this little place was opened in 1996 when founder and curator Nancy 3. Hoffman wasn’t sure what to do with her leftover umbrella covers.

With the support of the local community, Nancy opened the museum and found that others were happy and willing to donate their umbrella covers to support the cause. Fractured Atlas, a non-profit organization, supports the cause of the Umbrella Cover Museum and other unique artists.

Lucky visitors to the museum might even catch Nancy playing her accordion and singing the museum’s theme song: “Just let a smile be your umbrella on a rainy, rainy day”. Those who can’t make it over to Maine to visit the Umbrella Cover Museum might want to check out their website to buy merchandise in their gift shop in celebration of National Umbrella Cover Day.

Try Getting the Covers Back On the Umbrellas

Sort of like trying to stuff the contents of Pandora’s box back inside, getting the cover back onto an umbrella can be a bit of an interesting feat. Once the umbrella has been used, it needs to be dried out, wound back up around the pole and then neatly secured with the hook-and-loop fastener. Akin to the ancient art of map folding, this skill takes an extra measure of talent to be able to get the somehow much-larger umbrella to fit back into the cover that it came in. Good luck!

Get Creative with Umbrella Cover Uses

Of course, umbrella covers can have practical uses, too – why not keep some plastic utensils in them, or use them to store plastic bags, pencils, makeup, or loose change. A nice little collection of umbrella covers could even be used to decorate a room or possibly be repurposed as ear warmers for pets with large ears, such as bunny rabbits or dogs.

History of Umbrella Cover Day

Umbrellas have a long history that dates back several hundred years, possibly even to ancient Egyptians or Chinese who used a form of them to protect themselves from the sun. The modern umbrella seems to have appeared in Europe in the mid 17th century, eventually offering fabric covered with oil and wax to make it more water repellent and durable. The first patent taken out for the umbrella was in England in 1786, when the ribs were made from whale bones.

But the cover that comes on the umbrella? That seems to be an even more modern invention that probably emerged when the items began to be mass produced.

People are on the fence about whether they are critical bits of umbrella apparel, or a waste of material. It is this very ambiguity that has inspired a museum of Umbrella Covers and a Guinness World Record.

This day was started in 2012, inspired by the work of Nancy 3. Hoffman, the curator and founder of the Umbrella Cover Museum in Maine, USA.

So whether that umbrella was purchased during the onset of a sudden spring shower, or it was more of an advanced purchase for a drizzly day, chances are that this umbrella’s cover comes with a bit of history, and has a story to tell. So welcome to Umbrella Cover Day!