This Saturday, January 9th, the Sound and Fury Morris Dancers will host their Fifteenth Annual Wassail (what's Wassailing? See here). They would like you to be a part of it! Friends and neighbors of all ages are invited to join in this Olde English celebration by bundling up warmly and meeting them in the apple orchard located in the field at Meridian Park. The festivities will begin at 1 pm and last about an hour. During the course of the Wassail,…
OK, Steve Winwood won’t be there but YOU should be. Come and learn some new steps and kick up your heels in community with others to support two local non-profit organizations strengthening individuals, families and seniors in the north end. It’s Dance 4 Wallingford, a multicultural and intergenerational community dance party on Saturday May 11th, 2013, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at the Wallingford Community Senior Center (WCSC). The idea for the event came from the “World Dance Parties” that…
Each May Day, while most Wallingfordians are peacefully abed, dozens of hardy souls awake in the pre-dawn darkness, festoon themselves with ribbons and bells, and assemble at Gasworks Park. They are greeted by fellow revelers who likewise make their way to Gasworks Park bedecked in capes, flowers and layers of warm clothing. Together dancers, musicians and merrymakers herald the coming of summer with a celebration of May Day. The organizers of this celebration are Morris dancers - the modern practitioners of an olde English folk dance…
Used to be, when I thought of wassailing, I’d picture Christmas carolers in full Victorian-era costume, going door-to-door to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. But in reality, as I’ve come to learn, wassailing is a centuries-old English tradition, with one form that’s deeply-rooted in apple trees. Apple Wassailing dates back to the 16th century, though some may believe the tradition began as a Pagan ritual. This type of wassailing is to pay homage to apple trees and scare off the…
Join the Burke-Gilman Trail Urban Orchard Stewards on Sunday from noon to 3 pm at their 2nd Annual Cider Pressing event. The Orchard Stewards take care of 23 public fruit trees on the Trail between the University Bridge and just west of Gasworks Park. The one pear and 22 apple trees are thriving after many work parties this past year. In snow, rain, and even sun, volunteers removed blackberries, Scotch Broom, cherry laurel and English Ivy, spread wood chips and Zoo…
Reader Kimberly C dropped us a note to let us know that her Morris dance troupe, The Sound and Fury Morris Dancers will be greeting the sunrise on tomorrow morning at Gas Works Park. Interested in watching or joining in the fun? Here's the 4-1-1: May Day and Morris dancing go back centuries to Olde England, which has a similar climate to Seattle. So spring doesn’t really arrive until sometime in May. At some point centuries ago, Morris dancers realized that if they would…
What do you do when you have 12 lords-a-leaping on Twelfth Night? Why, Wassailing, of course! I learned a lot about Wassailing last January, when reader Kimberly C. told me about their event at Meridian Park. So, here's the scoop: Basically, Apple Wassailing dates back to the 16th century, though some may believe the tradition began as a Pagan ritual. This type of wassailing is to pay homage to apple trees and scare off the evil spirits so that the trees may bear…