“This celebration is over 100 years old. From the days of the silver boom to today, it is a quaint festival celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday. The May Pole dance has been performed by the young for almost as many years. If you have lived in Kaslo long enough, you or your family members have danced this ancient dance. The weekend begins with the choosing of the May Queen on Friday. Saturday and Sunday are filled with logger sport competitions, ball games, carnival games, car show and craft faire. On Monday watch the parade and relax to music in the park. It is a festival not to be missed.”
There was also music. Of course! No celebration is complete without music. There was the Gramma to Gramma drumming band, the kilt clad Kilty Pipe Band, and finally Nelson's own Moving Mosaic Samba Band. These folks are just so gosh darn good! They got it all! Always entering in style, usually from afar, marching in already deep in a funky Brazilian rhythm. Their costumes are eclectic and homespun. They dance, sing, play cow bells and get the audience moving early, so that by the end there is always a crowd following them when they depart as well choreographed as they came in. It was a bit of a conservative crowd but there was a handful of us that could not help but shake some tail. Kids are great, most are less self conscious than adults and there were many of them up dancing showing us how it is done. I would love to join the band, but with travelling I am not reliable enough for rehearsals. For now I will get my fill dancing with them at community events, as they seem to be at most of them. They are one dedicated group of rhythmically talented musicians and dancers.
When we had finished dancing, eating our fill of delicious food and cheering on Ayla’s lucky #13 in the great ducky race, we wandered over to the hoola hooping area. A womyn who teaches Hoop Dancing had about 20 handmade hoola hoops laying out for everyone to enjoy. I was a good adult most of the time, I let the kids have my hoop when they stared at me with hopeful eyes, but their interest generally waned after a few minutes and I would have it back. It is a wonder that a little pvc piping, and electricians tape can be so much fun. Not to mention work! After dancing with the Samba band, running down the river bank and hoola hooping, I felt like Jane Fonda after a good aerobic session! I need activity nearly every day, if I don’t sweat I get cranky! There are times when I actually get a little obsessive, contemplate not going out to events like today because it doesn’t leave me time to “exercise”. As I looked at my family all rosy with sunshine and activity, I saw how healthy they all looked. I have a healthy family, I am immeasurably proud of this. We eat good food, spend lots of time playing in the outdoors and have a lot of love for each other. “What things do you do that keep you healthy?” is written inside 12 days journal #35. I left it on the clip board for the Hoop Dance womyn. If you read this, I want you to know how grateful I am that you bring your handmade hoops to share with everyone, I imagine it must give you much satisfaction to witness the joy you inspire.
I heard today from a follower of this blog, she told me that she planned to use my blog as inspiration to get through bed rest following surgery. I so love to hear these things! Thank you sweet sweet you for YOUR “YOUness”, for telling me how I have touched your life, and for supporting me. Get better soon..... so we can dance together!!
