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May Day
Festival
Historically
May Day has marked the end of the winter season by celebrating the
coming of Spring and Summer. It’s good-bye to cold, windy days and
welcome to those wonderful warm, flowerful summer days. In the early
1900s, May Day was a community celebration of hope and joy, and, was
popularly celebrated.
This year, Biltmore Village is re-establishing May Day as a special
commemoration for everyone to enjoy.
The festivities will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, May 2
with music and dancing around the May Pole in the Village Plaza. May
Pole Dancers will circle the pole each holding colored ribbons
attached to the pole and then retrace their steps to unravel the
ribbons.
That will be followed at 12:00 by two bluegrass bands playing until
4:30 pm. First on the schedule is the Moore Brothers, featuring 11
year old Jacob and his 6 year old brother Isaac. Next will be the
Southern Crescent Bluegrass band playing in their traditional
bluegrass style. Bluegrass music has been specifically chosen
because of its happy foot-stomping rhythms, and its origin in the
hills of Appalachia.
During the afternoon, local a cappella
singing groups will perform as they stroll through the Village. And
back by popular demand, there’ll be carriage rides providing the
feel of yesteryear.
Everyone who attends is urged to bring canned food items for a
special May Day basket which will be donated to MANNA Food Bank.
Restoring the May Day celebration was inspired by a 1906 photo of a
May Pole dance occurring at the Biltmore Village plaza and recounts
of a 1905 New York Times article that brought to light a colorful
May Day celebration in Historic Biltmore
Village.
“The Village has a hundred plus year history of being one of
Asheville’s focal points. Celebrating the transition from Winter to
Spring and Summer seemed like a great way to continue that,” said
Stan Collins, president of the Merchants Association.
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