Last weekend, we went to the English Country Christmas party the Northeast Oregon Folklore Society puts on every year. There were so many people there! It was great to see such an awesome turn out. Here is Hailey practicing her dance moves in the kitchen just before we left for the event.
We sang Christmas carols and then a bunch of kids put on a Mummer's play. I've never seen one of these before and it was very interesting, very Shakespearish. The kids did great. 
The sword dancers were incorportated into the Mummer's play. They did a terrific job. In this picture they somehow put their swords together to form a start. It was amazing! I could see Josiah doing sword dancing when he's older.
After the play, the little kids followed Carla in a traditional Jewish dance to live music. Josiah, Hailey and Michael are in tow. It was nice they had some dancing for the little ones, too.
Next came an English Country dance demonstration, mostly made up of older homeschoolers, I noticed. The women were all dressed up in long dresses and looked gorgeous. The dances they did looked like something you would see in a Jane Austin movie. Beautiful and graceful. After the domenstration, there was a community dance. We weren't able to stay for long since it was getting late. Michael and I were very involved with the Folklore Society before kids. We miss it, but I've accepted that it just isn't our season of life. When the kids get older, we plan on getting involved again. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, family friendly, folklore society in town.
9 comments:
What a wonderful activity to partake of this season, Jackie! Does your Fokelore society have 'jam sessions'? Do you know Jim Nelson, my old friend? He plays guitar and writes music, a dear man!!
Cat,
Yes, they have several different jam sessions each month - celtic, old-time, and bluegrass. I used to play my fiddle in the old-time jam sessions. I'm not familiar with the name Jim Nelson, but I'll keep my ears open for that name. If I run into him, I'll give him your regards.
God Bless,
Jackie
Wow! I've never even heard of a folklore society. That looked like SO MUCH FUN!! and learning too!! I would love to learn to dance like them. None of our modern day hoochie stuff, just graceful dancing. How totally cool.
Was it in La Grande?
I also enjoyed reading about the live nativity.
How wonderful that you expose your children to so many fun and enriching things! What a
pro-active Momma you are!
Love this
Rachel,
Yes it is in La Grande. Events are held in a quaint old Quaker church called the Old Meeting House.
BTW, Rachel, there are a lot of large families who participate in Folklore Society events, so no evil looks or comments from people regarding family size, LOL!
That looks like so much fun.
I'm so glad you got to go. You never told me about it! Very pretty seeing all the lovely long dresses. That is not something you see everyday.
Jackie,
This looks like so much fun! I wish our family could have been there to enjoy it too! I pray that your family has a blessed and joyous Christmas!
Blessings,
Jackie
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