Last night we went to the Renfrew Ravine Harvest Festival / Moon Festival. This event is a really wonderful community event – a modest and well-meaning festival that reminded me of the early days of Public Dreams’ Illuminaires.
We started out at Slocan Park where community and home garden harvests were on display. Contests like the “largest tomato” were balanced by the contest for the “smallest tomato” (tiny red ball about the size of a rice krispie). Music and entertainment, a couple people on stilts and a bunch of lanterns rounded out the Harvest portion of the event. Then the large and beautiful full moon lantern and a brass band (playing, predictably, a cheery rendition of “autumn leaves”) led our procession from Slocan Park to Renfrew Park via Still Creek and the Renfrew Ravine. Along the way, we saw a labyrinth formed in crop-circle style in the grass, children dancing with chiffon and hula hoops, and many very, very nice lanterns set into the forest. It was truly the city and nature in harmony.
At Renfrew Park/Community Centre, the concentration and artistry of lanterns in the trees and water transported us to another, magical world. We wandered in the crowd yet it never felt claustrophobic. It just felt like we were in our community.
The children played at the Renfrew playground for hours. It was sheer anarchy. The full moon and lanterns were the only lighting, and they were racing around the play parks going down slides and climbing and shrieking. After all, usually when it’s dark they have to come inside. They were beside themselves with joy, running independent under the clear night sky.
A band/orchestra played excellent east-meets-west music, we saw fire dancing (and we actually saw it, because there weren’t crazy, poorly managed crowds like at illuminaires!), and we heard First Nations and Chinese storytelling.
We didn’t stay for fireworks. The Small One fell asleep during the Lion Dances and the Bigger Small One was ready to pass out by the time the storytelling began. Overall, this event was a well-executed and personal community experience that connected us to both our roots and the collective cultural history of Harvest and Equinox.
Today: we are going to Pacific Spirit Park for a StoryTelling Walk.
October 3, 2008 at 6:56 am
Hello.
I was just Googling the Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival and found this entry. It was rather excellent, and we brought our own moon cake. I really enjoyed the dinner table set and the banjo players + dancers near the end of the lantern walk.
Yay for delights! As a young adult, I’ve generally been disenchanted with community activities, but this was pure delight.
Cheers.