Lilac Sunday 2007
May 13, 2007~Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass.
After three straight years where inclement weather forced a significant -- and last year, a complete -- curtailment of the Lilac Sunday dance program, imagine our collective relief and joy when we headed out to the Arboretum with blue skies and mild temperatures to the fore. Easily one of the more enjoyable Lilac Sundays, from start to finish.
Click on thumbnails to see larger image
Ha'penny hops to it.
New faces for Lilac Sunday: Clownfish Rapper.
Midnight Capers, in broad daylight.
Wake Robin makes their musician the center of attention.
Harrisville gives a loud "Har-rah!"
Cold Barn, cool shades.
Those big, rugged New Hampshire guys, Jack in the Green, kept sticks and spirits up...
...while their Green Man wreaked his usual mayhem, enlisting this young lady for an impromptu stick-clashing exercise (little did she know that this betrothed her to him, at least spiritually).
The one and only Handsome Molly, and their "musicians."
Having way too much fun, Great Meadows Morris and Sword. (Thanks to Mitch Diamond for the pics)
Performing a double-stick dance in triplicate, Heartwood.
Freshblood Rapper (of Great Meadows Morris and Sword) observes the most important rule of sword dancing: Always check to make sure your fingers are all there at the end (right).
A clear favorite, Muddy River.
Pipe Dream draws a close look from a spectator sporting similar colors.
What was that about "when fishes fly and the seas run dry"? Red Herring engages in a little game of "Catch the Clupeidae."
The Herrings' Jeff Bigler gets the audience in on the act with a newbie-friendly version of "Shepherd's Hey."
The Paper Bag Mummers take (and we mean take) the stage. Right, an onlooker tries to summon up the courage to make a donation to the PBM Trust Fund.
Banbury Cross, by leaps and bounds.
Commonwealth Morris, temporarily joined at left by a concerned Hape rushing in to retrieve a stray pair of sunglasses (yes, they survived).
Mulberry, en masse (with help from Bubble Rapper).
The luverly Ladies of the Rolling Pin, and their orchestra.
A Hop Brook hanky fight (left).
Charles River Rapper does their innovative "Balkan dance."
And then, the reward for a day in the sun: Drinks and songs at Doyle's.
