The San Francisco call., 1908-03-01
BLOSSOM FETE A
Scene OF BEAUTY
Red Tipped, Dancing Tea Girls
in KimOnOs Doing Tableaux
Win Applause

The cherry blossom fete has come and
gone with its train OF geyly dressed.
red Tipped, dancing, little tea girls and
the scent Of thousands of fruit bios
SONS. 1t has slipped into the past. like
sl the other delightful things that one
plans and waits for and fancies will.
never arrive But il differs from other
things dead and gone in that it will re-
main a vital and delightful memory
forever, something to be talked of
wherever San Francisco's girls meet
and speak of old times, in the years to
come. and something that viii be a
standard for all the charity fairs and
bazaars to come.
The plans for II began only about six
weeks ago, when the group Of society
natrons who have had charge Of the
Telegraph hill neighborhood house for
so many years decided that it was time
70 draw public notice to the work they
were doing. They thought it might be
well to interest the children-perhap
even to interest the debutantes. if they
could. The children proved manage
able. but 1t was truly amazing to see
how eagerly the debutantes took the
notion, how willingly the mammas
came to their aid, how the whole So
cial world went suddenly mad over
kimonos and obs, samisens and cherry
blossoms.
ARTISTS MAKE MAGIC SCENE
The city's most distinguished artists
wanted to lend a hand; the stage went
up by magic, and every incoming train
brought carloads of blossoms for the
fete. Rebearsals went on with zest,
and practicing, always a bore. was not
even once neglected.
- The result was that when hundreds
of the citys matrons, with hundreds
OF small citizens in tow arrived at the
Fasrmont yesterday afternoon. they
found the big Norman room a scene of
indescribabie beauty. All the great
lights, all the windows, and wherever
else there was the slightest excuse for
. placing cherry blossoms, the brilliant
pink flowers were massed. The stage
was screened in bamboo, the ices were
served IN a world Of swinging red Lam
terms and glowing red lights, and IN
one. corner stood a valentine tree, on
whose floating papers the smaH people
had the ineXpressible excitement Of
finding their own names This valen-
tine tree, by the way, was an oak that
stood before the fire on the .Crocker
property in California street, lately
given for a cathedral site.
LITTLE ONES WIN APPLAUSE
The curtain went up promptly at 9.
and for two hours a bewilderingly
lovely throng OF little Californians had
the stage The little mothers" In
their sober gray, with a coquettish
touch OF crimson, and their. big dolls
were applauded again and again.
In this little group were the small
Sherman sisters, DR.. Rixfords daugh-
ter Mary. the diminative Misses Strin-
ger and the two small Shreves. Then
came the tableau, the Chinese bride"
in which Miss Helen Cowles, in a man
DARN gown OF flame color and gold, sat
with her landmarks about her Her
cousin, Miss Katharine Magee, made a
delightful little tire woman, and Miss
Marie Louise Black kneIt before her
with a large fan. DR.. Philip King
Browns year old son. also kneeling,
completed this picture.
Tt was repeated twice, the last time
at the request OF some members OF the
Chinese diplomatic party. who occupied
front seats and paid interested stten-
ton to the entire program.
The butterfly dance and the pagoda
song were perhaps the daintiest num-
bers of the afternoon. although every
one was appreciated and the audi
ence's enthusiasm really delayed the
movement Of the program. Miss Pau
line Cook, who staggered with all the
dignity OF her 15 months into the lime
light cast her doll dramatically upon
the floor and stumbingly retired, was
considered a great histrionic success.
ELDERS TAKE STAGE
II the program Of the afternoon was
designed especially for children, and
claimed especially by them, the even
ing's entertainment IN which older
maids and men took part, would have
compared favorably with any profes-
sional affair for voices and finish, and
certainly eclipsed anything society ever
has had here for costumes and setting.
AS one perfectly staged picture fol-
lowed another the handclapping be-
cane enthusiastic. and the little rouged
cheeks behind the footl3ghts became
even a deeper carmine.
Miss Lillian Niggle sang the famous
mulberry song charmingly, and Miss
Maude Payne as Spring was an exqui-
site picture. Another single figure. set
against a background OF gray shoJi.
waE Miss Mary Keeney as q classic and