Evening star., 1909-05-16
SAY FLORAL FESTIVAL
IS JUST THE THING
Carnival Project Receives
Warm Endorsement of All
PubIic-Spirited Citizens.
CAPITAL THE IDEAL CITY
FOR BATTLE OF ROSES
Opportunities Here for Beauty Show
Ahead Of Other Cities.
BUSINESS MEN PLEDGE SUPPORT
Success of Similar Fetes in California
Pointed Outflow It Is Done in
Pasadena Once Every Year.

Pasadena Once Every Year.
Ii every well-wisher of the floral
fete that Washington is going to
have on Potomac Park driveway
should get into the parade, the
long line Of roses and beauty will
extend around the driveway and
up into the city for miles.
The idea of the festival was
born yesterday in the columns of
The Evening Star, and before it
was many hours old it was easy
to be seen that it was going to be
favorite child, and very beau-
tiful one, too. Everybody wants
to have a chance to do something
for it, and everybody who can
wants to take part in that great
romp of roses.
It will be great. Think of the
fun that everybody in Washing
ton will have. 1t will be some
thing that none of us will ever for
get-until next year, when we
will have even a better one.
There will be flowers galore, and
pretty girls to throw roses to,
perhaps; bands and music Of all
kinds. There will be more than
ten thousand things to look at and
admire. There will be great big
floats with all kinds of allegories
enacted in flowers, and girls and
boys upon their broad platforms.
There will be striving for prizes
and the keen competition for first
place.
It's going to be fine, and it's
just the thing that everybody has
been longing for.
What the Fete Really Is.
A Washington man. who is 30 enthusi-
astic over the prospect of a floral festival
for the city that he declares positively he
will enter six teams in the procession of
|rose-decked traps, automobiles and floats,
remembers very distinctly tournament
Of roses a veritable battle of beauty, In
which the grandeur of California noun
tains was pitted against the softer beauty
Of million flowers in Pasadena, Cal.
"And." he asks. what reason is there
that Washington cannot boast yearly
fete Of this sort?'
To judge from the intense enthusiasm
that meets the idea of festival there
will be no difficulty.
But just to show Washington what a
floral fete can be. this recollection Of the
and white and yellow roses of the gardens
vYing with the real roseS-that is. the
pretty women of the fete-ought to be
told perhaps to those who have not seen
anything of the kind. In order that a
faint idea Of what Washington can do
may be gained.
In the first place, the pageant was
two, or perhaps three. miles long. and
was made up almost entirely Of flowers.
Scarcely a wheel or carriage body
was seen, SO completely were they all
covered. Horses were animated heaps
Of roses. Not only were there private
carriages and motor cars In the long
parade. but there were great floats, rep
resenting organizations Of all kinds.
from the schools to the city itself AS
the city has been holding a fete every
year since 1889, there have been de-
veloped some real geniuses In the deco
rative line, and the floats were just
the chances they wanted to spread them
selves out on.
The high school always gets into the
parade with a float that the whole city
watches for. It is arranged, designed
and decorated by the students. Every
into the spirit of the fete and works hard
to make the float the best in the whole
parade.
All Dressed in White.
They do not stop at flowers, either.
for there is nothing that lends itself to
the carnival spirit more gayly and easily
as fancy costumes. Beside some Of the
carriages swathed in thousands OF roses,
walked guards Of honor, or whatever
they were called, dressed in the giddiest
and prettiest Of court costumes. White
was the prevailing color of the clothing
worn, and the big fluffy hats of the
women, and their big white parasols,
added not little to the beauty of the
day.
And people came to see that parade and
the games that were held afterward
from every town in that section. One
trolley road alone brought 10000 persons
to the city. Very nearly every little sub
urb had its own particular float in the
parade-just think of the rivalry of it all,
Nothing has been said in Washington
OF anything except floral fete, which
means a pageant, WITH lue MdrQl GraS
| spirit and great banks of flowers, but
a hint of what could also be done might
not be out of place. For instance, Pasa-
dena winds up its great day with polo
games and a game of push ball, and, as
| a grand climax, has a real chariot race,
as real as any that was ever held when
chariots were cutting the ruts into the
stone of the Roman Appian Way. The
games and the races make up the second
part of the tournament or pageant, and
the rose parade, made UP of the carriages
| and floats representing private individ-
uals, societies. etc. would make the day
| splendid enough by itself.
The Very Thing Wanted
| There are a great many people talking
about the floral festival for Washington
If their talk is any indication there will
be an overwhelming desire to take part
| in it. D. J. Kaufman, member of the
board of directors of the Chamber OF
Commerce. was shown The Star yester-
| day, and when he had read the first col
umn OF the festival story he laid the
1 paper down. with an expression that al
| most said he had come across the very
| thing he had been looking for. and said:
Its splendid
Did you ever see a floral fete?"
mo, but l know what one is, and l