Evening star., 1934-04-08
CHILDREN TO GIVE
: SPRING FESTIVAL
Meighborhood House Spon'
i4 sors 32d Annual Event
Next Month.

Down at Neighborhood House, the
settlement at 470 H street southwest,
which serves the whole of Southwest
Washington, scissors are shipping.
needles are flying and patterns are be-
ing gravely studied as little fingers
work on the costumes for the big
Spring festival which takes place the
first week in next month. For the
Spring festival is the event OF the
year at Neighborhood House and the
200 to 300 children who take part
make plans far in advance.
This annual festival, which will
have its thirty-second showing next
month, has become an institution in
Washington. People from all parts
of Washington take an interest in
the plans for the festival and aid in
. many ways. Mrs. Charles j. Bell. for
instance, always furnishes the flowers
T for the queen and her court and re-
gardless of whether Mrs. Bell is in
! the city the flowers are always forth
coming. For % years the late Mrs.
Julian James, who never missed
festival in that time. furnished flow
ers for the house at festival time.
: And the United States Marine Band
plays each year for the final pageant
and the march because when Maj.
Gen. George Barnett was COM
nandant of the Marine Corps, Mrs.
Barnett obtained the services of the
: band and it has continued to play
, each year since. incidentally Mrs.
Barnett never misses festival. There
are dozens of other cases where people
have taken certain interests In tie
festival year after year.
Beginning of Festival.
Like many similar events, the festi-
val had very small start. Thirty
. two years ago Miss Clara Van Trump
had charge of the Wednesday After
noon Girls Club at Neighborhood
House She received an appeal from
a little mission kindergarten in Chi
cago asking for help and explaining
it would have to close unless outside
help we're received. One of the girls
proposed to give bazaar and send
the proceeds to that mission and thus
was born the festival idea. The first
one it might be noted, netted only
SILL, which was duly forwarded to
the mission. The next year brought
$40 to the treasury and this was gwen
to aid a new playground in another
part of the city. The third year raised
$3.50 for a kindergarten temporarily
left on the hands of Neighborhood
House until it was taken over py the
Mount Vernon Seminary Society.
The fourth year the class tried for
badly needed gymnasium at Neigh
borhood House but failed and the
funds we're turned over for the Sum-
f1er work by the settlement. For 20
years before the Community Chest
assumed financial responsibility for
: Neighborhood House. the vacation
activities" we're financed by the Spring
festival.
Members at Present.
Some of the members of that first
class are still enrolled in Neighbor-
hood House clubs. Some of tfem
have seen their children and their
grandchildren join one or more of the
activities sponsored by the settlement
The Mothers Club, which cooks and
serves the suppers for the three nights
of the festival and which makes the
cakes and candies which are on sale
during the event. contains four char
ter members and they take a real
pride in their work and in .hes fact
that they are charter members of the
club. /
There are plays and folk dances by
the youngsters of the various clubs
and the eliminating feature is the