Evening star., 1938-05-07
FOLKLORE OF j. s.
REVIEWED IN FETE
S.Day Festival Opens With
CoIorfuI Program of
Songs and Dances.

Hall yesterday afternoon before a ca
pacity audience composed almost en-
tirely OF children.
From the Indians. reSplendent in
beads and bright feathers, to the
cowboys in boots and chaps the pro-
gram was brilliant with the pagentry,
the chants and the dances that repre-
ent the traditions of every section
Of the country.
The festival Will continue through
tomorrow with afternoon and evening
performances daily and a complete
change of program at each presenta-
ton. Sponsored by the Washington
Post. and directed by Sarah Gertrude
Knott. originator Of the idea, the folk
festival Is being presented for the first
time in the East.
The afternoon program yesterday
opened with Indian dances by the
Kiowa Indian Tribe of Anardarkos,
Okla. The braves and indian msidens
went throusht the intricacy Of slow
and fast war dances. the ceremony
dove dance OF the Blackfeet tribe Of
Montana. the feather dance OF the
Navahos tribe of New Mexico and a
corn festival cycle that is universal
. with all tribes.
Youths Rival Elders.
Two tiny Indian boys, hardly older
than papooses, did dance duet that
rivaled their elders in perfection
With tongues stuck out in concen-
foe
bobbing. the youngsters. Harry Old
person and Joe Butterfly. went through
their complicated routine to the ac-
compartment of COOS and abs from
the younger assemblage
Another youngster. Lupita Garcia,
3. nearly stole the show in the Span
fish and Mexican presentation which
followed. when she danced the El
Jarabe. courting dance and national
dance OF Mexico, with Hector List,
who lowered beside the tiny figure.
With coy glances and intricate steps,
she completely bewitched her COM
panion who finally threw down his
sombrero as a sign that all he had
was hers.
sented by a group from Our Lady
Of Guadalupe Center, Kansas City,
Mo. Most impressive was the can
delight procession which opened the
presentation. Singing as they walked
j.. down the aisle to the stage. the group
Interpreted Las PoSadas. a religious
ceremony signifying the search OF the
Holy Pair for shelter. The ceremony
ends in rejoicing with the breaking
OF the Pinata. paper cornucopia
Fruit and candy burst from the
Pinata and the group rushed to gather
1t. Little Lupita availed herself of
the opportunity to pick up the fruit,
and as the show continued she could
be heard surgling happily as she
crammed down the candy and took
frequent bites of the apples.
Blind Girl Performs.
Miss EuRenia Davis of Charleston,
w. Va. who has been blind since
youth. presented a program of folk
songs she learned from her grand
fathers. who fought in the Civil War
She accompanied herself on an auto
harp
Three types of music followed,
spring music. played by Southern.
highlanders: traditional hymn tunes
sung by Kentucky mountain folk. anu
spirituals and camp meeting songs
by a colored group from Salisbury.
Md.
In the most strenuous session OF
the entire program a group from the
North Carolina mountains revealed
the ancestry Of the Big Apple. They
called 1t a square dance. but the
strut was there and the weaving in
and out. Instead of swing music, the
fiddlers played She'll Be Coming
Round the Mountain" Instead of
the "Suzy-Q" and the Swing High.
Swing Low" there was the Ocean
Wave" the "Shoo Fly SWING" aud
the Georgia Rang Tang" but II ali
looked very similar. So hsctic Mas
the pace that one OF the girls col
lapsed upon leaving the stage and
had to be revived.
What looked very much like the
Virginia Reel" but was known as
. singing game" occupied the atten-
tion Of the next performers, who hail
Al from the Tennessee mountains. The
dancing. with the girls in long check
ed gingham dresses, was less torrid
than the previous entertainment and
more graceful. Even the square dance
was toned down. Most unusual were
, the calls Of the leader, who told his
dancers Chase the rabbit. chase the
squirrel, chase that pretty girl around
the world and Wave the ocean,
wave the sea, wave that pretty girl
back to me-"
different type OF negro singing
from the spirituals was presented by
. group from the railroad camps of
Florida. They sang Of their work and
their lady loves as they made the
gestures Of swinging sledges and
locking the railroad ties.
Capt. Pearl Nye Of Akron, Ohio.
one of the last Of the canal men,
, told in song the tale of the glory once
found in the waterways which con-
tributed to the development Of Ohio.
The old canal days were the theme
Of his two songs, The Raging Canal"
and THE Old Skipper"
A cheer that rocked the hall went
up as the cowboys and their ladies
entered the hall The youngsters
gasped with enthusiasm when the
cowboys. group from Anson. Texas,
sang The Cowboys Christmas Ball."
. festival native to Anson and drama
tiled by Larry Chittenden in a poem
Of the same name. More square dances
followed the songs. but here again.
the steps and the figures were unique.
The cowboys. in their high-heeled
boots and bright satin shirts and the
girls In dainty old-fashioned dresses,
went through polkas. New Shoe
Dance" Heel and Toe Dance" and
the grand march to the accompani-
ment of never ceasing cheers and
A.. applause from the audience.
The hardy spirit Of the lumber jacks
was personified in Perry Allen, 80