The Feast Time: School Day & a Surprise

After anticipating The Feast of the Hunters' Moon for months and working "sew" hard to prepare, it finally happened. There's so much to share, I think the best thing to do is to break it down into a couple of blog entries. 

Today's is about Friday, the day teachers are invited to bring their classes out before the Feast officially opens. Participants are still setting up for Saturday and Sunday, but many volunteer to set up early, dress in their period clothing, and interpret the history of the time period for the students.

I volunteered to work Registration that day and got to see Teacher Daughter Lisa arrive with her class.

While there had been a lot of rain the previous week, the grounds weren't too muddy. The Wabash, however, had climbed its banks a bit and was very silty. Would it be dangerous when the French Voyageurs arrived on Saturday?

A man interpreting the French Voyageur life speaks to a class alongside his canoe.

Another French Voyageur who isn't presenting and is still setting up his site for the weekend.

Mary Bush, a member of the Potawatomi Nation who taught hoop games to the children. She's also representing her nation in the Miss Indian World pageant at the Gathering of Nations Powwow later this year.

After I finished working my shift at Registration, I met Leslie at the blockhouse and worked as her assistant the rest of the day. Lisa joined us for about fifteen minutes and Leslie gave us our instructions for the next day. 

We would be walking behind her in the procession of the militias and indigenous peoples as part of the opening and closing ceremonies. We needed to know where to stand when the march arrived at the blockhouse, when to give her her script, and when to take that script back before the procession marched away and the event officially began.

She also dropped some news that made us a little nervous - Yannick Tagand, Consul General of France, was coming down from Chicago to join us and would also be speaking. (Photo from Consulat General de France a Chicago.)

He would be standing with us during the opening and closing ceremonies. 

Alrighty, then! Take a deep breath, right?