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Article: Celebrating the Rites of Spring
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 11, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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May Festival 1995, which took place Sunday afternoon in the 3700
block of Brandywine Street NW, could be called an outdoor concert of
folk music. But it also resembled a block party, a Renaissance fair
and a Druid fertility rite. It is a spinoff from the Washington
Revels, which take place in the Lisner Auditorium each year before
Christmas, and the undertone of its festivities is the changing of
the seasons, the constant struggle of one natural force against
another and the temporary triumph of summer over winter, life over
death.
"These are good spirits that we bring/To observe the ancient rites
of spring," intoned Mary Swope, organizer of the festival, in the
opening invocation. In fact, ...