May 30, 11 AM - 530 PM
Resh et Sorores Anchorage based dance troupe, invites you to join us for a very special celebration of the goddess Flora and the many blessings of Spring!
The Floralia is a festival in honor Flora, one of the most ancient goddesses of Roman tradition and one of only fifteen deities to have her own state-supported high priest, the flamen Florialis. She is a goddess of flowers, vegetation, fertility and of the season of Spring which gives her particular importance as the vegetation begins to stir after a long Winter’s sleep.
The festival, historically commencing April 28 and lasting for 6 days, had a licentious, pleasure-seeking atmosphere and included games, bawdy theatre performances, nudity, drinking and dancing. The Romans, who usually wore white for their festival occasions opted for bright, colorful clothing in keeping with the floral atmosphere of the season. In addition to enjoying the entertainments, they also walked about with bouquets or wore wreaths of flowers and scattered lupine, bean and vetch blossoms as they wandered the streets.
On May 30th (timing adjusted for Alaska's seasonal cycles), we will be honoring Flora with our own 6-hour festival of joy & dance!
DETAILS (PLEASE READ):
Beginning at 11 AM we will gather as community to rejoice, shake loose our frozen bones & revel in the return of Spring!
Every hour, upon the hour, we will take pause from our merry-making and present offerings - reciting beautiful hymns or presenting personal gifts of art, dance or song created in honour of Flora.
For our closing ceremony, we gather in circle to read the Arcadian Hymn. This is a much cherished, cozy and intimate portion of the event.
After closing we will have clean up and goodbyes. We welcome clean up volunteers!
Dancing is encouraged, but not required!
We suggest that you dress comfortably and colorfully, perhaps taking inspiration from one of your favorite plants.
You may come and go as you wish — it is not necessary that you remain for the entire duration.
We welcome and encourage guests who have talents or skills they wish to share with others to come prepared to do so in an informal manner -- past events have featured ornamental clothing, jewelry, henna body art and divination.
We ask that guests, if able, bring flowers for the shrine as an offering to the goddess. See special notes below for more information about the floral procession*
Please bring beverages and/or light snacks to share if you can
Donations at the shrine support the future of Floralia.
SPECIAL NOTES
While we have a large collection of poetry for attendees wishing to do a reading, guests are welcome to bring personal offerings (in the form of original poetry, dance, song & artworks) to be presented during the Floralia. If you wish to offer a personal gift to Flora, please message momafauna@gmail.com to make sure we can accommodate you in the program.
* The floral offerings will be taken by procession on the following day (Sunday) to the traditional sacred offering site. We will establish a time for this gathering during the closing ceremony on Saturday. Please enquire if you wish to participate in the offering procession but cannot be present at Floralia's closing.
“Spring is here! When we shimmy we create vibrations by literally pushing on the earth. Shimmy with me… and see what grows!” ~ Delilah Flynn