MAY DAY FESTIVAL

[goosemods]

MAY DAY FESTIVAL

The festival is taking place in the gardens, of course, where several large maypoles have been erected. The ribbons are in the four house colors, and the nearby tables and chairs are decorated heavily with flowers and coloured streamers.

The celebration doesn't start until the May Queen, Ursula de Luca, is lead in on a horse. She's wearing a long, lacy white dress and has a large crown of flowers on her head. Her two attendants are Natalie Prince and Madison Ives, who are also dressed in white and are leading in the horse. Ursula sits on a throne covered in leaves and flowers, and is asked to make a speech about the new year.

Afterwards, it's the first dance! Traditionally, the May Queen picks a May King, but Gooseberry's not very traditional, so Ursula may pick whomever she likes for the first dance. After that, everyone joins in on the festivities!

Event Committee has spotted another opportunity to make some money off flowers. For one dragot, you can consult them and Mr. Hightower and receive a single flower with a hidden meaning. You can then give that symbolic flower to whomever you want!

HOW THIS WORKS

• Ursula de Luca is the May Queen, and last year it was Adeline Foster-Hayes.


• Earlier in the day, some students may choose to hang May Baskets off the cabins of their boyfriends, girlfriends or crushes.


• Event Committee is running another fundraiser. For one dragot, they'll help your character pick a flower off this list that holds a symbolic meaning. You can then give that flower to someone. There are freshmen available to anonymously deliver flowers if you're feeling shy.


• There are three Maypoles, and students volunteered to be part of the dance in earlier weeks to learn the steps. Luckily, they're very simple. Everyone participating in the dances wears white (a dress or slacks and a shirt) with a sash in a color/pattern of their choice. Many students opt to wear their house color.


• There's food, music and dancing that will last until sunset. At the end of the night, all Heads of House will walk their students back home and do another quick head count.

» MAY BASKETS: A wider tradition popular with North American wizards is to hang baskets of flowers off the doorknobs or windows of their boyfriends, girlfriends or crushes. As baskets aren't exactly all over the place at Gooseberry, students often substitute with plastic bags full of flowers, or solo cups full of flowers hung with string. If your character hung a basket off someone's doorknob or outside their window, post here saying so.

» QUEEN URSULA: Ursula is walked into the festival on the back of one of the school's horses. Once she's settled in on her leafy throne, she makes a speech, and selects someone to be her partner for the first dance of spring!

» MAYPOLE DANCE: Last month, students were asked to sign up for the Maypole dance. They were then taught how to perform this relatively simple dance, and told they needed to wear white with a colored sash around their waist. If your character signed up, please post here!

Name:
Sash Color/Pattern:
Anything else: How they danced, if they're into it, etc.

<b>Name:</b> <b>Sash Color/Pattern:</b> <b>Anything else:</b> How they danced, if they're into it, etc.

» MAKING FLOWER CROWNS: There's a generous station set aside for building flower crowns. If you can dream it, you can do it, through the power of magic and self-indulgent fantasy. Typically the flower crowns for girls have long ribbons streaming from behind them. Comment here if your character made a flower crown, and what it looks like.

» FLOWER SYMBOLISM WITH MR. HIGHTOWER: Is there something you want to say to someone that you can't find the words for? Maybe Mr. Hightower and Event Committee the answer. If your character would like to give someone a flower based on its meaning, post it here with this form!

Name:
Recipient:
Flower & Meaning: Choose from here.
Did they recruit a freshman to send it anonymously?:

<b>Name:</b> <b>Recipient:</b> <b>Flower & Meaning:</b> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_symbolism">Choose from here.</a> <b>Did they recruit a freshman to send it anonymously?:</b>

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Comments

MAY BASKETS

[goosemods]

Shithead » Other Shithead

[graysanatomyforkids]

Outside Rosy's window, Danny has left a solo cup full of new highlighters in various colors and one stem of aconite.

Phin -> Sofia

[phin]

It's not exactly a basket, but Phin braids together a bunch of white clover ("I promise") to make a bracelet for Sofia. He attempts to slip it on her wrist without her noticing.

Nisha » Archie

[godzillabutworse]

Nisha wastes a lot of time trying to figure out how to hang a potted orange orchid from the doorknob of the Ebonhide sophomore boys' cabin. Eventually, she gives up, climbs up onto the roof and hangs it from there, in a bucket. Which is probably not incredibly convenient. Whatever. Nailed it. There's an origami fox and an origami bear sitting together on the soil of the pot.

Pear » Spider Cole

[tartinedeflageolets]

A pitcher plant in a unicorn mug has been left outside the junior Ribbonfin boy's cabin because... Pear has no idea which window is Cole's. A small sign ("Please don't let it eat you!!") has been placed in the soil.

Jade ----> Junior Jays

[odder]

On every Jr Jay bed (if she couldn't get into the boys' door, they were left neatly on their windowsills,) Jade leaves an extremely delicate little paper basket filled up with jelly beans and an inexplicable sprig of asphodel (my regrets follow you to your grave). If they're brave, they'll eat them anyway.

QUEEN URSULA

[goosemods]

THE QUEEN'S SPEECH, ETC!

[cecaelian]

A day to feel like a real princess? Ursula's been looking forward to this for some time, though always with a small bit of apprehension about riding atop an actual horse. Of course, it's all worrying for naught and Mr. Thorn matches her with the school's most gentle tempered horse for the event. Look! She's on a horse! And not falling off! She slips a bloom from her crown into the horse's mane as a thank you. (And thank you for frightening those freshmen last year, Rosy!)

Before they make their entrance, she proudly asides to Madison and Tally about what a pretty Ribbonfin procession they make. And then she's sitting tall and beaming, with none of her usual put on airs.

Ursula loves to hear herself talk, but she thankfully keeps her speech short today. She admits that she was miserable when her mother told her she was being sent off to camping school, but talks sincerely and passionately about how the school has become a home, and how that wouldn't be possible without all the bright, talented, wonderful and weird students that call it home as well. She says that she's sad that she only has a couple months left at Gooseberry herself, but she knows she's leaving the school behind in good hands and that there is a bright future for everyone here today. While most of the speech is kept light, she does take a moment to compliment the student body on its bravery and resilience when called upon.

When it comes time to select a partner for the first dance, she catches Ferdie's eye and smiles at him fondly, but hopes that he and Addy won't begrudge her a first dance with Nia. "Spring's a time to celebrate life, and who better to help than my beautiful co-crab parent? Crabent?" she calls out as she extends her arms towards the other girl. She's feeling giddy, and plans to dance until she's exhausted. Anyone who wants a dance gets one!

MAYPOLE DANCE

[goosemods]

Riley Mae

[riledup]

Name: Riley Stamper
Sash Color/Pattern: Pink with glitter hearts. It's so fucking tacky.
Anything else: Riley skips and waves her arms around to draw everyone's eye to her. Look at her and her pink sash!! Isn't she beautiful???.

Georgie

[wholegrain]

Name: Georgie Mills
Sash Color/Pattern: Burlap
Anything else: Georgie dances to her own beat. It's cute, sure, but could you try doing the actual dance honey?

January

[holdmyearrings]

Name: January James
Sash Color/Pattern: Purple sequins
Anything else: Apparently skin tight dresses cut down to your naval aren't appropriate for May Day and January gets substituted by a confused looking freshman at the last moment.

Madison

[cupquake]

Name: Madison Ives
Sash Color/Pattern: White lace. Boring, but pretty.
Anything else: Mads is in a good mood. c:

Pan

[pandoral]

Name: Pandora Lacey
Sash Color/Pattern: A transfigured first place ribbon from Math Camp last summer. It's blue!!
Anything else: It's sort of more... stomping around than dancing.

Nia

[heyitsnia]

Name: Nia Papadakis
Sash Color/Pattern: Purple Brocade, same as last year
Anything else: There's a lot more bouncing than this dance actually calls for. She's having a blast.

London

[beansontoast]

Name: London
Sash Color/Pattern: Pink and blue with a little gold
Anything else: She's so into it and she's totally hamming it up. Look how pretty she is!!! Doesn't she look like the BEST prom duchess?

Chloe

[cmdrchloe]

Name: Chloe
Sash Color/Pattern: Blue and green with silver threads running through it
Anything else: A little shy at first, but she gets over it.

Liberty

[ghostbluster]

Name: Liberty
Sash Color/Pattern: Yellow brocade
Anything else: She's happy to participate, but she's a little robotic, like she focused to much on memorizing the steps precisely

Addy

[addytives]

Name: Addy Foster-Hayes
Sash Color/Pattern: It's a darker blue silk this year. She'll joke it's her dowager sash?
Anything else: She's an ex-May Queen and she's way into this. She absolutely dances and gets distracted and with any luck won't pull the may pole down.

Fern

[nothalfplaid]

Name: Fern
Sash Color/Pattern: Red and green plaid
Anything else: Too cool for school, but still participating

Essie!!!

[magitechnically]

Name: Essie Morales-Tran
Sash Color/Pattern: Blue with little birds charmed to hop around.
Anything else: Essie is dressed for twirling and will take every chance she gets to do it.

Hazel

[lilwitchhazel]

Name: Hazel Keating
Sash Color/Pattern: Orange and floral!
Anything else: An enthusiastic dancer!! She does mostly follow what she's supposed to, even!

MAKING FLOWER CROWNS

[goosemods]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CASH

[bitterlysweet]

Spencer interrupts the festivities and mounds of flowers to try and get as many people as possible to sing Happy Birthday at Cash as he carries in a cake. He's convinced at least a dozen freshman to join in on this weak birthday flash mob.

On the cake is written CASH'S CAKE NO SHARING. It's not the prettiest pastry out there, but Spencer's cooking skills don't extend to decorations, okay???

FLOWER SYMBOLISM WITH MR. HIGHTOWER

[goosemods]

Lucas ➳ Bash

[bubblewrapped]

Name: Lucas Kowalski
Recipient: Bash Lacroix
Flower & Meaning: Lucas buys a whole bunch of bright blue Forget-Me-Nots (true love) and wanders off to a hidden spot for a bit. With a lot of careful trial and error, he eventually manages to weave them together kind of like this into a bracelet of sorts. And then has a much easier time applying charms for resiliency and preservation.
Did they recruit a freshman to send it anonymously?: Lucas spends a good bit of time agonizing over whether he should send this via freshman, because it's kind of embarrassing. But, ultimately, in his pursuit of having no shame, he hand delivers the bracelet to Bash. Something Azurcrest-colored to go along with all his other friendship bracelets.

OOC 🌺 QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

[goosemods]

Re: OOC 🌺 QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

[bubblewrapped]

Scream I'm so excited this was legitimately one of my favorite year 1 ic/oocs!!!!