May Bush festival the perfect boost for these uncertain times
IT’S THAT time of year again, when on May 1, summer officially begins in Ireland and many of us in Wexford will decorate our May Bushes with eggshells, flowers and ribbons to welcome the summer and ‘drive dull care away’.
However, never has there been a time when many of us need a lift and the good folks at the Wexford May Bush Festival are asking everyone in the county to embrace the festival this year with gusto.
Husband and wife duo Michael Fortune and Aileen Lambert from Curragraigue, Ballindaggin have been promoting our May folklore, traditions and customs countywide for the past 15 years and over the past number of years they have distributed hundreds of whitethorns as part of the festival. Michael says ‘most festivals and events have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis, however the charm of this festival is the fact that the May Bush is erected and decorated in people’s home, so it is a perfect match for our current situation’.
As in previous years, Aileen and Michael are encouraging people to take photos and videos of themselves with their May
Bush and submit them to the facebook page The Wexford May Bush Festival.
In conjunction with this, all editions of People Newspapers (Wexford People, New Ross Standard, Enniscorthy & Gorey Guardian) will feature a selection of these photos – so please make sure to get good quality images and send them in early to the Facebook page.
In addition they have devised a unique way to connect people due to the current lockdown and this year on May Day they are hosting an online event at 7pm on Friday May 1 using the online platform, Zoom.
This is part of a series they have been presenting as part of the Arts Department of Wexford County Council’s Bealtaine Programme and it will celebrate May Day with traditional music, song and dance from performers of all ages from across the county.
The broadcast will also include live streams of people actually decorating their May Bushes all around Wexford – a definite first for the May Bush tradition!
This online event represents an exciting development in the festival which was established as a community event to re-ignite the old tradition in our contemporary lives and has become a great example of a grass-roots, ground-up event throughout County Wexford.
‘The response and uptake to the May Bush planting idea was incredible and the seeds are now well planted for the survival of the May Bush tradition in County Wexford for generations to come,’ said Michael.
‘Putting up a May Bush is one of the easiest things to do. If you don’t have one planted, all you need to do is cut down a bough of a whitethorn or gorse, stake it up in a prominent place and decorate it with ribbons, egg shells and flowers.’
So with this, they are inviting all of Wexford, young and old, to embrace the idea and bring light and colour into our lives.
To join the Zoom May Day event, you need to login to Zoom on your phone, tablet or laptop and enter the Meeting ID (251 136 9092) and password which is available from aileenlambert@ gmail.com.
While to find out more about the festival please visit www. facebook.com/TheWexfordMayBushFestival.