Reservist from 38 Brigade Group’s Influence Activities Company conducts patrols and executes key leader engagements in the fictional village of Bayan during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 19 at 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright on May 11th, 2019.

 

Image By: Private Jordyn Anderson

 

Garrison Wainwright Imaging

 

WT07-2019-0013-0011

Our universe is spinning.

 

If the little gyroscope inside the spinning sphere were instead, to orbit a spinning "point" with mass M in a polar orbit with a radius R, through symmetry, one would expect the little gyroscope to precess in a similar manner.

 

Might this be considered an example of "frame dragging"?

 

Classical Newtonian physics predicts that an observer in a gyroscope-stabilized satellite in a polar orbit around the Earth should see the positions of distant stars remain fixed in space.

 

But General Relativity predicts "frame dragging". It predicts that the observer in the satellite would see the distant stars revolving slowly around him in a direction opposite to the rotation of the Earth.

  

Helsinki is famous for its numerous Art Nouveau (Jugend in Finnish) influenced buildings of the romantic nationalism, designed in the early 1900s and strongly influenced by the Kalevala, which is a very popular theme in the national romantic art of that era. Helsinki's Art Nouveau style is also featured in large residential areas.

 

Here, at Kasarmintori sq:

Left: "Lääkäreiden talo", built in 1901.

Center: Built in 1901.

Right: "Torilinna", built in 1906.

 

Wikipedia

www.mybesthelsinki.com/HelsinkiArchitecture/Kasarmitori_B...

Cast of Influence with Sam Coward and David & Kristen Williamson

2013 Fashion Royalty Convention - This is the skirt influenced by the Karla Špetic design found by my clever friend Stacy. See next photo.

An uncle and his nephew

In Scotland for the first time, The Influence Machine is an immersive outdoor sculptural experience by American artist Tony Oursler.

 

From 23-26 November 2016, 7pm - 9pm, you can freely wander through George Square Gardens encountering characters projected on trees, smoke and mist; ghostly presences, shadowy figures, and eerie sounds.

 

The Influence Machine uses state-of-the-art digital projection techniques to capture the haunting atmosphere of magic lanterns, Victorian light shows, camera obscura and parlour tricks.

 

Weird and wonderful.

Donald Trump unveils child-care policy influenced by Ivanka Trump

 

By Sean Sullivan and Robert Costa

 

ASTON, Pa. — Donald Trump, in softer tones than he normally uses, on Tuesday unveiled several policy proposals for lowering child-care costs that were crafted in part by his eldest daughter, Ivanka, including a plan to guarantee six weeks of paid maternity leave that marks a striking departure from GOP orthodoxy.

 

Conservative Republicans, in particular, have long seen a mandated expansion of the social safety net as anathema to their attempts to shrink government spending and give companies more control over their leave policies.

 

In a speech here, the Republican presidential nominee proposed ensuring six weeks of paid maternity leave to mothers who do not already receive leave from their employer.

 

"We need working mothers to be fairly compensated for their work, and to have access to affordable, quality child care for their kids," said Trump, who appeared determined to show off a more sensitive side than most are accustomed to seeing from him. He used a subdued delivery that contrasted with his tendency at larger rallies to raise his voice. After his speech, he held up a baby in the crowd.

 

Campaign officials said the maternity leave program wouldn't cost taxpayers anything more; instead, it would be financed through savings achieved by eliminating fraud in the unemployment insurance program. The plan would apply to mothers and would not be transferable to fathers.

 

Trump also laid out specific plans for enabling parents to deduct the cost of child-care expenses from their income taxes. Trump first mentioned allowing parents to “fully deduct” expenses last month when he announced his economic agenda in Detroit. Some of these expenses are already deductible under the law.

 

A fact sheet released by the Trump campaign proposed to "rewrite the tax code to allow working parents to deduct from their income taxes child care expenses for up to four children and elderly dependents.”

 

That deduction would be capped at the “average cost of care” in the state of residence, and it would not be available to individuals earning more than $250,000 or a couple earning more than $500,000.

 

[Wonkblog: The big difference between Donald Trump's and Hillary Clinton's child-care plans]

 

Ivanka Trump introduced her father here in Aston, marking her formal return to the campaign trail weeks after she introduced him at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July. The 34-year-old is a high-ranking executive at the Trump Organization and the mother of three young children. Her husband, investor Jared Kushner, has become an influential adviser to his father-in-law.

 

She said that she was "grateful" for the means to raise her three children and also pursue a career. Many women don't have that luxury, she added.

 

"This must change. As a society we need to create policies that champion all parents, enabling the American family to thrive," said Ivanka Trump.

 

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has proposed guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid family leave. Responding to Trump's maternity leave proposal, Clinton's senior adviser for policy Maya Harris said that by focusing solely on leave policies that benefit women, Trump may actually be hurting their cause, contributing to the attrition of women from the workplace after childbirth and the gender pay gap.

 

"We’re not living in a 'Mad Men' era anymore where only women are taking care of infants," Harris said. "It's just completely unserious."

 

At the start of his speech, Trump was joined onstage by several women Republican members of Congress.

 

"This is a family issue," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). "We know men always want more money. What do women want? More time. And we are thrilled to finally have a president of the United States who is going to put the focus on working with women to make certain you can achieve your American dream."

 

Trump thanked Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), the fourth-ranking Republican in the U.S. House.

 

Also included in Trump's Tuesday’s proposals: additional spending rebates through the Earned Income Tax Credit, expanded deduction opportunities for stay-at-home parents, and revised federal savings accounts to set aside funds for child development and educational needs.

 

Before Trump gave his speech, he participated in a more intimate roundtable discussion.

 

According to Trump aides, Ivanka Trump has encouraged her father for weeks to detail policies that would appeal to parents who feel overburdened or underserved by existing programs, following up on the theme that coursed through her remarks at the convention.

 

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who has grown close with Ivanka, also played a role in making child-care policy a priority, with an eye toward winning over female voters in places such as the vote-rich Philadelphia suburbs, the aides said.

 

Trump won some of his loudest applause lines when he mentioned Clinton's recent comment that half of his supporters are a "basket of deplorables."

 

"While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you, hard-working American Patriots who love your country," said Trump.

 

Costa reported from Washington. Abby Phillip contributed.

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert (1506 – 9 June 1563), English statesman, son of William Paget, one of the serjeants-at-mace of the city of London, was born in Staffordshire in 1506, and was educated at St Paul's School, and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, proceeding afterwards to the university of Paris.[1] Probably through the influence of Stephen Gardiner, who had early befriended Paget, he was employed by Henry VIII in several important diplomatic missions; in 1532 he was appointed Clerk of the Signet and soon afterwards of the privy council. He became secretary to Queen Anne of Cleves in 1539, and in 1543 he was sworn of the privy council and appointed secretary of state, in which position Henry VIII in his later years relied much on his advice, appointing him one of the council to act during the minority of Edward VI.

 

Paget at first vigorously supported the protector Somerset, while counselling a moderation which Somerset did not always observe. In 1547 he was made comptroller of the king's household, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and a knight of the Garter; and in 1549 he was summoned by writ to the House of Lords as Baron Paget de Beaudesert. About the same time he obtained extensive grants of lands, including Cannock Chase and Burton Abbey in Staffordshire, and in London the residence of the bishops of Exeter, afterwards known successively as Lincoln House and Essex House, on the site now occupied by the Outer Temple in the London. He obtained Beaudesert in Staffordshire, which remained the chief seat of the Paget family.

 

Paget shared Somerset's disgrace, being committed to the Tower in 1551 and degraded from the Order of the Garter in the following year, besides suffering a heavy fine by the Star Chamber for having profited at the expense of the Crown in his administration of the duchy of Lancaster. He was, however, restored to the king's favour in 1553, and was one of the twenty-six peers who signed Edward's settlement of the crown on Lady Jane Grey in June of that year. He made his peace with Queen Mary, who reinstated him as a knight of the Garter and in the privy council in 1553, and appointed him Lord Privy Seal in 1556. On the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558 Paget retired from public life.

 

By his wife Anne Preston he had four sons, the two eldest of whom, Henry (d. 1568) and Thomas, succeeded in turn to the peerage. The youngest son, Charles Paget (d. 1612, Weston-on-Trent), was a well-known Catholic conspirator against Queen Elizabeth, in the position of secretary to Archbishop James Beaton, the ambassador of Mary Queen of Scots in Paris; although at times he also played the part of a spy and forwarded information to Walsingham and William Cecil.

 

Thomas, 3rd Baron Paget of Beaudesert (c. 1540-1589), a zealous Roman Catholic, was-suspected of complicity in Charles's plots and was attainted in 1587. The peerage was restored in 1604 to his son William 4th Lord Paget]] (1572-1629), whose son William, the 5th lord (1609-1678), fought for Charles I at the Battle of Edgehill. William, the 6th lord (1637-1713), a supporter of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, was ambassador at Vienna from 1689 to 1693, and later at Constantinople, having much to do with bringing about the important treaty of Carlowitz in 1699.

 

Henry, the 7th baron (c.1665-1743), was raised to the peerage during his father's lifetime as Baron Burton in 1712, being one of the twelve peers created by the Tory ministry to secure a majority in the House of Lords, and was created Earl of Uxbridge in 1714. His only son, Thomas Catesby Paget, the author of an Essay on Human Life (1735) and other writings, died in January 1742 before his father, leaving a son Henry (1719-1769), who became 2nd earl of Uxbridge.

 

At the latter's death the earldom of Uxbridge and barony of Burton became extinct, the older barony of Paget of Beaudesert passing to his cousin Henry Bayly (1744-1812), heir general of the first baron, who in 1784 was created earl of Uxbridge. His second son, Sir Arthur Paget (1771-1840), was an eminent diplomat during the Napoleonic wars, Sir Edward Paget (1775-1849), the fourth son, served under Sir John Moore in the Peninsula, and was afterwards second in command under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; the fifth, Sir Charles Paget (1778-1839), served with distinction in the navy, and rose to the rank of vice-admiral. The eldest son Henry William, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge (1768-1854), was in 1815 created Marquess of Anglesey.

I shot a street lamp which trapped a sunbeam. really liked that photo; it seemed the lamp is lit but not because of electricity. Then I took a few more such street lamps and these pictures also appealed to me. Finally, when I saw this Chanukah menorah it was quite clear that it is impossible not to to take its picture. The same goes for comments of people who have seen my photographs. Positive comments encouraged me to shoot more of the same. Negative comments caused me to reject photos which I could have taken before I took them.

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השפעות - משוב חיובי

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צילמתי מנורת רחוב שקרן שמש נלכדה בתוכה. הצילום מאד מצא חן בעיניי, כי נראה היה שהמנורה דולקת אבל לא בגלל החשמל. אחר כך צילמתי עוד כמה מנורות רחוב שכאלה וגם הצילומים האלה מאד מצאו חן בעיני. לבסוף, כשראיתי את החנוכייה הזאת כבר היה לגמרי ברור שאי אפשר שלא לצלם אותה. וכך גם לגבי תגובות של אנשים שראו את הצילומים שלי. תגובות חיוביות עודדו אותי לצלם עוד מאותו הדבר. תגובות שליליות גרמו לי לפסול צילומים שיכולתי לצלם עוד לפני שצילמתי אותם

St Ethelbert, Hessett, Suffolk

 

Hessett is a fairly ordinary kind of village to the east of Bury St Edmunds, but its church is one of the most important in East Anglia for a number of reasons, which will become obvious. Consider for one moment, if you will, the extent to which the beliefs and practices of a religious community affect the architecture of its buildings. Think of a mosque, for instance. Often square, expressing the democracy of Islam, but without any imagery of the human figure, for such things are proscribed. Think of a synagogue, focused towards the Holy Scriptures in the Ark, but designed to enable the proclaiming of the Word, and the way that early non-conformist chapels echo this architecture of Judaism - indeed, those who built the first free churches, like Ipswich's Unitarian Chapel, actually called them synagogues.

 

The shape of a church, then, is no accident. A typical Suffolk perpendicular church of the 15th century has wide aisles, to enable liturgical processions, a chancel for the celebration of Mass, places for other altars, niches for devotional statues, a focus towards the Blessed Sacrament in the east, a roof of angels to proclaim a hymn of praise, a large nave for devotional and social activities, and wall paintings of the Gospels and hagiographies of Saints, of the catechism and teachings of the Catholic Church. As Le Corbusier might have said if he'd been around at the time, a medieval church is a machine for making Catholicism happen.

 

No longer, of course. The radical and violent fracture in popular religion in the middle years of the 16th century gave birth to the Church of England, and the new church inherited buildings that were quite unsuitable for the new congregational protestant theology, a problem that the Church of England has never entirely solved.

 

Over the centuries, the problem has been addressed in different ways. The early reformers celebrated communion at a table in the nave, for example, and blocked off the chancel for other uses. Although this was challenged by the Laudian party in the early part of the 17th century, it was the way that many parishes reinvented their buildings, and most were to stay like that until the middle years of the 19th century. Some went further. A pulpit placed halfway down the nave, or even at the back of the church, meant that the seating could be arranged so that it no longer focused towards the east, thus breaking the link with Catholic (and Laudian) sacramentalism. For several centuries, Anglican churches focused on the pulpit rather than the altar.

 

With the coming to influence of the 19th century Oxford Movement, all this underwent another dramatic change, with the great majority of our medieval parish churches having their interiors restored to their medieval integrity, reinventing themselves as sacramental spaces. This is the condition in which we find most of them today, and some Anglican theologians are asking the question that the Catholic Church asked itself at Vatican II in the 1960s - is a 19th century liturgical space really appropriate for the Church of the 21st century?

 

So, let us hasten at once to Hessett. The church sits like a glowing jewel in its wide churchyard, right on the main road through the village. It is pretty well perfect if you are looking for a fine Suffolk exterior. An extensive 15th century rebuilding enwraps the earlier tower, which was crowned by the donor of the rebuilding, John Bacon.The nave and aisles are deliciously decorated, reminding one rather of the church at neighbouring Rougham, although this is a smaller church, and the aisles make it almost square. A dedicatory inscription on the two storey vestry in the north east corner bids us pray for the souls of John and Katherine Hoo, who donated the chancel and paid for the trimmings to the aisles. Their inscription has been damaged by protestant reformers, who obviously did not believe in the efficacy of prayers for the dead.

 

Although not comparable with that at Woolpit, the dressed stone porch is a grand affair, and a bold statement. You may find the south door locked, but if this is the case then the priest's door into the chancel is usually open. And in a way it is a good church to enter via the chancel, because in this way St Ethelbert unfolds its treasures slowly.You step into relative darkness - or, at least, it seems so in comparison with the nave beyond the rood screen. This is partly a result of the abundance of dark wood, and in truth the chancel seems rather overcrowded. The most striking objects in view are the return stalls, which fill the two westerly corners of the chancel. These are in the style of a college or school of priests, with their backs to the rood screen, but then 'returning' around the walls to the east. They are fine, and are certainly 15th or 16th century. But one of the stalls, that to the north, is different to the others, and seems slightly out of place. It is elaborately carved with faces, birds and foliage.

 

Mortlock thought that it might have been intended for a private house. The stall in front of it has heads on it that appear to be wearing 18th century wigs. The sanctuary is largely Victorianised, with a great east window depicting Saints. The south windows of the chancel depict a lovely Adoration scene by the O'Connors. The chancel is separated from the nave by the 15th century rood screen, which is elegantly painted and gilt on the west side, the beautifully tracery intricately carved above. The rood screen has been fitted with attractive iron gates, presumably evidence of Anglo-catholic enthusiasm here in the early 20th century, and you step down through them into the light. A first impression is that you are entering a much older space than the one you have left. There is an 18th century mustiness, enhanced by the box pews that line the aisles. And, beyond, on walls and in windows, are wonderful things.

 

The number of surviving wall paintings in England is a tiny fraction of those which existed before the 15th and 16th centuries. All churches had them, and in profusion. It isn't enough to say that they were a 'teaching aid' of a church of illiterate peasants. In the main, they were devotional, and that is why they were destroyed. However, it is more complicated than that. Research in recent years has indicated that many wall paintings were destroyed before the Reformation, perhaps a century before. In some churches, they have been punched through with Perpendicular windows, which are clearly pre-Reformation. In the decades after the Black Death, there seems to have been a sea change in the liturgical use of these buildings, a move away from an individualistic, devotional usage to a corporate liturgical one. There is a change of emphasis towards more education and exegesis. This is the time that pulpits and benches appear, long before protestantism was on the agenda. What seems to happen is that many buildings were intended now to be full of light, and devotional wall paintings were either whitewashed, or replaced with catechetical ones.

 

The decoration of the nave was the responsibility of the people of the parish, not of the Priest. The wall paintings of England can be divided into roughly three groups. Roughly speaking, the development of wall paintings over the later medieval period is in terms of these three overlapping emphases.

 

Firstly, the hagiographies - stories of the Saints. These might have had a local devotion, although some saints were popular over a wide area, and most churches seem to have supported a devotion to St Christopher right up until the Reformation.

 

Secondly came those which illustrate incidents in the life of Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. Although partly pedagogical, they were also enabling tools, since private devotions often involved a contemplation upon them, and at Mass the larger part of those present would have been involved in private devotions. These scriptural stories were as likely to have been derived from apocryphal texts like the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew as from the actual Gospels themselves.

 

Lastly, there are catechetical wall paintings, illustrating the teachings of the Catholic church. It should not be assumed that these are dogmatic. Many are simply artistic representations of stories, and others are simplifications of theological ideas, as with the seven deadly sins and the seven cardinal virtues. Some warn against occasions of sin (gossiping, for example) and generally wall paintings provided a local site for discussion and exemplification.

 

To an extent, all the above is largely true of stained glass, as well, with the caveat that stained glass was more expensive, relied on local patronage, and often has this patronage as a subtext, hence the large number of heraldic devices and images of local worthies. But it was also devotional, and so it was also destroyed.

 

So - what survives at Hessett? The wall paintings first.

 

Starting in the south east corner of the nave, we have Suffolk's finest representation of St Barbara, presenting a tower. St Barbara was very popular in medieval times, because she was invoked against strikes by lightning and sudden fires. This resulted from her legend, for her father, on finding her to be a Christian, walled her up in a tower until she repented. As a result, he was struck by lightning, and reduced to ashes. She was also the patron saint of the powerful building trade, and as such her image graced their guild altars - perhaps that was the case here.

 

Above the south door is another figure, often identified as St Christopher, but I do not think that this can be the case. St Christopher is found nowhere else in Suffolk above a south door. The traditional iconography of this mythical saint is not in place here, and it is hard to see how this figure could ever have been interpreted as such. I suspect it is a result of an early account confusing the two images over the north and south doors, and the mistake being repeated in later accounts.

 

In fact, digital enhancement seems to suggest that there are two figures above the south door, overlapping each other slightly. The figure on the right is barefoot, that on the left is wearing a white gown. There appears to be water under their feet, and so I think this is an image of the Baptism of Christ. Perhaps it was once part of a sequence.

 

The wall painting opposite, above the north door, is St Christopher. Although it isn't as clear as himself at, say, nearby Bradfield Combust, he bestrides the river in the customary manner, staff in hand. The Christ child is difficult to discern, but you can see the fish in the water. Also in the water, and rather unusual, are two figures. They are rendered rather crudely, almost like gingerbread men. Could they be the donors of the north aisle, John and Katherine Hoo in person?

 

Moving along the north aisle, we come to the set of paintings for which Hessett is justifiably famous. They are set one above the other between two windows, at the point where might expect the now-vanished screen to a chapel to have been. The upper section was here first. It shows the seven deadly sins (described wrongly in some text books as a tree of Jesse, or ancestry of Christ). Two devils look on as, from the mouth of hell, a great tree sprouts, ending in seven images. Pride is at the top, and in pairs beneath are Gluttony and Anger, Vanity and Envy, Avarice and Lust. Mortlock suggests that some attempt has been made to erase the image for Lust, which may simply be mid-16th century puritan prurience on the part of some reformer here. This would suggest that this catechetical tool was here right up until the Reformation.

 

The idea of 'Seven Deadly Sins' was anathema to the reformers, because it is entirely unscriptural. Rather, as a catechetical tool, it is a way of drawing together a multitude of sins into a simplistic aide memoire. This could then be used in confession, taking each of them one at a time and examining ones conscience accordingly. It should not be seen simply as a 'warning' to ignorant peasants, for the evidence is that the ordinary rural people of late medieval England were theologically very articulate. Rather, it was a tool for use, in contemplation and preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, which may well have ordinarily taken place in the chapel here.

 

The wall painting beneath the Sins is even more interesting. This is a very rare 'Christ of the Trades', and dates from the early 15th century, about a hundred years after the painting above. It is rather faded, and takes a while to discern, and not all of it is decodable. However, enough is there to be fascinating. The image of the 'Christ of the Trades' is known throughout Christendom, and contemporary versions with this can be found in other parts of Europe. It shows the risen Christ in the centre, and around him a vast array of the tools and symbols of various trades. One theory is that it depicts activities that should not take place on a Sunday, a holy day of obligation to refrain from work, and that these activities are wounding Christ anew.

 

Perhaps the most fascinating symbol, and the one that everyone notices, is the playing card. It shows the six of diamonds. Does it represent the makers of playing cards? If so, it might suggest a Flemish influence. Or could it be intended to represent something else? Whatever, it is one of the earliest representations of a playing card in England. Why is this here? It may very well be that there was a trades gild chantry chapel at the east end of the north aisle, and this painting was at its entrance.

 

At the east end of the north aisle now is the church's set of royal arms. Cautley saw it in the vestry in the 1930s, and identified it as a Queen Anne set. Now, with additions stripped away, it is revealed as a Charles II set from the 1660s, and a very fine one. It is fascinating to see it at such close range. Usually, they are set above the south door now, although they would originally have been placed above the chancel arch, in full view of the congregation, a gentle reminder of who was in charge.

 

And so to the glass, which on its own would be worth coming to Hessett to see. Few Suffolk churches have such an expanse, none have such a variety, or glass of such quality and interest. It consists essentially of two ranges, the life and Passion of Christ in the north aisle (although some glass has been reset across the church), and images and hagiographies of Saints in the south aisle.

 

In the north aisle, the scourging of Christ stands out, the wicked grins of the persecutors contrasting with the pained nobility of the Christ figure. In the next window, Christ rises from the dead, coming out of his tomb like the corpses in the doom paintings at Stanningfield, North Cove and Wenhaston. The Roman centurion sleeps soundly in the foreground.

 

The most famous image is in the east window of the south aisle. Apparently, it shows a bishop holding the chain to a bag, with four children playing at his feet. I say apparently, because there is rather more going on here than meets the eye. The reason that this image is so famous is that the small child in the foreground is holding what appears to be a golf club or hockey stick, and this would be the earliest representation of such an object in all Europe. The whole image has been said to represent St Nicholas, who was a Bishop, and whose legends include a bag of gold and a group of children.

 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. St Nicholas is never symbolised by a bag of gold, and there are three children in the St Nicholas legend, not four. In any case, the hand in the picture is not holding the chain to a bag at all, but a rosary, and the hockey stick is actually a fuller's club, used for dyeing clothes, and the symbol of St James the Less.

 

What has happened here is that the head of a Bishop has been grafted on to the body of a figure which is probably still in its original location. The three lights of this window contained a set of the Holy Kinship. The light to the north of the 'Bishop' contains two children playing with what ae apparently toys, but when you look closely you can see that one is holding a golden shell, and the other a poisoned chalice. They are the infant St James and St John, and the lost figure above them was their mother, Mary Salome.

 

This means that the figure with the Bishop's head is actually Mary Cleophas, mother of four children including St James the Less. The third light to the south, of course, would have depicted the Blessed Virgin and child, but she is lost to us.

 

Not only this, but Hessett has some very good 19th Century glass which complements and does not overly intrude. The best is beneath the tower, the west window in a fully 15th Century style of scenes by Clayton & Bell. The east window, depicting saints, is by William Warrington, and the chancel also has the O'Connor glass already mentioned.

 

If the windows and wall paintings were all there was, then Hessett would be remarkable enough. But there is something else, two things, actually, that elevate it above all other Suffolk churches, and all the churches of England. For St Ethelbert is the proud owner of two unique survivals. At the back of the church is a chest, no different from those you'll find in many a parish church. In common with those, it has three separate locks, the idea being that the Rector and two Churchwardens would have a key each, and it would be necessary for all three of them to be present for the chest to be opened. It was used for storing parish records and valuables.

 

At some point, one of the keys was lost. There is an old story about the iconoclast William Dowsing turning up here and demanding the chest be opened, but on account of the missing key it couldn't be. Unfortunately, this story isn't true, for Dowsing never recorded a visit Hessett. The chest was eventually opened in the 19th century. Inside were found two extraordinary pre-Reformation survivals. These are a pyx cloth and a burse. The pyx cloth was draped over the wooden canopy that enclosed the blessed sacrament (one of England's four surviving medieval pyxes is also in Suffolk, at Dennington) before it was raised above the high altar. The burse was used to contain the host before consecration at the Mass. They are England's only surviving examples, and they're both here. Or, more precisely they aren't, for both have been purloined by the British Museum, the kind of theft that no locked church can prevent.

 

But there are life-size photos of both either side of the tower arch. The burse is basically an envelope, and features the Veronica face of Christ on one side with the four evangelistic symbols in each corner. On the other is an Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The survival of both is extraordinary. It is one thing to explore the furnishings of lost Catholic England, quite another to come face to face with articles that were actually used in the liturgy.

 

In front of the pictures stands the font, a relatively good one of the early 15th century, though rather less exciting than everything going on around it. The dedicatory inscription survives, to a pair of Hoos of an earlier generation than the ones on the vestry.Turning east again, the ranks of simple 15th century benches are all of a piece with their church. They have survived the violent transitions of the centuries, and have seated generation after generation of Hessett people. They were new here when this church was alive with coloured light, with the hundreds of candles flickering on the rood beam, the processions, the festivals, and the people's lives totally integrated with the liturgy of the seasons. For the people of Catholic England, their religion was as much a part of them as the air they breathed. They little knew how soon it would all come to an end.

 

And so, there it is - one of the most fascinating and satisfactory of all East Anglia's churches. And yet, not many people know about it. We are only three miles from the brown-signed honeypot of Woolpit, where a constant stream of visitors come and go. I've visited Hessett many times, and never once encountered another visitor. Still, there you are, I suppose. Perhaps some places are better kept secret. But come here if you can, for here is a medieval worship space with much surviving evidence of what it was actually meant to be, and meant to do.

The Springfield Art Association will host an opening reception for a nationally juried ceramic exhibition entitled Shapes of Influence on Friday evening, August 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Awards and a gallery talk by juror Simon Levin will occur at 6:45 PM.

 

The show will be on display in the SAA's M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from August 3-September 1 and features work from over two dozen states and Canada.

 

Juried artists include Morgan Barton, Kenneth Baskin, Casey Beck, Irina Bondarenko, Robert Bruch, Danielle Callahan, Michelle Coakes, John Cohorst, Louis Colomarini, John Costanza, Paula Diaz-Sylvester, Auguste Elder, Karen Ellis-Phillips, Curtis and Karen Frederick, Verne Funk, John Gargano, Kaitlyn Getz, Sarah Gross, Lois Harbaugh, Ian Hazard-Bill, Jason Hess, Jennifer Holt, Drew Ippoliti, Iskra Ivanova, Anna Kats, Patty Kochaver, Robert Kokenyesi, Lucien Koonce, Joe Kraft, Annie Lee, Andrew Mcintyre, Jessie Martin, Paul McCoy, Avra Messe, Molly Morning-glory, Matthew Patton, Sara Prigodich, Jenny Reed, Masa Sasaki, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Kourtney Stone, Suzanne Storer, Sam Thompson, Austin Wieland, Nicole Winning, Matthew Wright, Kensuke Yamada, Lisa York, and David Zahn.

 

Invited artists include Dan Anderson, Kahil Irving, Peter Pincus, and Kelsie Rudolph.

 

The M.G. Nelson Gallery is open to the public M-F from 9 AM-5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM-3 PM.

Copyright © 2014 by Ian J MacDonald. Permission required for any use. All rights reserved

 

The entire set: www.flickr.com/photos/ianmacdonald/sets/72157636356726526/

 

These illustrations are meant to represent the elements of the periodic table. The drawings are influenced by the Art Deco friezes seen on buildings of the 1920s and 30s - deities were used to represent the essence of the ideas being represented; such as industries, scientific ideas, civic ideals etc...

 

While the Art Deco style is an influence I did not want to directly copy what has been already been done or hang slavishly onto examples of Art Deco. I am endeavoring to work in the style, imagining creating something new in that moment when Art Deco was current.

 

Each element is represented by a goddess embedded in a representational background. The deities are purposely done in a sketchy manner - opposite to the solid background - to represent the quantum mechanical nature of atoms and particles. In quantum mechanics particles have no meaning as solid defined units of matter but are statistical entities described by complex (literally and mathematically) wave functions that provide us with the probable positions and energies of particles and systems of particles - an unsettling prospect for many people.

 

I represent the essence of the elements by goddesses for several reasons. One, they are more interesting, complex, beautiful to draw than males. Secondly it is more challenging to represent the essence of the elements in a feminine rather than a male manner. Unfortunately, science and chemistry has been male dominated and as such so has the naming and descriptions of the elements. These are meant to somewhat challenge the viewer by juxtaposing the female essence with male dominance in science. It would be too simple and cliche to represent iron, for example, as a Mars-like God. Some of the elements are quite dangerous to living creatures and it is far more challenging to express that in a feminine manner.

 

I was asked if people would get past the nudity. The answer is "No". But that is OK. I want the beauty and vulnerability to attract attention. Science is after all quite beautiful if one takes the time to stop fighting the math and difficulties in understanding, and immerse themselves in it to appreciate just how weird and strange nature really is be - far beyond anything humans could come up with. The nudity somewhat represents the primal, elemental nature of the different atoms. Clothing, such as suit of armor for iron, is a distraction and again too simple and cliche.

 

But all in all the representation is not direct. Some influence comes from the elements' names - often from properties of the elements, literary references, where they were isolated, political rivalries, honors for discoverers etc... Some influence comes from the bulk properties of the elements such as harness, conductivity, toxicity, density, etc.... Some of the pieces are inspired by the major uses for the element - in industrial processes, in natural biological processes, nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, in everyday objects, and so on.

 

This is a work in progress and my second go at it. I have been tinkering at this for some time and I think these are closer to the vision in my head than what I have done earlier. Enjoy.

"Spheres of Influence"

Digital Peice

 

A glimpse into what has influenced my Felix project over the past year

 

Diffrent Spheres consisit of

 

-Artists

-People,

-Music

-Sticker Art

-Old school Graff

-Skating

-Nature

 

If any of your images were borrowed in this peice, it was to reflect that you have influenced some of my work so thank you!

There is a picture of me at my 8th birthday. I am wearing a conical hat on which the words “Happy Birthday” have been printed.

 

I was a greedy child. On the playground during lunch, I would claim the slide as sovereign territory, and only allow people I considered my friends to use it. When the other kids came to tell me I had to share the slide, I quoted Ayn Rand, saying, “The achievement of happiness is the highest moral purpose of life.” I used my power to influence my classmates, who fell over each other to curry favor with me in hopes of accessing the slide. I believed I was making friends.

 

There is a picture of me at my 8th birthday. There are balloons and dishes of ice cream and a chocolate cake with white icing and 8 still unlit candles.

 

One day a playground monitor came to tell me that I did not own the slide and could not prevent people from playing on it. Again, I quoted Ayn Rand, “The Native Americans didn’t have any rights to the land and there was no reason for anyone to grant them rights which they had not conceived and were not using.” Then I announced that anyone who helped keep the playground monitor away could use the slide as much as they wanted. Such a cry came up from my classmates, I assumed from loyalty, that the monitor recoiled.

 

There is a picture of me at my 8th birthday. I am alone in this picture. Nobody came to my 8th birthday. It was then, staring shell-shocked into a melting bowl of rocky road, that I realized that loyalty and friendship could not come from greed. Out of a need for the love and acceptance of my peers, I abandoned Ayn Rand and Objectivism, and spent the next 10 years a seeker. In high school I skipped most of my classes, preferring to spend most of my time in the weight room, which is why I am so beautiful. Why I need to be naked. My ass, so perfect! So powerful! Ayn Rand could never have looked so good squatting 600 pounds in a thong!

 

And so it was until graduation, when I discovered Karl Marx and the communist revolution. A worker’s paradise where all men and women could work together as equals! As comrades! Cutting four years of classes had left me mentally prepared for little more than a career as a writer, but my toned arms, powerful legs and closet filled entirely with seasonal thongs were perfect for life in the proletariat.

 

When I first got my new iPhone I was ecstatic. I had never had a cell phone before, but here it was, a tool that I could use to inspire my fellow workers to revolution and the worker’s paradise that would follow. I kept it clipped to the front of my thong so that as I walked around people could look at it be inspired. I kept the browser pointed to a random quote server of Marx’s writings.

 

I learned of the practice of “texting.” Teenagers sending each other tiny typed messages to plan get-togethers. But Karl Marx wouldn’t have used text messages to plan under-age keggers and make-out sessions, no! Karl Marx would have used text messages to plan great uprisings that would topple the bourgeoisie and bring about the worker’s paradise! That’s what Karl Marx would have done!

 

And so I decided that I would no longer write with typewriters or pens, but rather I would take the iPhone, tool of the common man, and produce new and inspiring calls to action in the plain words of the text message writer. Just as Karl Marx would have wanted. And when the time came, I would march down the street in my most inspiring thong with my iPhone displaying Karl Marx’s most inspiring quotes clipped to the front, and I would lead the proletariat masses into the promised land!

 

But the road to paradise is never easy, and the iPhone soon showed that it was no friend of the worker. When I tried to type the word “proletariat,” the iPhone kept getting all my letters mixed around. Revolution! Bourgeoisie! Zeitgeist! All rendered into an unintelligible string of gobbledygook! Oh, Karl Marx! How can workers build a paradise when their own tools seek to undo their labors?

 

That was when I realized what was necessary. Steve Jobs, infernal demiurge sire of the iPhone. Enemy of the free press. Steve Jobs would have to die

Influencias imperialistas. Varsovia.

Direct Influence hiphop band promo and advertising photography shoot

Centers of Influence visited and maneuvered through the Field Leadership Reaction Course, FLRC, on June 13, 2018 at Fort Knox, Ky. during Cadet Summer Training. Photo by: Madison Thompson

Thillai Natarajah Temple, Chidambaram or Chidambaram temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the town of Chidambaram, East-Central Tamil Nadu, South India. The temple is known as the foremost of all temples (Kovil) to Saivites and has influenced worship, architecture, sculpture and performance art for over two millennium. The Sangam classics list chief architect Viduvelvidugu Perumthachchan as directing an early renovation of the shrine.

 

A major shrine of Lord Shiva worship since the classical period, there have been several renovations and offerings to Chidambaram by the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Chera royals in the ancient and pre-medieval periods. The temple as it stands now is mainly of the 12th and 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style. Its bronze statues and stone sculptures depicting various deities and the famous Thillai trees (Excoecaria agallocha) of the surrounding forest reflect the highpoints of early Chola and Pallava art while its famed gold plated gopuram towers are medieval structural additions by the royals Aditya I, Parantaka Chola I, Kopperunchinga I, Krishnadevaraya and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. King Kocengannan Chola was born following prayers his parents offered at the temple and later in his life he refined its structure. The shrine gave the town its name.

 

The deity that presides here is கூத்தன் - Thillai Koothan (Thillai Nataraja - Shiva, The Lord of Dance). Chidambaram is the birthplace of the sculpture and bronze image representation of Lord Shiva as the cosmic dancer, a Tamilian concept and motif in Chola art that has since become notable as a symbol of Hinduism. The shrine is the only Shiva temple to have its main deity represented in this anthropomorphic form, as the supreme being who performs all cosmic activities. The consort deity here is Sivakami Amman (form of Amman - mother goddess and female energy). Two other forms of Lord Shiva are represented close to this in the vimana (inner sanctum) of the temple - as a crystallised lingam - the most common representation of Lord Shiva in temples, and as the aether space classical element, represented with empty space and a garland of fifty one hanging golden bilvam leaves (Aegle marmelos). Lord Shiva is captured in pose as Nataraja performing the Ananda Tandava ("Dance of Delight") in the golden hall of the shrine Pon Ambalam (பொன் அம்பலம்). The sculptures of Chidambaram inspired the postures of Bharatha Natyam. The Chidambaram complex is admired for its five famous halls (ambalam or sabhai), several grand smaller shrines to the Hindu deities Ganesh, Murugan, Vishnu and Sivakami Amman which contain Pandyan and Nayak architectural styles, and for its endowment from many water tanks, one of which links it to the Thillai Kali temple.

 

Chidambaram is one of the five Pancha Bootha Sthalams, the holiest Shiva temples each representing one of the five classical elements; Chidambaram represents akasha (aether). Chidambaram is glorified in Tirumular's Tirumandhiram and was visited by Patañjali and VyagjrapadharPulikaal Munivar. It is the primary shrine of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams - Shiva Sthalams glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanar saints Tirunavukkarasar, Thirugnana Sambandar and Sundarar. Hailed in the Tiruvacakam series by Manikkavacakar, these very volumes of the Tirumurai literature canon were themselves found in secret chambers of the temple. The Periya Puranam, a biography of these Nayanar saints by Sekkizhar commissioned by emperor Kulothunga Chola II, was written in the shrine's Thousand Pillared Hall. In Kanda Puranam, the epic authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram, the Chidambaram shrine is venerated as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee and Mount Kailash.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The traditional name of the temple complex, Chidambaram Tillai Nataraja-koothan Kovil, alludes to the environment of its location and its origins and significance in Saivite worship. The mangrove of ancient Tillai (தில்லை) trees (Exocoeria agallocha) of the forest surrounding the shrine when it was first built inspired the shrine's name and early artistic inspiration; the Tillai trees of the nearby Pichavaram wetlands, the second largest mangrove in the world, extends to the temple area. The shrine is venerated as Tillai ambalam (தில்லை அம்பலம் ), literally meaning Tillai Open Stage, the open space surrounded by Tillai Vanam (தில்லை வனம்) (the Tillai forest) - the original name of this area.[9] The name of the town of this shrine, Chidambaram comes from the Tamil word Chitrambalam (சிற்றம்பலம்) - "small hall/stage"; also spelled Chithambalam (சிட்டம்பலம்), from citt/chitthu and ambalam - meaning "wisdom of this open stage/atmosphere". The shrine is where some devotees believe they will attain liberation, or chitaakasam - "wisdom/consciousness of the sky". "Nataraja" or "Koothan" mean "Lord of Dance".

 

LEGEND

The story of Chidambaram begins with Lord Shiva strolling into the Thillai Vanam (vanam meaning forest and thillai trees - botanical name Exocoeria agallocha, a species of mangrove trees - which currently grows in the Pichavaram wetlands near Chidambaram). In the Thillai forests resided a group of sages or 'rishis' who believed in the supremacy of magic and that God can be controlled by rituals and mantras or magical words. Lord Shiva strolled in the forest with resplendent beauty and brilliance, assuming the form of Bhikshatana, a simple mendicant seeking alms. He was followed by His consort, Vishnu as Mohini. The sages and their wives were enchanted by the brilliance and the beauty of The handsome mendicant and His consort. On seeing their womenfolk enchanted, the rishis got enraged and invoked scores of serpents (nāgas) by performing magical rituals. Lord Shiva lifted the serpents and donned them as ornaments on His matted locks, neck and waist. Further enraged, the sages invoked a fierce tiger, whose skins and dons were used by Lord Shiva as a shawl around His waist and then followed by a fierce elephant, which was devoured and ripped to death by Lord Shiva (Gajasamharamurthy).

 

The rishis gathered all their spiritual strength and invoked a powerful demon Muyalakan - a symbol of complete arrogance and ignorance. Lord Shiva wore a gentle smile, stepped on the demon's back, immobilized him and performed the Ánanda Tandava (the dance of eternal bliss) and disclosed his true form. The sages surrender, realizing that Lord Shiva is the truth and He is beyond magic and rituals.

 

PATRONAGE

To Saivites, primarily in Tamil Nadu, the very word koil refers primarily to Chidambaram Tillai Natarajar.

 

Chidambaram is a temple complex spread over 160,000 m2 in the heart of the city. The main complex to Lord Shiva Nataraja also contains shrines to deities such as Shivakami Amman, Ganesh, Murugan and Vishnu in the form Govindaraja Perumal. Chidambaram's earliest structures were designed and erected by ancient craftsmen called Perumtaccan. The golden tiled roof for the Chit Ambalam (the vimanam) was laid by the Chola King Parantaka I (907-950 CE) following which he was given the title - Thillaiyambalathhukku pon koorai veiyntha thevan (Tamil:தில்லையாம்பலதுக்கு பொன் கூரை வேய்ந்த தேவன், meaning the one who constructed the golden roof). In its floruit, kings Rajaraja Chola I (reign 985-1014 AD) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 AD) made significant donations to the temple. Gold and riches to the temple were donated by Rajaraja Chola's daughter Kundavai II while Chola king Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 AD) made donations for the conduct of the daily rituals.

 

Donations of gold and jewels have been made by various kings, rulers and patrons to the temple from 9th to 16th century - including the Maharaja of Pudukottai, Sethupathy (the emerald jewel still adorns the deity) and the British.

 

Naralokaviran, the general of king Kulothunga Chola I was responsible for building a shrine for child saint Thirugnana Sambanthar and installed a metal image inside it. He constructed a hall for recitation of Tevaram hymns and engraved the hymns in copper plates.

 

TEMPLE STRUCTURE

The temple is the only great temple complex to date mainly from the later Chola period, and contains the earliest examples of a number of features that are found in many later temples, including "the earliest known Devī or Amman shrine, nritta (dance) maṇḍapa, Sūrya shrine with chariot wheels, hundred-and-thousand pillared maṇḍapas, even the first giant Śiva Gangā tank".A classical Shiva temple as per Agama rules will have five prakarams (closed precincts of a temple) or circuits each separated by walls one within the other. The outer prakaram will be open to the sky except the innermost one. The innermost one will house the main deity as well as other deities. There will be a massive wooden or stone flag post exactly in line with the main deity. The innermost prakaram houses the sanctum sanctorum (தமிழ் = கருவரை).

 

Chidambaram is also referred to in various works such as Thillai (after the Thillai forest of yore in which the temple is now located), Perumpatrapuliyur or Vyagrapuram (in honour of Saint Vyagrapathar, Sanskrit: Vyaghrapada - "Tiger-Footed").

 

The temple is supposed to be located at the lotus heart of the Universe: Virat hridaya padma sthalam.

 

This gold-roofed stage is the sanctum sanctorum of the Chidambaram temple and houses the Lord in three forms:

 

- the "form" - the anthropomorphic form as an appearance of Nataraja, called the Sakala-thirumeni.

- the "semi-form" – the semi-anthropomorphic form as the Crystal linga of Chandramaulishvara, the Sakala-nishkala-thirumeni.

- the "formless" – as the space in Chidambara-rahasyam, an empty space within the sanctum sanctorum, the Nishkala-thirumeni.

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE DESIGN

The layout and architecture of the temple is replete with philosophical meanings.

 

Three of the five Panchaboothasthala temples, those at Kalahasti, Kanchipuram and Chidambaram all stand on a straight line exactly at 79 degree 41 minutes East longitude - truly an engineering, astrological and geographical wonder. Of the other two temples, Tiruvanaikkaval is located at around 3 degrees to the south and exactly 1 degree to the west of the northern tip of this divine axis, while Tiruvannamalai is around midway (1.5 degree to the south and 0.5 degree to the west).

 

The 9 gateways signify the 9 orifices in the human body.

The Chitsabai or Ponnambalam, the sanctum sanctorum represents the heart which is reached by a flight of 5 stairs called the Panchaatchara padi - pancha meaning 5, achhara – indestructible syllables – "SI VA YA NA MA", from a raised anterior dias - the Kanakasabai. The access to the Sabhai is through the sides of the stage (and not from the front as in most temples). The Chit sabha roof is supported by four pillars symbolic of the four Vedas.

 

The Ponnambalam or the Sanctum sanctorum is held by 28 pillars – representing the 28 agamas or set methodologies for the worship of Lord Shiva. The roof is held by a set of 64 beams representing the 64 forms of art and is held by several cross-beams representing the innumerable blood vessels. The roof has been laid by 21,600 golden tiles with the word SIVAYANAMA inscribed on them representing 21600 breaths. The golden tiles are fixed using 72,000 golden nails which represents the no. of nadis exists in human body. The roof is topped by a set of 9 sacred pots or kalasas, representing the 9 forms of energy. The artha mandapa(sanctum) has six pillars denoting the six shastras (holy texts).

 

The hall next to the artha mantapa has eighteen pillars symbolizing the eighteen Puranas.

 

TOWERS

The temple has nine gateways, and four of these have gateway towers or gopurams each with 7 storeys facing the East, South, West and North. The South gopuram called the Sokkaseeyan Thirunilai Ezhugopuram was constructed by a Pandya king identified from the presence of the dynasty's fish emblem sculpted on the ceiling. The Pandyas sculpted two fishes facing each other when they completed gopurams (and left it with one fish, in case it was incomplete). The earliest and smallest of the four is West gopuram constructed around 1150 and there are no reliable evidence on the construction. The sculptures shows goddess fighting the buffalo-demon and warlike Skanda astride his peacock. The North Gopuram was initiated around 1300 AD with the brick portion constructed by the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD) in the 16th century. The East Gopuram, was claimed to have been constructed by the Pallava King Koperunsingan II (1243-1279 AD) as per epigrahical records and was repaired by Subbammal, the mother-in-law of the famous philanthropist Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754-1794 AD). The idols of Pachaiappa Mudaliar and his wife Iyalammal have been sculpted on the eastern gopuram. The Pachaiappa Trust to date has been responsible for various functions in the temple and also maintain the temple car. The eastern gopuram is renowned for its complete enumeration of 108 poses of Indian classical dance – Bharathanatyam, detailed in small rectangular panels along the passage that leads to the gateway. Each gopuram has around fifty stone sculptures, with each repeating some portions from the other.

 

HALLS

There are 5 ambalams or sabhas (halls) inside the temple.

 

- Chit Ambalam or Chit Sabhai, which is the sanctum sanctorum housing Lord Nataraja and his consort Sivakami Sundari, and gave the temple town its name.

- Pon Ambalam or Kanaka Sabhai – the golden hall in front of the Chit Ambalam, from where the daily rituals are conducted.

- Nrithya sabhai or Natya sabhai, a 56-pillared hall lies to the south of the temple's flag mast (kodi maram or dwaja sthambam) where Nataraja outdanced Kali and established his supremacy

- Raja sabhai or the 1000-pillared hall which symbolizes the yogic chakra of thousand pillared lotus or Sahasraram (which in yoga is a chakra) at the crown of the head and is a seat where the soul unites with God. This chakra is represented as a 1000-petalled lotus. Meditating by concentrating at the Sahasrara Chakra is said to lead to a state of union with The Divine Force and is the pinnacle of yogic practice. The hall is open only on festive days.

- Deva Sabhai, which houses the Pancha moorthis (pancha - five, moorthis - deities, namely the deities of Ganesh, Somaskanda (seated posture of Lord Shiva with Pavarthi and Skanda), Sivananda Nayaki, Muruga and the image of Chandikeswarar.

 

SHRINES

- The shrines for the original Shivalingam worshipped by the saints Patanjali and Vyagrapathar – called the Thiru Aadhimoolanathar and his consort Umaiyammai

- The shrine of the 63 nayanars of Lord Shiva – called the Arubaththu moovar.

- Shrine of Sivagami.

- Ganesha shrine

- Shrine of Muruga or Pandiya nayakan

 

There are also several smaller shrines in the temple complex.

 

GOVINDARAJA SWAMY SHRINE

The Govindaraja shrine is dedicated to Vishnu and is one of the 108 holy temples of Lord Vishnu called divyadesam, revered by the 7th-9th-century saint poets of vaishnava (those worshipping Lord Vishnu) tradition, alwars. Kulashekara alwar mentions this temple as Tillai Chitrakutam and equates Chitrakuta of Ramayana fame with this shrine. King Kulothunga Chola II is believed to have uprooted the presiding Govindraja image from the shrine. The shrine has close connections with the Govindaraja temple in Tirupati dating back to saint Ramanuja of the 11-12th century. Ramanujar fled to Tirupati with the utsava (festival image) of the temple to escape punishment. Down the centuries, king Krishnappa Nayak (1564-1572 AD) was instrumental in installing the image of Govindaraja back in the temple. There was lot of resistance from the shaivites (those worshipping Shiva) against placing the Vishnu image in a revered Shiva temple, but the king was unmoved and the image was installed in the present form. There is no satisfactory evidence of co-existence of the Shiva and Vishnu shrines within the same temple built during the same time - there was a dispute even in last century during 1849 AD regarding the rights on the Govindaraja idol and Alwar Sannidhi(sanctum of azhwars) between Vaishnavas and Dikshitars and the position of Vaishnavas was upheld by the district court.

 

TEMPLE TANKS

The Chidambaram temple is well endowed with several water bodies within and around the temple complex.

 

- Sivaganga (சிவகங்கை) tank is in the third corridor of the temple opposite to the shrine of Shivagami. It is accessed by flights of stone steps leading from the shrine.

- Paramanandha koobham is the well on the eastern side of the Chitsabhai hall from which water is drawn for sacred purposes.

- Kuyya theertham is situated to the north-east of Chidambaram in Killai near the Bay of Bengal and has the shore called Pasamaruthanthurai.

- Pulimadu is situated around a kilometer and a half to the south of Chidambaram.

- Vyagrapatha Theertham is situated on to the west of the temple opposite to the temple of Ilamai Akkinaar.

- Anantha Theertham is situated to the west of the temple in front of the Anantheswarar temple.

- Nagaseri tank is situated to the west of the Anantha thirtham.

- Brahma Theertham is situated to the north-west of the temple at Thirukalaanjeri.

- Underground channels at the shrine drain excess water in a northeasterly direction to the Shivapiyai temple tank (சிவப்பியை குளம்) of the Thillai Kali Temple, Chidambaram. Due to poor maintenance, it has not been in use.

- Thiruparkadal is the tank to the south-east of the Shivapiyai tank.

 

TEMPLE CAR

The Chidambaram temple car is, perhaps, the most beautiful example of a temple car in all of Tamil Nadu. This car, on which Lord Nataraja descends twice a year, is drawn by several thousand devotees during the festivals.

 

ANANDA TANDAVA

The legend of the temple is same as the legend of Ānanda-tāṇḍava. Adhisesha, the serpent who serves as a bed of Lord Vishnu, hears about the Änanda thaandava and yearns to see and enjoy it. Lord Shiva beckons him to assume the saintly form of sage Patanjali and sends him to the Thillai forest, informing him that he will display the dance in due course. Patanjali who meditated in the Himalayas during krita age joins another saint, Vyaghrapada or Pulikaalmuni (Vyagra / Puli meaning "Tiger" and patha / kaal meaning "feet" – referring to the story of how he sought and got the feet and eyesight of a tiger to help climb trees well before dawn to pick flowers for The Lord before the bees visit them). The story of sage Patanjali as well as his great student sage Upamanyu is narrated in both Vishnu Purana as well as Shiva Purana. They move into the Thillai forest and worship Lord Shiva in the form of lingam, a deity worshipped today as Thirumoolataneswarar (Thiru - sri, Moolatanam - primordial or in the nature of a foundation, Eswarar- the Lord). Legends say that Lord Shiva displayed his dance of bliss (the Aananda Thaandavam) - as Nataraja to these two saints on the day of the poosam star in the Tamil month of Thai (January-February).

 

THE ANANDA TANDAVA POSTURE

The Ānanda-tāṇḍava posture of Nataraja represents pancikritya functions of the godhead believed to have created the dynamic force to create the world.

 

- The demon under Lord Nataraja's feet signifies that ignorance is under His feet.

- The fire in His hand (power of destruction) means He is the destroyer of evil.

- The raised hand (Abhaya or Pataka mudra) signifies that He is the savior of all life forms.

- The arc of fire called Thiruvashi or Prabhavati signifies the cosmos and the perpetual motion of the earth.

- The drum in His hand signifies the origin of life forms.

- The lotus pedestal signifies Om, the sound of the universe.

- His right eye, left eye and third eye signify the sun, moon and fire/knowledge, respectively.

- His right earring (makara kundalam) and left earring (sthri kundalam) signify the union of man and woman (right is man, left is woman).

- The crescent moon in His hair signifies benevolence and beauty.

- The flowing of river Ganges through His matted hair signifies eternity of life.

- The dreading of His hair and drape signify the force of His dance.

 

Another notable point of this posture is that it is based on the six point star. Nataraja's head forms the topmost point of the star, while His spreading hair and right hand form the upper side points. His drape and raised left leg form the lower points, and His right leg that rests on the demon Myalagga forms the lowest point. Surrounding this is the arc of fire.

 

RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE

Pancha Bhoota Stalam (Sanskrit: पन्च भूत स्थल) refers to the five Shiva temples, each representing the manifestation of the five prime elements of nature - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha indicates five, Bhoota means elements and Stala means place. All these temples are located in South India with four of these temples at Tamil Nadu and one at Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams and each of the lingams representing Lord Shiva in the temple have five different names based on the elements they represent. In the temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself in the form of sky. The other four manifestations are Prithivi Lingam (representing land) at Ekambareswarar Temple, Appu Lingam (representing Water) at Thiruvanaikaval, Agni Lingam (representing fire) at Annamalaiyar Temple and Vayu Lingam (representing air) at Srikalahasti Temple.

 

Aathara Stala indicates the Shiva temples which are considered to be divine impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy. Nataraja temple is called the Anthaga stalam associated with Anthagam - the third eye.

 

Pancha Sabhai refers to the five places where Lord Shiva is said to have displayed His cosmic dance and all these places have stages or ambalams, also known as Sabhai. Apart from Chidambaram which has the Ponna Ambalam - the Golden Hall, the others are the I-Ratthina Ambalam - the Jeweled Hall at Thiruvaalangadu (rathinam – ruby / red jewelled), the Chitra Ambalam - the Painted Hall at Thirukutralam (chitra – painting), the Velli Ambalam - the Silver Hall at Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple (velli – silver) and the Thaamira Ambalam - the Copper Hall at Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli (Thaamiram – copper).

 

RELIGIOUS WORK AND SAINTS

There is no reference to the temple in Sangam literature of the 1st to 5th centuries and the earliest mention is found in 6th century Tamil literature. The temple and the deity were immortalized in Tamil poetry in the works of Thevaram by three poet saints belonging to the 7th century - Thirugnana Sambanthar, Thirunavukkarasar and Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. Thirugnana Sambanthar has composed 2 songs in praise of the temple, Thirunavukkarasar aka Appar 8 Tevarams in praise of Nataraja and Sundarar 1 song in praise of Nataraja. Sundarar commences his Thiruthondar thogai (the sacred list of Lord Shiva's 63 devotees) paying his respects to the priests of the Thillai temple - "To the devotees of the priests at Thillai, I am a devotee". The works of the first three saints, Thirumurai were stored in palm leaf manuscripts in the temple and were recovered by the Chola King Rajaraja Chola under the guidance of Nambiandarnambi. Manikkavasagar, the 10th century saivite poet has written two works, the first called Tiruvasakam (The sacred utterances) which largely has been sung in Chidambaram and the Thiruchitrambalakkovaiyar (aka Thirukovaiyar), which has been sung entirely in the temple. Manikkavasagar is said to have attained spiritual bliss at Chidambaram. The Chidambaram Mahatmiyam composed during the 12th century explain the subsequent evolution and de-sanskritization.

 

THE CHIDAMBARA RAHASIYAM

During the daily rituals, the Chief priest, of the day, himself in a state of Godliness - Shivohambhava (Shiva - the Lord, in His Sandhi form - Shivo-, aham – me / us, bhava - state of mind), parts the curtain, indicating the withdrawal of ignorance and reveals the space, and The Lord’s presence.

 

The Chidambara Rahasya, is hence representative of that time when one, in total surrender, allows God to intervene and remove our ignorance, even as we get to 'see and experience' His presence and hence - bliss.

Temple administration and daily rituals

 

WORSHIP FORMS

A unique feature of this temple is the bejeweled image of Lord Nataraja as the main deity. It depicts Lord Shiva as the master of Koothu-Bharata Natyam and is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva is represented by an anthropomorphic murthi rather than the classic, anionic Lingam.

 

At Chidambaram, the dancer dominates, not the linga as in other Shiva shrines. The Chitsabha houses a small sphatika(crystal) linga (Chandramoulisvara), believed to be a piece that fell from the crescent adorning Lord Shiva's head and installed by Adi Shankara. The linga is associated with the intangible fifth element, akasha (ether or space), the eternal infinite expanse where the dance of Lord Shiva takes place daily puja is offered to the linga and also to a small gem-carved figure of Ratnasabhapati.

 

Chidambaram offers a combination of the three apects of Shaiva worship - of the form Lord(Nataraja), of the form and the formlessness (linga) and of the formless omnipresence. The last is suggested by a "Chidambara rahasya", a chakra inscribed on a wall and blackened by applying "punugu" (civet) and over which hangs a string of golden bilva (bael) leaves. This can be viewed through the square chinks when the priest draws aside the dark "curtain of ignorance".

 

WORSHIP

The temple is managed and administered hereditarily by the Chidambaram Dikshitar – a class of Vaidika Brahmins whom, legends say, were brought here from Mt. Kailas, by Patanjali, specifically for the performance of the daily rituals and maintenance of the Chidambaram temple.

 

DIKSHITARS

The Dikshithars were supposed to be 3000 were called Tillai Muvayiram. Today they number around 360. These Dikshithars follow the Vedic rituals, unlike the Sivachariyars or Adhisaivars who follow the agamic rituals for the worship of Shiva and they sport a specific lopsided-to-the-left half shaved head. The rituals for the temple were collated from the Vedas and set by Patanjali, who is said to have inducted the Dikshithars into the worship of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. Every married male member of the Dikshithar family gets a turn to perform the rituals at the temple and can serve as the chief priest for the day. Married Dikshithars are also entitled a share of the temple's revenue. Though the temple is said to have been given endowments of almost 20 km2 of fertile land – having been patronized by various rulers for several centuries, it is managed almost entirely by privately run endowments.

 

DAILY RITUALS

The day begins with the chief priest of the day, performing required rituals to purify himself and assume the Shivoham bhava (Shiva-hood), after which he enters the temple to do the daily rituals. The day begins with Lord Shiva's footwear (padukas) brought at 7:00 am from the palliyarai (bedroom) to the sanctum sanctorum in a palanquin accompanied by devotees with cymbals, chimes and drums. The priest then performs the daily rituals with a yajna and a 'Gopujai' (worship of a cow and her calf). Worship (Puja) is done 6 times in a day. Before each puja, the spadika linga (crystal linga) or the semi form state of Lord Shiva is anointed with ghee, milk, curds, rice, sandal paste and holy ash. This is followed by presenting the naivedhyam or offering of freshly prepared food and sweets to the deity and the diparaadhana, a ritual of showing varied and decoratively set lamps, the reciting of Vedas in Sanskrit and the Panchapuranam (a set of 5 poems from a set of 12 works in Tamil – called the panniru thirumurai). The puja ends with the priest parting the curtains of the sanctum sanctorum to reveal the Chidambara Rahasyam (sanctum).

 

Before the 2nd puja, apart from the regular anointing of the crystal linga, a ruby Nataraja deity (the Rathinasabhapathy) is also anointed. The 3rd puja is at around 12.00 noon, after which the temple closes until around 4:30 pm. The 4th puja is performed at 6.00 pm, the 5th at 8:00 pm and the last puja of the day is performed at 10:00 pm, after which Lord Shiva’s footwear is taken in a procession for Him to ‘retire’ for the night. Before the 5th puja at night, the priest performs special rituals at the Chidambara Rahasya, where he anointed the yantra with aromatic substances and offers naivedyam. The last puja, called the arthajaama puja is performed with special fervor. It is believed that the entire divine force of the universe retires into the deity, when he retires for the night.

 

TEMPLE ADMINISTRATION

The Diskshithars one and fully responsible for the administration and pooja. Simply they mentioned their surname as the Sri Natarajar Temple Trustee and Pooja forever. Dikshithars life and temple tied as the nail and flesh relationship.

 

FESTIVALS

A whole year for men is said to be a single day for the gods. Just as six poojas are performed in a day at the sanctum sanctorum, six anointing ceremonies are performed for the principal deity - Nataraja in a year. They are the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) indicating the first puja, the fourteenth day after the new moon (chaturdasi) of the month of Masi (February-March) indicating the second pooja, the Chittirai Thiruvonam (in April-May), indicating the third pooja or uchikalam, the Uthiram of Aani (June-July) also called the Aani Thirumanjanam indicating the evening or the fourth puja, the chaturdasi of Aavani (August-September) indicating the fifth puja and the chaturdasi of the month of Puratasi (October-November) indicating the sixth pooja or Arthajama. Of these the Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai (in December-January) and the Aani Thirumanjanam (in June-July ) are the most important. These are conducted as the key festivals with the main deity being brought outside the sanctum sanctorum in a procession that included a temple car procession followed by a long anointing ceremony. Several hundreds of thousands of people flock the temple to see the anointing ceremony and the ritualistic dance of Shiva when he is taken back to the sanctum sanctorum. Lord Shiva, in his incarnation of Nataraja, is believed to have born on full moon day in the constellation of Ardra, the sixth lunar mansion. Lord Shiva is bathed only 6 times a year, and on the previous night of Ardra, the bath rituals are performed on a grand scale. Pots full of milk, pomegranate juices, coconut water, ghee, oil, sandal paste, curds, holy ashes, and other liquids and solids, considered as sacred offering to the deity are used for the sacred ablution.

 

There are references in Umapathy Sivam's

Kunchithaangristhavam that the Maasi festival also had the Lord being carried out in procession, however this is not in vogue these days.

 

Natyanjali is a prominent festival celebrated during February every year when Bharatnatyam dancers from all over the country converge to present dance offering to Nataraja.

 

HISTORY

Constructed to signify where Tamil Shaivites identify the centre loci of the universe to be, the shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has witnessed several significant events in the history of Tamil Nadu. A powerful legacy of Dravidian art, its structures and sculptures have attracted pilgrims to Chidambaram for over two millennium. The birthplace of Nataraja when Shaivite worship was highly popular during the Sangam period, Chidambaram had gained a reputation for holiness across the continent by the third century CE and the admiration of the Tamilakkam royals of the early Cholas, Chera dynasty and the early Pandyan Kingdom. Built by the early Cholas to one of their family deities - Nataraja-Koothan - it served as the king and queen's state temple and seat of their monarchs' coronations. The Chola royals underlined their non-partisan approach to religious iconography and faith by also patronizing the Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple dedicated to Vishnu - their other Kuladheivam or "abode of family deity". Chola King Kocengannan who reigned in the first half of the 2nd century CE was born after his parents King Subhadevan and Kamaladevi worshipped in the Thillai Golden Hall (Pon Ambalam). He expanded the shrine in his later life and added to unfinished decorations. Saints Patañjali Tirumular and Vyaghrapada famously worshipped Nataraja at the shrine. The travelling Pallava-Chola king Simhavarman (II or III) who reigned in the 5th-6th century CE was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Shivagangai tank and in gratitude made extensive repairs and additions to the temple. He changed his name to Hiranyavarman or "golden bodied."

 

The Puranas, Sangam literature and the Tirumurai canon join several epigraphs and murals in highlighting the brilliance of the temple site and the devotion of Patañjali, Vyaghrapada-Pulikaalmunivar and patanjali to Nataraja at Thillai. The sthala puranam as well as umapathi sivacharya's koyil puranam give an account of how an ancient chola prince of kritayugam or first of epochal ages. Worshipped The Lord's feet at Chidambaram and being blessed with a vision of His was further helped by saint Vyaghrapada to consecrate a place of worship therewith. The temple murals and some cholan and pandyan literature refer to this sthala puranam. The chidambaram mahatyam as well as koyil puranam by the same author discuss as to how this prince who was presented with dhataki or atti garland and tiger flag in which Lord Indra would take abode to make him ever victorious was blessed with vision of lord and further attained mukti at this spot. This is very credible because all ancient literature and documents report that tiger flag and atti or dhataki (grislea tomentosa) garland as being emblematic with cholas. Some sangam period works also passingly refer to the krita age king's war with demons and his victory against them. The king also went by name Vyaghraketu after being gifted with the tiger flag.

 

Later during the 4th or 5th century CE, a pallava king called Simha Varman who was also a nayanmar saint by name Aiyatikal Kaadavarkon made some compositions and bathed in the tank and attained mukthi at tiru-perum-ppatra-puliyur or chidambaram. Aragalur Udaya Iraratevan Ponparappinan had refurbished most of the parts and rebuilt some parts of the temple around 1213 AD.

 

At periodical intervals (12 years in general), major repairs and renovation works are carried out, new facilities added and consecrated. Most old temples have also 'grown' over periods of time with additional facilities, more outer corridors and new gopurams (pagodas) were added by the rulers who patronized the temple. While this process has helped to keep the temples 'alive' as places of worship, from a purely archeological or historical perspective these renovations have unintentionally lead to destruction of the original works - which were not in sync with the latter and usually grander temple plans.

 

To this general trend, Chidambaram temple is no exception. The origins and developments of the temple are hence largely deduced from allied references in works of literature and poetry, the verbal information passed over generations by the Dikshithar community and from what little, of inscriptions and manuscripts that are available today.

The temple site is very ancient one is known to have been crafted time and again by the ancient craftsmen guild known as Perumthachchans. The reference to the same is available in sangam literature as well as other documents. The tevaram trio in particular have held this site to be of great sanctity with some like Tirugnanasambandar and Sundarar out of devotion being reluctant to set their foot in the place "because it would be an insult to the lord to put one's foot on his abode". The sangam works refer to the temple being favoured by all the three ancient crowns of south, the Neriyan (cholas), chezhiyan (pandyas) and uthiyan (cheras), even if the temple was in what was traditionally chola country.

 

INSCRIPTIONS

There are several inscriptions available in the temple and referring to the Chidambaram temple in neighbouring areas. Most inscriptions available pertain to the periods of Cholas - Rajaraja Chola I (985-1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE), Kulothunga Chola I (1070-1120 CE), Vikrama Chola (1118-1135 CE), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1163 -1178 CE), Kulothunga Chola III (1178-1218 CE) and Rajaraja Chola III (1216-1256 CE). Pandya inscriptions date from Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerapandiyan, Jataavarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Sundarapaandiyan (1251-1268 CE) and Maaravarman Thribhuvana Chakravarthi Veerakeralanaagiya Kulashekara Pandiyan (1268-1308 CE). Pallava inscriptions are available for king Avani Aala Pirandhaan Ko-pperum-Singha (1216-1242 CE). Vijayanagara Kings mentioned in inscriptions are Veeraprathaapa Kiruttina Theva Mahaaraayar (1509-1529 CE), Veeraprathaapa Venkata Deva Mahaaraayar, Sri Ranga Theva Mahaaraayar, Atchyutha Deva Mahaaraayar (1529-1542 CE) and Veera Bhooopathiraayar. One of the inscriptions from the descendant of Cheramaan Perumal nayanar, Ramavarma Maharaja has been found.

 

KUMBHABISHEKAM 2015

The sacred Chidambaram Sri Sabanayagar Temple, which is also described as Boologa Kailaasam and Chithakasam

 

Sri Sivagamasundari Samaedha Sriman Anandha Nataraja Moorthy's Chitsabha Samprokshana Chithvilasa Maha Kumbhabishekam is about to happen in a great way On the auspicious day of Manmadha (Tamil) year Chithirai month 18th day (01-May-2015) Friday morning between 7:00 am and 8:30 am Hastha Nakshthra, Thrayodhasi Thithi, Amirtha yoga, Rishabha Lagna.

 

INVASIONS

The temple was severely vandalised during Malik Kafur's invasions of South India between 1311 and 1325. A garrison was set up within the temple precincts and the walls were fortified during the Carnatic Wars between the East India Company and the French and the Anglo-Mysore Wars that the British fought with Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Reservists from 38 Brigade Group’s Influence Activities Company conduct patrols and execute key leader engagements in the fictional village of Bayan during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 19 at 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright on May 11th, 2019.

 

Image By: Private Jordyn Anderson

 

Garrison Wainwright Imaging

 

WT07-2019-0013-0018

It's Good Friday and I'm in a nostalgic mood, reminiscing about great times from my childhood, growing up in Jamaica. We usually spent Easter weekends with family friends, at a resort on the north coast. It was a getaway from the routine of daily life. These were perhaps the best days of my life! Many great memories!

 

In celebration of these good times, and Easter, I cooked Ackee and Saltfish, Jamaica's National Dish.

It's been a while since I've cooked it, especially the fried dumplings that went along with it. It all turned out perfectly delicious!

 

Have a great Easter weekend!

 

Home Cooking

Centers of Influence visited and maneuvered through the Field Leadership Reaction Course, FLRC, on June 13, 2018 at Fort Knox, Ky. during Cadet Summer Training. Photo by: Madison Thompson

Full page ad in the November 1984edition of McCALLS Magazine. Trying to promote their Light brand of smokes to assure real men that there was no lose of manhood in smokin' light. This is all back in the days when men were men and they always smoked in the pristine outdoors.

From ancient times other cultures have been in contact with Sri Lanka to obtain the spices that grow there. The best cinnamon, cloves and other spices are indigenous to Sri Lanka. People arrived to trade in spices and also left some of their culinary practices as well. Sri Lankan cooking has evolved by combining culinary practices of many of these cultures. The most noticeable impacts have been the Portuguese, Dutch, Moor and Malay influences. Sri Lanka a Tropical Paradise

  

 

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Influencers like Ludmila Adamciuc and Sergiu Beznițchi had an unforgettable journey as they explore the beautiful regions of Cahul and Ungheni in Moldova. Despite being well-known, these regions still have many undiscovered curiosities and experiences waiting to be explored!

 

Ludmila and Sergiu take us on a trip to the Ungheni carpet factory, which has been producing carpets for over 40 years and has reached all continents! In Cahul, they visit the only sea-river port in the country, the Giurgiulești International Free Port, which provides access to the Danube Delta, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

 

These amazing experiences were captured in two films produced with the financial support of the European Union through the “EU4Moldova: Focal Regions” Programme, implemented by UNDP and UNICEF.

 

Photo: UNDP Moldova

 

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St John the Baptist, Thaxted, Essex

 

The best church in Essex, and one of the best in England. The great spire rises above the gorgeous, prosperous little town, the big church surrounded closely on all sides by its busy life and a reminder that, like Lavenham in Suffolk, this was once a much more important place.

 

One of the touchstones of 20th Century Anglo-catholicism, with an influence which even today reaches out over adjoining parishes, this is a church full of light and space in the full confidence of its late 15th and early 16th Century rebuilding. The high, wide aisles extend to the full length of the chancel creating three parallel sanctuaries separated by the yawning of leaping, delicate arcades. The gathered paraphernalia of the Anglo-catholic tradition is shunted into corners and set boldly before pillars.

 

And yet, this does not feel like an urban church. Here, the wide spaces seem not to notice what has happened elsewhere. There are earlier details as well as later ones, among them late medieval glass and splendid 17th Century continental stalls brought here from the chapel of Easton Hall, but the overall impression is of serious High Church worship set within the frame of late-medieval Perpendicular harmony. And, perhaps also a sense of remoteness and distant loss, a recognition of what happened here once in another world, the world of lost Catholic England, an open airy emptiness which, as Pevsner observed, comes from the dearth of monuments as much as anything else. There is a sense here that there has not for a long time been a class in possession, and all in all it is a church which is much greater than the sum of its parts.

 

Like most of north Essex, the church and its town fell into a long sleep in the 18th and 19th Centuries, especially during the long agricultural recession in the second half of the latter century, but in 1910 a young London Priest called Father Conrad Noel was appointed to the living of Thaxted. He was a man of enormous energy and talent, and transformed Thaxted town and church into a maelstrom of political and cultural activity. He remained vicar of Thaxted until his death in 1942.

 

Conrad Noel set about galvanising the little town, making it a national centre for the English Crafts movement. When Arthur Mee visited Thaxted church in the 1940s he found the church hung and carpeted with colour, its tapestries, banners and vestments being the magnificent work of modern craftsmen inspired by the enterprise and fine judgement of the late incumbent (Conrad Noel) and his wife. Some of them we have all seen, for they were exhibited at the Wembley Exhibition (the Empire Exhibition of 1921). The surviving banners, now kept in storage to preserve them, are occasionally displayed and used in the church.

 

The parish became a centre for other revived English traditions. Fr Noel's undoubted charisma, and his insistence that Christianity was about beauty and ritual, attracted many well-known artists, musicians and folklorists to Thaxted. The folk revival was happening across Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, and it is no coincidence that the Morris Ring found a friendly home in the town. English Morris Dancing still sees Thaxted as its home.

 

The composer Gustav Holst moved to Thaxted, and Holst and Noel collaborated on musical events, creating the Thaxted Festival which still takes place every summer. Holst regularly played the organ at Mass in Thaxted church, and his compositon Thaxted, a reworking of the Jupiter theme in his Planets Suite, is best known today as a setting for the words of I Vow to thee my Country. When it was reused by the BBC for the Rugby World Cup anthem World in Union, the royalties went to Thaxted church.

 

Working with them was Percy Dearmer, another left-wing Priest and musicologist. He was responsible for popularising Anglo-Catholic forms of liturgy and worship based on his research into the music and liturgy of the medieval church. He was also editor of the Oxford Book of Carols which almost single-handedly reintroduced the idea of Christmas carol services to English churches.

 

Other musical figures who became associated with Thaxted included the composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Martin Shaw. Vaughan WIlliams already had a considerable track record in collecting English folk tunes and working them into his own compositions. Shaw, best known today for hymn tunes like Little Cornard ('Hills of the North Rejoice') and Bunessan ('Morning has Broken'), wrote an Anglican Folk Mass for Thaxted church.

 

Another prominent figure in the Thaxted Movement was Joseph Needham, Cambridge professor and expert on Chinese Medicine, whose intellectual rigor gave a backbone to the folk tradition which Noel was allowing to live and breathe in his parish. Needham and his wife Dorothy were promoters of the Gymnosophist movement, in which young gymnasts would perform their routines naked, as in Ancient Greece. Gymnosophy was very popular in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, but perhaps it is as well that it did not catch on in Thaxted.

 

Conrad Noel had been one of the founders of the Church Socialist League in 1906, but he left it in 1918 to found the Catholic Crusade. Like several Anglo-catholic Priests, Noel was also a member of the Independent Labour Party, and in 1911 he became a founding member of the British Socialist Party. In the 1920s, his most notorious action was to hang the Socialist Red Flag, the Irish Tricolor and the English Flag of St George side by side in the south transept.

 

It is worth saying that, even today, hanging the Flag of St George in a parish church is unusual, and in Noel's day it was considered suspicious, for the more usual flag to be hung in parish churches is the Union flag as a sign of the protestant credentials of the Established Church. The flag of St George was considered evidence of Anglo-Catholic sympathies. The Irish Tricolor was even more controversial of course, for Ireland, although not yet a republic, was a newly independent nation which had broken away from the Union, an aspiration which some in the Thaxted Movement held for their beloved England.

 

Flying the red flag was an act of provocation, and flying the three flags together was quite outrageous, and unforgiveable. On at least one occasion, Cambridge undergraduates travelled to Thaxted church to remove the flags, ceremoniously pulling them down, sparking off fist-fights and other disturbances. Noel himself was accused of sedition in the House of Commons. Eventually a consistory court ruled against his displaying the three flags, and Noel obeyed the ruling. Conrad was inevitably dubbed "The Red Rector" by the popular press as a result of his actions and beliefs.

 

Conrad Noel is almost forgotten today outside of church circles, but his influence on English culture and the revival of tradition in the 20th Century was immense. If England ever becomes a nation independent of the Union again, I hope that someone will remember him and put his face on the bank notes.

The Springfield Art Association will host an opening reception for a nationally juried ceramic exhibition entitled Shapes of Influence on Friday evening, August 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Awards and a gallery talk by juror Simon Levin will occur at 6:45 PM.

 

The show will be on display in the SAA's M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from August 3-September 1 and features work from over two dozen states and Canada.

 

Juried artists include Morgan Barton, Kenneth Baskin, Casey Beck, Irina Bondarenko, Robert Bruch, Danielle Callahan, Michelle Coakes, John Cohorst, Louis Colomarini, John Costanza, Paula Diaz-Sylvester, Auguste Elder, Karen Ellis-Phillips, Curtis and Karen Frederick, Verne Funk, John Gargano, Kaitlyn Getz, Sarah Gross, Lois Harbaugh, Ian Hazard-Bill, Jason Hess, Jennifer Holt, Drew Ippoliti, Iskra Ivanova, Anna Kats, Patty Kochaver, Robert Kokenyesi, Lucien Koonce, Joe Kraft, Annie Lee, Andrew Mcintyre, Jessie Martin, Paul McCoy, Avra Messe, Molly Morning-glory, Matthew Patton, Sara Prigodich, Jenny Reed, Masa Sasaki, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Kourtney Stone, Suzanne Storer, Sam Thompson, Austin Wieland, Nicole Winning, Matthew Wright, Kensuke Yamada, Lisa York, and David Zahn.

 

Invited artists include Dan Anderson, Kahil Irving, Peter Pincus, and Kelsie Rudolph.

 

The M.G. Nelson Gallery is open to the public M-F from 9 AM-5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM-3 PM.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia

 

Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the second-most populous city in the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation's capital until 1800. It maintains contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city with a population of 1,603,797 as of the 2020 census and is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley (or Philadelphia metropolitan area), the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions consisting of 6.245 million residents in the metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area.

 

Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker and advocate of religious freedom. The city served as the capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's independence following the Revolutionary War. Philadelphia hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774, preserved the Liberty Bell, and hosted the Second Continental Congress during which the founders signed the Declaration of Independence, which historian Joseph Ellis has described as "the most potent and consequential words in American history". Once the Revolutionary War commenced, the Battle of Germantown and the siege of Fort Mifflin were fought within Philadelphia's city limits. The U.S. Constitution was later ratified in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Philadelphia remained the nation's largest city until 1790, when it was surpassed by New York City, and it served as the nation's first capital from May 10, 1775, until December 12, 1776, and on four subsequent occasions during and following the American Revolution, including from 1790 to 1800 during the construction of the new national capital of Washington, D.C.

 

With 18 four-year universities and colleges, Philadelphia is one of the nation's leading centers for higher education and academic research. As of 2018, the Philadelphia metropolitan area was the state's largest and nation's ninth-largest metropolitan economy with a gross metropolitan product of US$444.1 billion. The city is home to five Fortune 500 corporate headquarters as of 2022. As of 2023, metropolitan Philadelphia ranks among the top five U.S. venture capital centers, facilitated by its proximity to New York City's entrepreneurial and financial ecosystems. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, owned by Nasdaq since 2008, is the nation's oldest stock exchange and a global leader in options trading. 30th Street Station, the city's primary rail station, is the third-busiest Amtrak hub in the nation, and the city's multimodal transport and logistics infrastructure, includes Philadelphia International Airport, and the rapidly-growing PhilaPort seaport. A migration pattern has been established from New York City to Philadelphia by residents opting for a large city with relative proximity and a lower cost of living.

 

Philadelphia is a national cultural center, hosting more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other city in the nation. Fairmount Park, when combined with adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the same watershed, is 2,052 acres (830 ha), representing one of the nation's largest and the world's 45th-largest urban park. The city is known for its arts, culture, cuisine, and colonial and Revolution-era history; in 2016, it attracted 42 million domestic tourists who spent $6.8 billion, representing $11 billion in economic impact to the city and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties.

 

With five professional sports teams and one of the nation's most loyal fan bases, Philadelphia is often ranked as the nation's best city for professional sports fans. The city has a culturally and philanthropically active LGBTQ+ community. Philadelphia also has played an immensely influential historic and ongoing role in the development and evolution of American music, especially R&B, soul, and rock.

 

Philadelphia is a city of many firsts, including the nation's first library (1731), hospital (1751), medical school (1765), national capital (1774), university (by some accounts) (1779), stock exchange (1790), zoo (1874), and business school (1881). Philadelphia contains 67 National Historic Landmarks, including Independence Hall. From the city's 17th century founding through the present, Philadelphia has been the birthplace or home to an extensive number of prominent and influential Americans. In 2021, Time magazine named Philadelphia one of the world's greatest 100 places.

 

Additional Foreign Language Tags:

 

(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"

 

(Pennsylvania) "بنسلفانيا" "宾夕法尼亚州" "Pennsylvanie" "पेंसिल्वेनिया" "ペンシルベニア" "펜실베니아" "Пенсильвания" "Pensilvania"

 

(Philadelphia) "فيلادلفيا" "费城" "Philadelphie" "फिलाडेल्फिया" "フィラデルフィア" "필라델피아" "Филадельфия" "Filadelfia"

Role players from the fictional village of Bayan exchange currency at the village market during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 19 at 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright on May 11th, 2019.

 

Image By: Private Jordyn Anderson

 

Garrison Wainwright Imaging

 

WT07-2019-0013-0012

In the park.

Cropped slightly, light adjustment for contrast.

© Photo by Sherrie Thai of Shaire Productions.

Reservists from 38 Brigade Group’s Influence Activities Company conduct patrols and execute key leader engagements in the fictional village of Bayan during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 19 at 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright on May 11th, 2019.

 

Image By: Private Jordyn Anderson

 

Garrison Wainwright Imaging

 

WT07-2019-0013-001

Reservists from 38 Brigade Group’s Influence Activities Company conduct patrols and execute key leader engagements in the fictional village of Bayan during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 19 at 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright on May 11th, 2019.

 

Image By: Private Jordyn Anderson

 

Garrison Wainwright Imaging

 

WT07-2019-0013-008

The Springfield Art Association will host an opening reception for a nationally juried ceramic exhibition entitled Shapes of Influence on Friday evening, August 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Awards and a gallery talk by juror Simon Levin will occur at 6:45 PM.

 

The show will be on display in the SAA's M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from August 3-September 1 and features work from over two dozen states and Canada.

 

Juried artists include Morgan Barton, Kenneth Baskin, Casey Beck, Irina Bondarenko, Robert Bruch, Danielle Callahan, Michelle Coakes, John Cohorst, Louis Colomarini, John Costanza, Paula Diaz-Sylvester, Auguste Elder, Karen Ellis-Phillips, Curtis and Karen Frederick, Verne Funk, John Gargano, Kaitlyn Getz, Sarah Gross, Lois Harbaugh, Ian Hazard-Bill, Jason Hess, Jennifer Holt, Drew Ippoliti, Iskra Ivanova, Anna Kats, Patty Kochaver, Robert Kokenyesi, Lucien Koonce, Joe Kraft, Annie Lee, Andrew Mcintyre, Jessie Martin, Paul McCoy, Avra Messe, Molly Morning-glory, Matthew Patton, Sara Prigodich, Jenny Reed, Masa Sasaki, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Kourtney Stone, Suzanne Storer, Sam Thompson, Austin Wieland, Nicole Winning, Matthew Wright, Kensuke Yamada, Lisa York, and David Zahn.

 

Invited artists include Dan Anderson, Kahil Irving, Peter Pincus, and Kelsie Rudolph.

 

The M.G. Nelson Gallery is open to the public M-F from 9 AM-5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM-3 PM.

Collaboration beetween Biennalist and Ultracontemporay

  

Art Format

www.emergencyrooms.org/formats.html

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Geoffroy

  

Documenta From Wikipedia,

 

The Fridericianum during documenta (13)

documenta is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural Show) which took place in Kassel at that time.[1] It was an attempt to bring Germany up to speed with modern art, both banishing and repressing the cultural darkness of Nazism.[2] This first documenta featured many artists who are generally considered to have had a significant influence on modern art (such as Picasso and Kandinsky). The more recent documentas feature art from all continents; nonetheless most of it is site-specific.

 

Every documenta is limited to 100 days of exhibition, which is why it is often referred to as the "museum of 100 days".[3] Documenta is not a selling exhibition. It rarely coincides with the three other major art world events: the Venice Biennale, Art Basel and Skulptur Projekte Münster, but in 2017, all four were open simultaneously.

  

Etymology of documenta

The name of the exhibition is an invented word. The term is supposed to demonstrate the intention of every exhibition (in particular of the first documenta in 1955) to be a documentation of modern art which was not available for the German public during the Nazi era. Rumour spread from those close to Arnold Bode that it was relevant for the coinage of the term that the Latin word documentum could be separated into docere (Latin for teach) and mens (Latin for intellect) and therefore thought it to be a good word to describe the intention and the demand of the documenta.[4]

 

Each edition of documenta has commissioned its own visual identity, most of which have conformed to the typographic style of solely using lowercase letters, which originated at the Bauhaus.[5]

 

History

 

Stadtverwaldung by Joseph Beuys, oaktree in front of the museum Fridericianum, documenta 7

Art professor and designer Arnold Bode from Kassel was the initiator of the first documenta. Originally planned as a secondary event to accompany the Bundesgartenschau, this attracted more than 130,000 visitors in 1955. The exhibition centred less on "contemporary art“, that is art made after 1945: instead, Bode wanted to show the public works which had been known as "Entartete Kunst" in Germany during the Nazi era: Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Blauer Reiter, Futurism and Pittura Metafisica. Therefore, abstract art, in particular the abstract paintings of the 1920s and 1930s, was the focus of interest in this exhibition.

 

Over time, the focus shifted to contemporary art. At first, the show was limited to works from Europe, but soon covered works by artists from the Americas, Africa and Asia. 4. documenta, the first ever to turn a profit, featured a selection of Pop Art, Minimal Art, and Kinetic Art.[6] Adopting the theme of Questioning Reality – Pictorial Worlds Today, the 1972 documenta radically redefined what could be considered art by featuring minimal and conceptual art, marking a turning point in the public acceptance of those styles.[7] Also, it devoted a large section to the work of Adolf Wolfli, the great Swiss outsider, then unknown. Joseph Beuys performed repeatedly under the auspices of his utopian Organization for Direct Democracy.[8] Additionally, the 1987 documenta show signaled another important shift with the elevation of design to the realm of art – showing an openness to postmodern design.[9] Certain key political dates for wide-reaching social and cultural upheavals, such as 1945, 1968 or 1976/77, became chronological markers of documenta X (1997), along which art's political, social, cultural and aesthetic exploratory functions were traced.[10] Documenta11 was organized around themes like migration, urbanization and the post-colonial experience,[11] with documentary photography, film and video as well as works from far-flung locales holding the spotlight.[7] In 2012, documenta (13) was described as "[a]rdently feminist, global and multimedia in approach and including works by dead artists and selected bits of ancient art".[12]

 

Criticism

documenta typically gives its artists at least two years to conceive and produce their projects, so the works are often elaborate and intellectually complex.[13] However, the participants are often not publicised before the very opening of the exhibition. At documenta (13), the official list of artists was not released until the day the show opened.[14] Even though curators have often claimed to have gone outside the art market in their selection, participants have always included established artists. In the documenta (13), for example, art critic Jerry Saltz identified more than a third of the artists represented by the renowned Marian Goodman Gallery in the show.[14]

 

Directors

The first four documentas, organized by Arnold Bode, established the exhibition's international credentials. Since the fifth documenta (1972), a new artistic director has been named for each documenta exhibition by a committee of experts. Documenta 8 was put together in two years instead of the usual five. The original directors, Edy de Wilde and Harald Szeemann, were unable to get along and stepped down. They were replaced by Manfred Schneckenburger, Edward F. Fry, Wulf Herzogenrath, Armin Zweite, and Vittorio Fagone.[15] Coosje van Bruggen helped select artists for documenta 7, the 1982 edition. documenta IX's team of curators consisted of Jan Hoet, Piero Luigi Tazzi, Denys Zacharopoulos, and Bart de Baere.[16] For documenta X Catherine David was chosen as the first woman and the first non-German speaker to hold the post. It is also the first and unique time that its website Documenta x was conceived by a curator (swiss curator Simon Lamunière) as a part of the exhibition. The first non-European director was Okwui Enwezor for Documenta11.[17]

  

TitleDateDirectorExhibitorsExhibitsVisitors

documenta16 July – 18 September 1955Arnold Bode148670130,000

II. documenta11 July – 11 October 1959Arnold Bode, Werner Haftmann3381770134,000

documenta III27 June – 5 October 1964Arnold Bode, Werner Haftmann3611450200,000

4. documenta27 June – 6 October 196824-strong documenta council1511000220,000

documenta 530 June – 8 October 1972Harald Szeemann218820228,621

documenta 624 June – 2 October 1977Manfred Schneckenburger6222700343,410

documenta 719 June – 28 September 1982Rudi Fuchs1821000378,691

documenta 812 June – 20 September 1987Manfred Schneckenburger150600474,417

documenta IX12 June – 20 September 1992Jan Hoet1891000603,456

documenta X21 June – 28 September 1997Catherine David120700628,776

documenta118 June – 15 September 2002Okwui Enwezor118450650,924

documenta 1216 June – 23 September 2007Roger M. Buergel/Ruth Noack[19]114over 500754,301

documenta (13)9 June – 16 September 2012Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev187[20]904,992[21]

documenta 148 April – 16 July 2017 in Athens, Greece;

10 June – 17 September 2017 in KasselAdam Szymczykmore than 1601500339.000 in Athens

891.500 in Kassel

documenta fifteen18 June 2022 – 25 September 2022 in Kasselruangrupa[22]

2012's edition was organized around a central node, the trans-Atlantic melding of two distinct individuals who first encountered each other in the "money-soaked deserts of the United Arab Emirates". As an organizing principle it is simultaneously a commentary on the romantic potentials of globalization and also a critique of how digital platforms can complicate or interrogate the nature of such relationships. Curatorial agents refer to the concept as possessing a "fricative potential for productive awkwardness," wherein a twosome is formed for the purposes of future exploration.[23]

 

Venues

documenta is held in different venues in Kassel. Since 1955, the fixed venue has been the Fridericianum. The documenta-Halle was built in 1992 for documenta IX and now houses some of the exhibitions. Other venues used for documenta have included the Karlsaue park, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, the Neue Galerie, the Ottoneum, and the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof. Though Okwui Enezor notably tried to subvert the euro-centric approach documenta had taken, he instigated a series of five platforms before the Documenta11 in Vienna, Berlin, New Delhi, St Lucia, and Lagos, in an attempt to take documenta into a new post-colonial, borderless space, from which experimental cultures could emerge. documenta 12 occupied five locations, including the Fridericianum, the Wilhelmshöhe castle park and the specially constructed "Aue-Pavillon", or meadow pavilion, designed by French firm Lacaton et Vassal.[24] At documenta (13) (2012), about a fifth of the works were unveiled in places like Kabul, Afghanistan, and Banff, Canada.[13]

 

There are also a number of works that are usually presented outside, most notably in Friedrichsplatz, in front of the Fridericianum, and the Karlsaue park. To handle the number of artworks at documenta IX, five connected temporary "trailers" in glass and corrugated metal were built in the Karlsaue.[25] For documenta (13), French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal constructed the temporary "Aue-Pavillon" in the park.

  

Rahmenbau (1977) by Haus Rucker und Co.

A few of the works exhibited at various documentas remained as purchases in Kassel museums. They include 7000 Eichen by Joseph Beuys; Rahmenbau (1977) by Haus-Rucker-Co; Laserscape Kassel (1977) by Horst H. Baumann; Traumschiff Tante Olga (1977) by Anatol Herzfeld; Vertikaler Erdkilometer by Walter De Maria; Spitzhacke (1982) by Claes Oldenburg; Man walking to the sky (1992) by Jonathan Borofsky; and Fremde by Thomas Schütte (one part of the sculptures are installed on Rotes Palais at Friedrichsplatz, the other on the roof of the Concert Hall in Lübeck).

 

documenta archive

The extensive volume of material that is regularly generated on the occasion of this exhibition prompted Arnold Bode to create an archive in 1961. The heart of the archive’s collection comes from the files and materials of the documenta organization. A continually expanding video and image archive is also part of the collection as are the independently organized bequests of Arnold Bode and artist Harry Kramer.

 

Management

Visitors

In 1992, on the occasion of documenta IX, for the first time in the history of the documenta, more than half a million people traveled to Kassel.[26] The 2002 edition of documenta attracted 650,000 visitors, more than triple Kassel's population.[27] In 2007, documenta 12 drew 754,000 paying visitors, with more than one-third of the visitors coming from abroad and guests from neighboring Netherlands, France, Belgium and Austria among the most numerous.[28] In 2012, documenta (13) had 904,992 visitors.[21]

 

References

Adrian Searle (June 11, 2012), "Documenta 13: Mysteries in the mountain of mud", The Guardian.

Roberta Smith (June 14, 2012), Art Show as Unruly Organism The New York Times.

Arnold Bode coined this phrase for the first time in the prologue of the first volume of the catalogue: documenta III. Internationale Ausstellung; Catalogue: Volume 1: Painting and Sculpture; Volume 2: Sketches; Volume 3: Industrial Design, Print; Kassel/Köln 1964; p. XIX

Kimpel, Harald: documenta, Mythos und Wirklichkeit. Köln 1997, ISBN 3-7701-4182-2

Alice Rawsthorn (June 3, 2012), A Symbol Is Born The New York Times.

The documenta IV Exhibition in Kassel (1968) German History in Documents and Images (GHDI).

Helen Chang (June 22, 2007), "Catching the Next Wave In Art at Documenta", The Wall Street Journal.

Roberta Smith (September 7, 2007), "Documenta 5" The New York Times.

Gimeno-Martinez, Javier; Verlinden, Jasmijn (2010). "From Museum of Decorative Arts to Design Museum: The Case of the Design museum Gent". Design and Culture. 2 (3).

dX 1997 Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, documenta XII.

Stephan Valentin (June 12, 2007), An art show in Kassel, Germany, rivals Venice Biennale The New York Times.

Roberta Smith (June 14, 2012), Art Show as Unruly Organism The New York Times.

Kelly Crow (June 8, 2012), A Party, Every Five Years, for 750,000 Guests The Wall Street Journal.

Jerry Saltz (June 15, 2012), Jerry Saltz: "Eleven Things That Struck, Irked, or Awed Me at Documenta 13" New York Magazine.

Michael Brenson (June 15, 1987), "Documenta 8, Exhibition In West Germany", The New York Times.

Michael Kimmelman (July 5, 1992) "At Documenta, It's Survival Of the Loudest", The New York Times.

Jackie Wullschlager (May 19, 2012) Vertiginous doubt Financial Times.

Julia Halperin, Gareth Harris (July 18, 2014) How much are curators really paid? Archived July 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine The Art Newspaper.

Holland Cotter (22 June 2007). "Asking Serious Questions in a Very Quiet Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-29.

Ulrike Knöfel (8 June 2012). "What the 13th Documenta Wants You to See". Der Spiegel.

"904,992 people visit documenta (13) in Kassel". documenta und Museum Fridericianum Veranstaltungs-GmbH. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2013.

Russeth, Andrew (2019-02-22). "Ruangrupa Artist Collective Picked to Curate Documenta 15". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.

"In Germany, Disguising Documentary As Art". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-28.

Stephan Valentin (June 12, 2007), An art show in Kassel, Germany, rivals Venice Biennale International Herald Tribune.

Roberta Smith (June 22, 1992), A Small Show Within an Enormous One The New York Times.

d9 1992 Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, documenta XII.

Adrian Searle (June 19, 2007), 100 days of ineptitude The Guardian.

Catherine Hickley (September 24, 2007), "Documenta Contemporary Art Show Draws Record 754,000 to Kassel", Bloomberg.

Carly Berwick (May 17, 2007), "Documenta 'Mystery' Artists Are Revealed; Buzz Strategy Fizzles", Bloomberg.

Rachel Donado (April 5, 2017), German Art Exhibition Documenta Expands Into Athens, The New York Times.

Catherine Hickley (November 27, 2017), Documenta manager to leave post after budget overruns The Art Newspaper.

Further reading

Hickley, Catherine (2021-06-18). "This Show Sets the Direction of Art. Its Past Mirrored a Changing World". The New York Times.

Nancy Marmer, "Documenta 8: The Social Dimension?" Art in America, vol. 75, September 1987, pp. 128–138, 197–199.

 

other biennales :

Venice Biennial , Documenta Havana Biennial,Istanbul Biennial ( Istanbuli),Biennale de Lyon ,Dak'Art Berlin Biennial,Mercosul Visual Arts Biennial ,Bienal do Mercosul Porto Alegre.,Berlin Biennial ,Echigo-Tsumari Triennial .Yokohama Triennial Aichi Triennale,manifesta ,Copenhagen Biennale,Aichi Triennale

Yokohama Triennial,Echigo-Tsumari Triennial.Sharjah Biennial ,Biennale of Sydney, Liverpool , São Paulo Biennial ; Athens Biennale , Bienal do Mercosul ,Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art

 

www.emergencyrooms.org

www.emergencyrooms.org

  

www.colonel.dk/

 

lumbung

Short concept by ruangrupa for documenta 15

"We want to create a globally oriented, cooperative, interdisciplinary art and culture platform that will remain effective beyond the 100 days of documenta fifteen. Our curatorial approach aims at a different kind of collaborative model of resource use—economically, but also in terms of ideas, knowledge, programs, and innovation."

  

ruangrupa’s central curatorial approach for documenta fifteen is based on the principles of collectivity, resource building, and equal sharing. They aim to appeal not just to an art audience but to a variety of communities, and to promote local commitment and participation. Their approach is based on an international network of local, community-based organizations from the art and other cultural contexts and can be outlined by the Indonesian term lumbung. lumbung, directly translatable as “rice barn,” is a collective pot or accumulation system used in rural areas of Indonesia, where crops produced by a community are stored as a future shared common resource and distributed according to jointly determind criteria. Using lumbung as a model, documenta fifteen is a collective resource pot, operating under the logics of the commons. It is an agglomeration of ideas, stories, (wo)manpower, time, and other shareable resources. At the center of lumbung is the imagination and the building of these collective, shared resources into new models of sustainable ideas and cultural practices. This will be fostered by residencies, assemblies, public activities, and the development of tools.

 

Interdisciplinarity is key in this process. It is where art meets activism, management, and networking to gather support, understand environments, and identify local resources. These elements then create actions and spaces, intertwine social relations and transactions; they slowly grow and organically find a public form. This is a strategy “to live in and with society.” It imagines the relations an art institution has with its community by being an active constituent of it. Strategies are then developed based on proximity and shared desires.

 

The main principles of the process are:

• Providing space to gather and explore ideas

• Collective decision making

• Non-centralization

• Playing between formalities and informalities

• Practicing assembly and meeting points

• Architectural awareness

• Being spatially active to promote conversation

• A melting pot for and from everyone’s thoughts, energies, and ideas

  

#documentakassel

#documenta

#documenta15

#artformat

#formatart

#rundebate

#thierrygeoffroy

#Colonel

#CriticalRun

#venicebiennale

#documentafifteen

#formatart

#documentacritic

#biennalist

#ultracontemporary art

#protestart

 

Whether you’re a super car enthusiast or old classic buff You can use #TribeFluence to help grow your brand or make money as an influencer helping to spread one

#americanmuscle #fastback #stanggang #performance #bmwm4 #horsepower #mpower #bmwgram #car #cars #audiautomotive #supercars #s5 #ford #classic #beastmode #foxbody #cobra #svt #racecar #performance #truth #instagram #supercar #supercar #fordracing #saleen #roush #shelby

The Springfield Art Association will host an opening reception for a nationally juried ceramic exhibition entitled Shapes of Influence on Friday evening, August 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Awards and a gallery talk by juror Simon Levin will occur at 6:45 PM.

 

The show will be on display in the SAA's M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from August 3-September 1 and features work from over two dozen states and Canada.

 

Juried artists include Morgan Barton, Kenneth Baskin, Casey Beck, Irina Bondarenko, Robert Bruch, Danielle Callahan, Michelle Coakes, John Cohorst, Louis Colomarini, John Costanza, Paula Diaz-Sylvester, Auguste Elder, Karen Ellis-Phillips, Curtis and Karen Frederick, Verne Funk, John Gargano, Kaitlyn Getz, Sarah Gross, Lois Harbaugh, Ian Hazard-Bill, Jason Hess, Jennifer Holt, Drew Ippoliti, Iskra Ivanova, Anna Kats, Patty Kochaver, Robert Kokenyesi, Lucien Koonce, Joe Kraft, Annie Lee, Andrew Mcintyre, Jessie Martin, Paul McCoy, Avra Messe, Molly Morning-glory, Matthew Patton, Sara Prigodich, Jenny Reed, Masa Sasaki, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Kourtney Stone, Suzanne Storer, Sam Thompson, Austin Wieland, Nicole Winning, Matthew Wright, Kensuke Yamada, Lisa York, and David Zahn.

 

Invited artists include Dan Anderson, Kahil Irving, Peter Pincus, and Kelsie Rudolph.

 

The M.G. Nelson Gallery is open to the public M-F from 9 AM-5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM-3 PM.

Post boxes in Portugal are managed by Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones de Portugal (CTT). Many are of a distinctly British style.

 

March 1994

Rollei 35 camera

Kodachrome 64 film.

Copyright Helge Eisenberg, Willow Creek Deutschland

The Springfield Art Association will host an opening reception for a nationally juried ceramic exhibition entitled Shapes of Influence on Friday evening, August 3rd, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Awards and a gallery talk by juror Simon Levin will occur at 6:45 PM.

 

The show will be on display in the SAA's M.G. Nelson Family Gallery from August 3-September 1 and features work from over two dozen states and Canada.

 

Juried artists include Morgan Barton, Kenneth Baskin, Casey Beck, Irina Bondarenko, Robert Bruch, Danielle Callahan, Michelle Coakes, John Cohorst, Louis Colomarini, John Costanza, Paula Diaz-Sylvester, Auguste Elder, Karen Ellis-Phillips, Curtis and Karen Frederick, Verne Funk, John Gargano, Kaitlyn Getz, Sarah Gross, Lois Harbaugh, Ian Hazard-Bill, Jason Hess, Jennifer Holt, Drew Ippoliti, Iskra Ivanova, Anna Kats, Patty Kochaver, Robert Kokenyesi, Lucien Koonce, Joe Kraft, Annie Lee, Andrew Mcintyre, Jessie Martin, Paul McCoy, Avra Messe, Molly Morning-glory, Matthew Patton, Sara Prigodich, Jenny Reed, Masa Sasaki, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Kourtney Stone, Suzanne Storer, Sam Thompson, Austin Wieland, Nicole Winning, Matthew Wright, Kensuke Yamada, Lisa York, and David Zahn.

 

Invited artists include Dan Anderson, Kahil Irving, Peter Pincus, and Kelsie Rudolph.

 

The M.G. Nelson Gallery is open to the public M-F from 9 AM-5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM-3 PM.

Marijuana is on the ballot in 6 states this election. We have an opportunity to use social media to influence the election as well as future policy with the new reality series in development with $RFMK's Spokesperson Cheryl. If you would like to see the REAL people behind the scenes of this movement to be a part of the series instead of using actors, then please support us in our vision. Please share everywhere. Some supportive comments would be great also. Let's make sure we have a lot of positive support out there in the mainstream and take this viral :) My company's products "The CANNACIG" by stock symbol $RFMK is featured! Marijuana is safer than alcohol!!!! Spread the word! :) Please share, like, comment, G+, tweet etc :)

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They've Ruined It. Millions of dollars in Town revenue wiped out ? Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something stupid ? New Town officials and ABF President Erica Gillis are the worst ever ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54418705157/in/album-7...

 

Directors Erica Gillis, www.appleblossom.com/about/

 

Mayor Andrew Zebian www.facebook.com/andrewzebian

    

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ABF 2023 :

  

Shocking news from ABF,

  

* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *

 

Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the highly anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?

  

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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------

  

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

  

Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors have announced they are making drastic new changes in format and making more devastating cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Recent concerns over ceremony, symbolism, monarchy and past colonialism, along with the ongoing inclusion and diversity issue relative to the Queen Annapolisa contest, as well as the current Trudeau Liberal political environment in Canada, may have all influenced a new generation of ABF Officials to radically update the historic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageants in order to bring the Valley up to modern standards that they believe more relevant to current times ? And so it seems that Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' and without consideration, consultation, or bothering to invite or gain approval from long time participating Valley communities, Officials must have decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with the issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of this history ? And so it seems that a decision must have been made, in a very private way, to enforce the life ending final solution ? And so, as of 2023 the iconic 87 year old Apple Blossom Princess contest and pageant is to be shut down and terminated forever ? This act has been carried out without public input, inclusion, involvement, attendance or approval, and now one of the longest running, popular, highly anticipated, inclusive and diverse family events to ever benefit the Valley is over ?

This cold act of finality will end the 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and it will terminate all further participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and child attendants representing 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It also ends appearances by the beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that are the focal highlight of Grand Street Parade and will signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies gala that is held and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This will end the popular community Princess Tea events, the Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that were so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors, shut-ins and the disabled ? And this means the end of Royal Party appearances at the Kentville Children's Parade, the Memorial Park Friday night open air Rock concert and fireworks, and Royal party attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and Province ?

It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate the prestigious event forever explaining that their decision was made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the fampus pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It also negatively affects the nearby Valley communities who participate and always enter contestants in the Pageant ? The end of this important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play a major role in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?

You have to marvel at the level of disrespect shown by these new generation Officials who have appointed themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a long running 90 year old event they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken a giant leap backwards and robbed the Valley people of a much beloved, multi community, inclusive and live local family production that has always been the most anticipated highlight of the year for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?

Why are the current ABF Management, who claim to be the stewards in charge of and the ones responsible for promotion and presentation of the festival unable to perform their duties or do the job that they're paid to do and why can't they do as their predecessors have always done so well each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times ? This is difficult to comprehend ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do your job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, personal bias, laziness, or just plain stupidity, then,, YOU'RE ALL FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)

  

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An Identity Crisis ;

  

Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?

  

While the cultural genocide continues in Kentville, the Mayor's downtown business back yard is brought up to a never before seen pristine condition ?

  

A proud and neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture, food and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals just stand still, watch and might even enable ? After having always been identified as the main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the brand new train station, dig up tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be a cruel mockery, the only visible signs left in Kentville from past glory years of what had been the largest, most important and active railroad center west of Halifax is now just an aged weather beaten hand painted mural etched on the fading paint of one of the downtown business buildings ?

Sadly, the end of the railway wasn't to be the only loss of a major transportation link to be absorbed by the people of Kentville ? The Town was suddenly left even more isolated from the outside World when Kings County Council ordered the long time Airport to get out for no sane or rational reason when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? And so a fully operational well known and well established municipal airport, as well as a popular Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known long time pilot training licensing academy, and many private aircraft owned by local owners, and numerous other well established aviation businesses were gone and only to be replaced with an empty dirt field full of weeds ? The Council's cruel eviction has also left our young Camp Aldershot Air Cadets without a base of operations, and so the next generation of Kentville youth will now have to grow up without their long standing aviation training and education facility thanks to Warden Brothers and her cohorts ?

And so it had seemed that a Warden who lives in another town Kingston and a duly elected group of officials who don't even live in the area were all congratulating themselves on a brilliant business move after they were able to quickly end the long life of a historic local Aviation facility that had taken decades to build and establish ? And so all that remains of this once thriving aviation Aeropark is a barren field where unsupervised Michelin kids ride bikes and dodge the dandelions that poke heads thru the deteriorating asphalt runway that once served as the landing platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out on a daily basis ? And to add salt to this wound, this senseless eviction and massive loss to the local economy revenue was to be hailed by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee as being a bold and brilliant business decision that will greatly improve and benefit the local area ?

After months of facing homelessness and an uncertain future, some evicted tenants found sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, and others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood (which just happened by chance to be Kings Council County Warden's home riding) ? And so, in the end a devastating loss for Kentville and the entire local area became a windfall for the Kingston Greenwood area, and, Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?

 

When the original Kentville KCA town School closed down, Kentville lost its high school and all high school students were left without a home town school ? They were now to be bused to the nearby town of Canning ? This left only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups now able to identify with Kentville as a home school, a situation that still exists today ? There is no longer a movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever ? The very popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall has also closed down and never replaced ? Kentville's Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it also wasn't replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was sold to developers, then torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost our local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when the Provincial Government ordered it to be shut down, but the same folks who shut it down never offered to replace it with anything and they left our community without this crucial service ? One day a portion of roof blew off the town funeral home and it has never re-opened since leaving the town with only one such establishment ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were being shocked to learn that both the historic Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be terminated after 87 consecutive years, there was at the same time an all age Drag Queen show in preparation to appear at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop scenario from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year when they play at the pub ? Numerous local restaurants and many small businesses have come and gone - mostly gone ? After ridiculous Government rules and regulations, Maders is now barely able to hang on after 50 years of serving downtown shoppers ? Kentville main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire forcing him to close down for over a year leaving no supermarket to provide groceries for local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down and all of its venues were lost to the community ? The Inn was never replaced after the fire and now there's just a fast food MacDonald's on the old property as a replacement for the lost hotel rooms, the indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, the nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants offered for years by the Wandlyn Inn ?

 

The traditional town sponsored July 1st Canada Day ceremonies featuring fun, food, speeches and local entertainment that was always held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations, and so if you wanted to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you must go elsewhere to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to water supply is always one of the most identifiable utility service entitlements provided by a town ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe water ? Yet Kentville water commission charges the customer 10,000 dollars just to turn town owned water on at the roadside and then leave ? After this 10 G surcharge is forced on the new customer he will still have to pay for yard trenching, pipe laying and household plumbing work ? And then the KWC's valued new customer will be rewarded with a regular water bill delivered to his residence ???

They have even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name of Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that has become synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville and name that represents a multitude of fond memories for many residents ? It was hard to understand why the Town would allow such an important heritage site name to ever be changed, and it was also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow numerous subsidized low rental apartment units to be built onto the side of such a famous Town centerpiece and that also blocked the access lane to get to the rear parking lot ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be one of the Valleys greatest treasured landmarks and deserving of protected Canadian heritage site status ?

They have also changed the well known and immediately identifiable names of Kentville Streets and also the name of the local traffic bridge traversing the Cornwallis River ? And so now many citizens and delivery drivers do not know what they're talking about when they use these new names and this can be especially hard on Seniors who can become confused by unnecessary name changes made to long time used accustomed names ? It can create a safety hazard ?

In 2017 ABF Directors attempted to extract Kentville's Grand Street Parade away from its home in Kentville and give it to a different town ? The outraged citizens were then forced to claw and battle just to get their own local parade returned back to them after hosting it for the last 87 years ? And, in yet another huge loss and giant step backwards that same year, ABF decided to cease and desist with all Wednesday, Thursday and weekend games, food, music, displays, amusements, local student displays and performances, etc. etc. always held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom festival week ? No explanation was given, no replacement or any apology was ever offered by the Town for such a major loss to Kentville public outdoor entertainment ? Kentville has now lost their most identifiable of all citizens that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville, when a newcomer generation of Town and ABF Officials had showed uncommon disrespect and disregard for tradition when presuming themselves to be the generation entitled to end the iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition after 88 years ? This meant that all public Royal party appearances normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Party including the Princess Teas, the appearance at Kentville Children's Parade, Friday night concert, Wolfville Coronation ceremonies, starting the fireworks, leading the Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and all of their hospital attendances will no longer be taking place ?

In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was understandably very limited after the 2 previous cancellations due to Covi but unfortunately this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The contribution and wonderful diversity of many nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was excluded this year and was no longer included in this Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were also no longer included ? Many residents expressed extreme disappointment when their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer included in their own home Town Parade ? It seemed that Kentville had lost its most identifiable citizen and a wonderful Town Ambassador who always carried out important official Town duties by representing the town with beauty, charm, grace, dignity and talent whenever and wherever she visited ?

 

The long running Friday night rock concert held at Memorial park has been downgraded into a cheap affair only offering some of the regular local entertainment, a few kindergarten bouncy castles and food wagons selling twenty dollar hamburgers, (gone are the days of the dollar dawg ) ? And there is a strange vacancy felt down there now ever since the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and great music supplied by Eddy's Basement are no longer included ? And there was even a noted decrease in the quality of the fireworks which btw are no longer started by Queen Annapolisa during Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? Inflation stressed locals were also charged out of pocket to attend the downtown Saturday evening outdoor ABF street dance ?

And so, citizens of Kentville are frustrated with so many cutbacks, cancellations and closures never to be replaced once they are taken away ? Both of the Provincial Railway and the municipal Airport are now permanently closed and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were never replaced ? Devastating cut backs to Apple Blossom Festival week and cancellations made to the all week long public entertainment held at Memorial Park reduced to a boring one night Friday night event followed Saturday by a Royal-less Grand Street parade that lasted less than an hour ? The loss of a home High School for Teenage students, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the ongoing absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys drive thru, the loss of one of 2 Tim Hortons and their foreign hiring policy, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a 7/11 convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when there was no replacement ever offered by the same Province that had shut it down ? And there was the shocking elimination of the Apple Blossom Princess event and an end to the prestigious Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? The sacrilegious change of name to the internationally known name Cornwallis Inn symbolically married to the Town name Kentville and cherished by local residents ? And the serious shortage of tourist facilities after the Wandlyn hotel complex burned down and the Town lost many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, convention and recreational venues have all taken a toll ?

But now, in more recent issues, we are seeing more and more small businesses from all over the Valley that not only provide local employment but serve as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors, now completely changing hands when taken over by outsiders that have not come from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but from another Continent ? This includes replacing management as well as workers and apparently controlling the hiring policy in many long time Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? And it seems that whenever shopping at the Milne Court Petro-Can, or New Minas Ultramar, KVille Ultramar, KFC, or Mary Browns, the DQ, or the Burger King, or Subway, or any of the 3 Timmies , or Walmart, Needs, or when receiving a parcel from amazon, or paying the bill at many other stores it feels like you're suddenly in a foreign country ? Many newcomer hired employees are new to Canada so don't bother asking for directions, and they are not familiar with the local currency and so it is advisable to count your change if paying by cash ? There are also some worries about the temporary foreign workers program being unfair and even racist, and there is worry about nepotism in the hiring of foreign employees when many of our local residents can't find a local job any more ? A major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems to have been affected by the current influx of foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, unsafe (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and there are rumors of certain units with multiple drivers that have had a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage on a one way trip from the truck cabin interior directly down to the open highway below to avoid any pit stops at the Big Stop ?

Major concerns were also shown over the recently held Kentville municipal election, when it appeared that many of the candidates didn't know much about Kentville and seemed to ignore the Town's important long time traditions, customs, character and past history ? Some candidates had even naively described Kentville as a kind of idealistic, carefree, blissful, happy Who-ville storybook fairy tale village where jolly munchkins frolic up and down the colorful cobblestone streets bordered by quaint shops, boutiques and fancy eateries ?

Kentville did elect a new Mayor who is also a new local business owner, who must now tackle the current town crisis ? However, it appears that he has befriended and could even be being advised by the ex County Warden Brothers who resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and doesn't give a squat about Kentville and previously sold out Kentville when leading the charge to expropriate the municipal Airport, popular skydiving academy, international flight training academy and many other successful aviation businesses at Waterville ?

The new Mayors' New Year's message seemed to focus on congratulating himself on the enlargement of the size of his downtown retail store that is located on the recently totally renovated Webster Street, and he expressed personal happiness over the new (taxpayer funded) installation of a brand new double wide sidewalk in front of his store ? However he seemed to leave out a few nagging town issues like current Town youth unemployment, the racial profile hiring that is going on at Hortons, a fentanyl and opioid crisis, current downtown vandalism and suspicious fires, arrival of street people and homelessness, the ending of the Princess Kentville competition, lost revenue due to cancellation of the Apple Blossom and Queen Annapolisa pageant, and the deterioration of the now Royal-less Grand street Parade ? He didn't seem concerned about the loss of all the entertainment at Memorial Park during Apple Blossom week ? There was no mention of the long running need for a indoor town recreation facility (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos and witnessing homeless users shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? He also failed to mention the current housing crisis and the sudden increases in cost of renting ? Nothing was heard about the alarming increase in downtown business foreclosures and bankruptcieshere and also no mention of the problem of no place to stay or eat for tourists who visit Kentville ? There was nothing said about a need to honor Kentville's glorious past railroading heritage and history with a museum and outdoor train and locomotive display of some sort ? And many were alarmed at the recent mistreatment of Senior citizens in the Grand Street Parade when seen perched precariously aboard an unstable, stop and go, unsheltered, jerking motion, no sided open vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun in a float designed to hold only the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant ? Nothing said about the pressing need to build a Town high school for Kentville teens ? There was also some controversy over the hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance of honorary heritage site Cornwallis Inn ? And of course, many residents are concerned over the serious Town drainage problem discovered after recent town flooding ? There was also shock when the Provincial Government forced the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down but never offer to replace it and just left shocked citizens without this vital service ? And, there remains a demand for an inquiry into the exploitation of many vulnerable customers when, unlike the Indians, they are charged a five figure fee by Kentville water commission just to turn their water on at the road and offered no further help ? And there are new concerns over the formation of an exclusive kind of Ontarioville newcomer type club that is gradually establishing itself to be its own independent town within a town ? There were also concerns put forth by many local drivers over this years Spring pothole epidemic making some streets unfit to drive on (at a time when a brand new double lane sidewalk in front of Phinneys was smooth as a baby's bum), and a Town refusal to help drivers with their expensive auto repairs caused by unmarked dangerous potholes ? And there were many complaints about the inconvenience felt by local area residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at three legged turtle race speed causing a vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to a street beautification program in front of Phinneys) ?

Adding to this, many citizens of Kentville and all veterans were extremely disappointed and did not appreciate the disrespect shown when ( due to a drop of rain ) Town and newly elected organizers cancelled this year's Military march-on and (the best in area) honorary Remembrance Day ceremonies that are always held outdoors at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street and moved it indoors ?

 

And so, can it be time to stop come from away newcomer mentality, and to make it mandatory that all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions must be born, raised and reside in the town of Kentville in an effort to preserve, protect, retain and respect the unique character, history, diversity, identity and many longtime community traditions that make Kentville ?

  

OUCH ? ( can someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...

 

the genocide of a Valley history and culture ? The long proud history of all 87 past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? The special site page that honored and was dedicated to all previous Queen Annapolisa winners 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and has apparently been replaced with jumbo size smiling portraits of the newcomer ABF President and officials who have taken over and pretty well ruined the historic internationally known Festival ?

Meet the newcomer directors,

www.appleblossom.com/about/

 

How dare They ? Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville . If you are to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries and almost all of them are married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"

www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...

 

Kentville's own Trash Canyon - toughest S.O.B. wrastler to ever come outta the KVille !

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53939211581

 

Trash Canyon - If u go away,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x8zb9u0

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Apple Blossom Festival news updates :

  

Logan Morse and the newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when they move to terminate the historic long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? Directors in charge show no remorse, while boasting that their bold action was needed to improve, evolve and bring the pageant up to their modern standards ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...

 

May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual amount of disrespect and disregard shown as they cancel the historic 88 year old Valley Peoples Pageant without notice, consideration, consultation or approval ? ABF officials have apparently proclaimed themselves as the only generation in 88 years that will interrupt and permanently end 88 years of wonderful world class multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageantry ? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...

 

Annapolis Valley families are in shock and children cry when learning that their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-

 

Air Show Atlantic Inc.- Valley residents have lost a long time major yearly family entertainment event when the annual ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and, to corporate greed ? Corporation Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft on taxpayer owned property in a vastly inferior airshow with far less aircraft ? They don't have the courtesy to offer a discount Seniors ticket category for Valley Senior citizens ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615

 

Kentville identity crisis. Help, Is there a Superhero anywhere out there that can save Kentville from the newcomer agenda ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54418705157/in/album-7...

 

The 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been the target for exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport before relocating it to their own home riding in Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, Apple Blossom Princess Kingston, and ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and another major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?

Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065

 

2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - A disregard for safety of Seniors is shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unsheltered, open sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...

 

Exploiting a past Queen Annapolisa in a photo op ? ?Looks can be deceiving as Politicians attending the official opening ceremony of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretend there's still a Pageant when knowing full well that they have terminated the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princesses and it will no longer be a part of the Festival after 88 years ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...

 

The 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - What happened to the Trudeau demand for inclusion and diversity ?

Newcomer Parade organizers defy and snub the Trudeau Liberal Government's wish for diversity and inclusion in Canada ? Many nearby local Valley towns and villages are not included in this year's parade ? This exclusion also means a denial of the wonderful diversity always provided by these local towns and communities ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's our Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and where's all of the individual Town floats including the Princess Kentville royal float ? To view complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie

 

Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288

 

Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...

 

Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,

www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...

 

The Town of Kentville has cut back and cancelled many hours and even entire days of long time traditional public outdoor entertainment at Memorial Park that was always a standard part of Apple Blossom Festival week ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785

 

A medley of guest Tribute bands seen at Memorial Park Kentville that were always free of charge in the past when performing at the Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9

 

Corporate greed shown by newcomer organizing committee ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band for patrons as per normal at the annual free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it will now cost 50.00 pp to see a 'Queen tribute band' performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/

 

40 $ to take your lady to a outdoor street dance without a live band ? Town of Kentville organizers rip off citizens right at Apple Blossom Festival time ? Cold-hearted Capitalism is shown by the Town and the newcomer organizing committee as citizens are burdened with a twenty dollar per person out of pocket expense just to attend an outdoor street dance held outdoors on taxpayer owned street property during Apple Blossom Festival week ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...

 

They've Ruined It ? Millions of dollars in revenue has been wiped out ? Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54418705157/in/album-7...

 

Directors Erica Gillis, www.appleblossom.com/about/

Mayor Andrew Zebian www.facebook.com/andrewzebian

 

2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Is this a joke ? A low entree, bare minimum 45-minute Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero in large marching street bands and majorettes other than the regular RCMP (mini version) marching unit, no Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Apple Blossom Royalty and no famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants not there, no horse and wagons, no armaments, soldiers, marching bands or displays from Aldershot or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet Guest parade announcer proclaims in quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, - it's the longest with the largest route and the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t ? Where did that come from and what's she talking about ?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00

 

A new Apple Blossom Princess now occupies a makeshift bench that has been mounted on board the historic Kentville Apple Blossom parade float in the Grande Street Parade. It seems that the newcomer Mayor of Kentville has replaced our 88 year old Apple Blossom Princess Kentville on her royal float ?

' Somebody get that King a crown and sceptre '

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted

 

They've ruined it part 2 - Millions in town revenue have been lost as Parade attendance shrinks to all time low ? May 31st, 2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade has gone from 100,000 down to 10,000 - They've ruined the Festival, and the Parade too ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost....

www.facebook.com/avabf

 

British colonialism - ABF Directors may disapprove and terminate the Queen Annapolisa pageant and Apple Blossom Princess competition but nevertheless Valley residents will continue to admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. Valley citizens were delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now 'Royalty-less' ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946

 

the genocide of our Valley history and culture ? The long proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? The special site history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer ABF President and officials ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens

Meet the directors,

www.appleblossom.com/about/

 

May 29th, 2026, Kentville Memorial Park, the ABF Friday night concert, ( Can the good ole days of dollar dogs and bargain Big 8 soda pops be over) ? High level security protocol issued for an evening of food wagons and kids bouncy castles ? ( must have taken up most of their budget at the sacrifice of bringing in some quality outside live entertainment) ? Town calls in outside police to reinforce local Kentville officers, cordons off the entire ground zero event perimeter with road blocks, street barricades and manned guard check posts for high level traffic control that, unfortunately, forces patrons including seniors, the disabled, toddlers, and Mothers carrying babies to park and walk a fair distance to get to the park gates ? Also, in the past years the concert always brought in special outside guest rock bands, and featured interesting games, demonstrations and displays, and there was a visit from the Queen Annapolisa Royal party following the prestigious coronation ceremony in Wolfville, However, unfortunately now the concert appears to have deteriorated into some kind of a Children's outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, inflatable air bouncy castles and a local band as the featured guest main stage star performer ? There's not much to do or see for those exceeding elementary grade school level other than to maybe purchase some food from a food truck charging upscale restaurant prices to then dine on a paper plate using plastic utensils while standing in a crowd of unruly kids and being lustfully observed by nearby hungry saliva drooling pet dogs leashed to owners ? However, thanks to the heightened security and crowd control there was a report of a parking violator being successfully apprehended and a runaway pet was also captured and returned to its owner ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...

 

Oct 4th, 2025 - The Kentville Harvest Festival is held annually in Centre Square :

A disappointing effort this year that didn't include many of the long time traditional favourites like the family horse-drawn hay wagon ride or the pumpkin people scarecrow making class, contest and the live group demo ? Didn't see much of a showing from the Valley harvest, Valley livestock or the local Valley farmer ? Many of the usual Harvest Festival standards that had always been featured in past festivals were no longer here but are instead replaced by business kiosks selling commercial merchandise unrelated to the harvest ? Some bouncy castles were brought in along with some high-priced food trucks ?

 

Upgrade 2025 ? A photo taken from in front of Phinney's dept store on Webster Street downtown Kentville after major renovations to double its size gave Phinneys the second largest downtown store front display window area next only to the NSLC liquor Store : A massive Town expenditure was budgeted this year for a major upgrade to the Mayor's downtown business backyard as Webster Street gets a complete 100 % total beautification makeover with new installations of street paving, paint and signage etc, new double sidewalks both sides, driveway entrances, and new curb and gutter both sides ? All surrounding streets in this business block area were also upgraded including Aberdeen Street (twice), Cornwallis Street and Main Street ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835340734/in/photost...

 

A Koncerned Kentvillian must ask, " why is it every time you gas up at Milne Court Petro-Can, New Minas Ultramar, KVille Ultramar and now the Big Stop, or go to the KFC for chicken, or Mary Browns, or the Burger King, or Subway, or all of the 3 Timmies for coffee, or Walmart, or Needs, or receive a parcel from amazon, or attend a cash register post to pay a bill at many other stores, it feels like you're suddenly in a foreign country ? " What has happened to all of the friendly locals that used to hold these positions and was one of the main reasons that we frequented these local establishments ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54418705157/

Kody Bloise . Liberal Party

 

Kentville's own Trash Canyon - toughest S.O.B. wrastler to ever come outta the KVille !

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53939211581

 

Trash Canyon - If u go away,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x8zb9u0

  

George Orwell's dark prediction has just come true.

London England, Apr 22,2026 - The British Parliament has just enacted legislation to install a form of Orwellian Totalitarian rule into the current democratic English society that allows for the installment of Government social control in the form of mandatory lifetime probationary orders to be placed on certain selected unwary citizens without asking their permission who will then be state monitored from birth to death to insure compliance is met on the legal lifetime probation order that is attached to them ? Rob Cunningham and his Cancer Society are boldly crusading for residents of his democratic home country of Canada to lose their current freedom and be forced into this same type of Orwellian social control system ? www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/uk-agrees-ban-on-cigarette-s...

  

Dec 13th, 2025 - this could be a bit rich ? The top doctor for Nova Scotia is advertising smoking for the liquor store ? Dr. Robert Strang Chief Medical Officer of Health now appearing in TV ads that endorse the (safe) smoking of pot while he represents the Provincially owned liquor stores ? It's also a bit rich that Rob Cunningham and his Cancer Society don't appear to have a problem with these smoking ads ?

www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4190201767960744

  

Closing down museums, tearing down 88 yr old historic statues, the vandalizing of precious artifacts and the changing of historic street and heritage site names are all slowly erasing a peoples' proud history ? March 04, 2026 - Halifax Nova Scotia - P. C. Provincial Government downplays the importance of preserving the Provinces history and culture, and dismisses those who strive to preserve, protect, honor and expand it ? Artists, cultural and heritage workers, arts organizers, and their allies rally in Halifax over the latest Tim Houston PC worst in history 130 M cuts to the essential funding needed for arts, culture, tourism, and heritage sector programs ?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQjKntnV55c

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/55129846907/in/dateposted

  

A cultural genocide is going on in Kentville ?

Why always Kentville ? Now it's the library ? First came the loss of the Railway and Day-liner service back in 1989, then Kings council expropriated the local Airport and evicted the many other established aviation schools and businesses, they had tried to take Grand street parade away from Kentville in 2017, and then we lost the famous Cornwallis Inn logo and the 88 yrs old statue in Halifax was torn down, they then terminated Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and ended the 87 consecutive years of the Queen Annapolisa pageant. Kentville lost a massive amount of diversity that had always been provided by the multiple villages that participated in the Festival, as well elimination of the Princess teas, the Coronation, and all of the popular mid-week public outdoor entertainment always normally held at Memorial Park during ABF week ? And now they appear to be after the popular long time Kentville Library ?

After the Town has terminated so many traditional sources of public enjoyment while never offering a similar replacement, and as Kentville gradually approaches cultural ghost town status, it is noticed that the downtown business core (in which the Mayor has a major private business interest ) has been totally renovated and restored to pristine condition by way of a complete 100 % makeover beautification program complete with new installations of street paving, street paint, new double sidewalks on both sides, new driveway entrances, new curb and gutter both sides, signage and flower pots ? And the other three surrounding streets making up this downtown business block have also been totally upgraded including Aberdeen Street (twice), Cornwallis Street and Main Street ?

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/annapolis-valley-libra...

www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/video/2026/06/02/funding-cuts-lea...

 

May 18th, 2026 - CBC speak with forked tongue ? CBC lures unsuspecting RCMP members into a trap set by First Nations ? Ambushed by the CBC and First Nations, a music video ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/55278767366/in/dateposted

 

the ongoing deterioration of Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival in Kentville ? Bring back Eddies Basement to Memorial Park ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/55295377420/in/photost...

 

honey they shrunk the stage ! Safety side fences have had to be installed,

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/55307116357/in/dateposted

 

An ongoing downsizing of the world-famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/55304178661/in/photost...

  

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Kentville - Mader's celebrates 50 years of service,

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/55187690268/in/dateposted

  

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ABF 2017 :

 

A quick review of the notorious hostile takeover bid and an attempt to extract the 2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade away from its natural home in the town of Kentville ?

  

February, 2017 - With only 3 months to go and parade planning and preparations well underway as per usual for the upcoming 2017 edition of Kentville Grand Street Parade, officials were suddenly caught totally off-guard and were absolutely blindsided by shocking news coming from out of nowhere that current ABF Management who are in charge of the festival had made a final decision in private to take Grand Street Parade away from its long time home in Kentville ? Apparently, they had already moved to taken it away from Kentville and then transfer it to New Minas during secret meetings without consulting, giving notice, or requesting permission ? And so it seemed that a group of inconsiderate Officials with radical new ideas had ignored town of Kentville interests and 87 years of tradition, and had (incredibly) just taken the annual Grand Street Parade ( and even future Parades ) from Kentville without consultation, notice or permission ? Drastic location changes and even elimination of other longtime events and attractions always held in Kentville such as the Friday night outdoor show and fireworks, the Memorial Park Wednesday and Thursday displays with Valley student participation and numerous attractions, the bringing in of popular outside bands, and even the famous historic Kentville Children's Parade were all targeted by this grouping of ABF directors for cut-back or termination ? Radical changes in the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition including gender, contestant rules, location of crowning ceremony, and changes in overall competition format were also discussed ? ABF Officials defended secretive, inconsiderate and authoritarian type actions by claiming that as stewards of the festival they are entitled and obliged to uphold the integrity of the festival ? (integrity ? ) They later changed stories saying they were left with no other choice due to Kentville's inability to prove they can successfully host such a large Parade event, ( Kentville has hosted this parade for the last 85 years ), and also because the people in charge of Grand Street Parade were unprofessional, indifferent and uncooperative ?

And so it came to be that a newly elected Mayor and a new Council in its infancy were suddenly confronted with perhaps the most serious challenge ever to be faced by the town of Kentville since the tragic loss of their two major transportation sources, that being the loss of the railway in 1989, followed by the shocking loss of aviation in 2014 when the Town CAO and the Warden and Council conspired to close out Waterville municipal Airport and evict all businesses and tenants ? This new and very serious challenge came in the form of a surprise and pernicious attack and attempt to hijack Kentville's most beloved local commercial attraction ? The unexpected surprise action came from an unfamiliar and unfriendly source that appeared to be inconsiderate, disrespectful, and even a tad opportunistic when considering that Kentville just finished installing a brand new rookie Mayor and Council ? When the newly elected Mayor of Kentville was suddenly swarmed by news of so many extreme actions already taken against her town's best interests, a shocked and disbelieving Mayor Snow said when speaking with local media that she was overwhelmed, heartbroken and called the actions unprecedented, disrespectful and unacceptable ? Everyone seemed to agree that an attack on Kentville's most popular and well known outdoor event without courtesy of an invitation, negotiation, inclusion, consultation or approval is unacceptable ? Needless to say, the biggest losers of all were the good citizens of Kentville who have contributed so much over the last 90 years going back to the thirties and forties in times when the CNR train brought many Parade patrons to stay at the Cornwallis Inn ? Over the years the Town has invested enormous amounts of its time, energy and town resources into the creation of a world-famous event that draws tens of thousands of visitors.

All Valley towns take great pride and look forward to their individual town festivals and especially their yearly parade. The citizens of Kentville are no different. Towns like Kingston, Hantsport, Wolfville, Windsor, Berwick, Canning, Greenwood etc. will never have to worry about someone hijacking their yearly community parade or otherwise taking it away ? However, sadly, the citizens of Kentville now face the troubling prospect of a possible loss of their annual town parade without notice at any time and of losing many years of time, energy, town resources, manpower and all of the other general services and contributions made during the past 88 years that it has taken to create this world class event ?

The current 2017 ABF board of Directors is led by Angela Pelton and Alxys Chamberlain (Queen Annapolisa 2015), with Barb Madic, Heidi Scotney-Kinsman, John Patterson, Katie Gordon, Krista Morine, Linda Keddy, Logan Morse, Sarah Griffiths, and Steffany Cox-Lingard ?

  

No Smoking in KVille, but drink, gamble and smoke pot all you want ? Maders tobacconist in downtown Kentville is celebrating 50 years in business,,

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/9344935900

 

may 2023 = Kids welcome at an all-age Drag show to be held at the Kings Arms in Kentville,,

www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...

 

A protest against an all-age drag show at the Kings Arms ends peacefully in Kentville,

www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/communities/a-celebration-of...

 

Lunenburg - Now even Queen is a bad name ? Lunenburg recently changed the name of Cornwallis Street to Queen Street. Queen was first choice in a survey taken to select a new street name. But the town received another complaint from the local anti-racism committee saying they are upset by a democratic decision that would replace one colonial street name (Cornwallis) with another, (Queen ) ?

www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ns-town-that-changed-cornwa...

      

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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :

  

"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along to make themselves a part of the parade ? "

 

May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are Apple Blossom Princesses and child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about majorette groups, Scottish pipers and large multi marching bands that always attend ? And where is Hantsport and Windsor and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many of the Valley towns and villages that normally participate not included in the parade this year ? It was also disappointing for many when for the first time ever, Kentville Apple Blossom Princess (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included ? Many local residents young and old identify with the Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? The royal float had to be used this year to transport a group of everyday town residents sitting together in a social scene that was meant to identity Kentville with the issues of diversity and inclusion ? The New Minas float also did not include their Apple Blossom Princess this year, however it had been transformed into an advertising commercial for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions can identify with. Berwick's float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but instead promoted their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians can identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was noted that only one other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more of these big bands, many with pipers, usually attend after traveling from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where were the pets and farm animals ? There wasn't any horse teams, no wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year and even the usual greyhound dogs didn't show ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just took it upon themdelves to just joined in and they began walking along to themselves become a part of the parade ? Others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented, with the largest delegation coming from the Kody Blois Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a minimum weak effort that really missed the inclusion and diversity of royal pageantry and the 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats ? It was also missing the many large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter ? It also lacked the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, the popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and also the large out of town contingents that normally participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are used to seeing and did not represent the high standards and degree of professionalism set by all previous Grand Street Parades ? It was soon obvious that what they had advertised as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead just the opposite because sadly it was instead missing all of the inclusion, diversity and contributions of the many local Valley communities and all of their Apple Blossom Princess contestants that always normally come to Kentville and participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition before taking their Royal ride down Main street Kentville on beautiful hand crafted Town floats ?

And so, quickly summing up, can such a strange, incomplete, amateurish, cheap imitation version of our world-famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that is missing her Royal heinous Queen Annapolisa and the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses with their 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted Town Princess floats and also missing the unique character and diversity provided by the many now uninvited Valley communities, and that appears to be a new generation cheap re-set version of the original historic Grand Street Parade now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?

   

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