Living History February 2003

Tallahassee, FL: A Day at the Faire

Join a baker, a tailor and a candlestick maker at this year’s 18th Century Colonial Trade Faire, Feb. 14-17, 2003, at Bradley’s Pond. In the tradition of Colonial fairs, visitors will dance, dine, shop and observe archery, weaving, black powder shooting and more. Admission is $2 per person or $5 per family. Children under 12 get in free. If you’d like to sell your 18th-century wares, you can don period attire and camp at the site beginning Feb. 10. But in order to participate, you must look the part: no modern jewelry, eyeglasses, cigarettes or rubber-soled shoes allowed. That means no modern merchandise or camping equipment, either. For more information, call the Faire Master at (850) 562-0705 or visit <www.tallahasseetradefaire.com>.

San Diego, CA: Shall We Dance?

Culture and diversity will whirl around you at the 10th Annual Nations of San Diego International Dance Festival on the University of California, San Diego campus. More than 250 dancers and musicians representing the Philippines, Ireland, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Hungary, Lithuania, India, China, Ghana and the United States will come together Jan. 9-12 and Jan. 22-25, 2003, to showcase their cultural heritage. Most performances begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Mandeville Auditorium. Tickets are $12 to $25 and are available at Ticketmaster outlets (619-220-8497, <www.ticketmaster.com>). Artists Forums discussing roots, music and costumes of traditional Indian and Spanish dances will be held in conjunction with the festival, at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 and 16, 2003. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance. For more information, call (619) 230-8623 or visit <www.sandiegodance.org>.

Anchorage, AK: Trapper’s Delight

Hike up your boots and pull on your parka. It’s time for Anchorage, Alaska’s Fur Rendezvous. This annual event celebrates early trappers’ springtime exchange of winter’s catch for supplies and cash. After spending most of the year away from civilization, these trappers were ready for two weeks of fun. In 1935, Alaskan Vern Johnson and his buddies organized the first winter carnival, which featured skiing, hockey, basketball, boxing and a children’s sled-dog race. Sixty-eight years later, the Fur Rendezvous — which gets its name from Alaska’s third most valuable industry in the early days — attracts more than 150,000 participants. This year’s festival, Feb. 14-23, 2003, features more than 120 events, including the World Championship Sled Dog Race, a fur auction, an oyster-shucking contest and a masquerade ball. For ticket and event information, call (907) 274-1177 or visit <www.furrondy.net>.

Baton Rouge, LA: Voodoo or Hoodoo?

When voodoo priestess Ava Kay Jones spoke in October at the opening of Magnolia Mound Plantation’s exhibit Voodoo: Religion and Spirituality, she tried to dispel a common myth. “People hear the word voodoo and they automatically think evil,” she told The Advocate. “But voodoo is a religion, and I use it only for good purposes — love, protection, prosperity.” Sticking pins in dolls or mixing potions to curse an adversary are acts of hoodoo (the evil twin of voodoo) and not condoned by good voodoo practitioners such as Jones. To learn more about the misunderstood religion of voodoo, you can visit the plantation’s exhibit through Feb. 14, 2003. Admission is free. The exhibit, in the Museum Store, includes an altar, masks, drums and candles, plus items associated with hoodoo. A portrait of voodoo queen Marie Laveau hangs on one wall, and visitors can peruse books about the religion. The exhibit’s open during Magnolia Mound’s regular hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (225) 343-4955.

Eugene, OR: East Meets Northwest

Discover the “Legends of Asia,” this year’s theme at the 18th annual Oregon Asian Celebration, Feb. 15-16, 2003. Sponsored by the Eugene-Springfield Asian Council, this event features Asian and Asian-American dances, crafts, martial arts, cooking demonstrations and merchandise. And of course you’ll want to sample the Pad Thai, sushi, pot stickers and other tempting treats. For event details, call (541) 687-9600.

From the February 2003 issue of Family Tree Magazine.