Community unity reigned supreme in Canarsie when Bildersee Junior High School hosted a seasonal celebration, complete with a maypole plaiting and the crowning of local royalty.
The annual spring festival, sponsored by Tots & Teens in Focus, featured a cornucopia of crowd-pleasing attractions and activities, capped by dancing around a majestic, ribbon-festooned maypole in the school yard, 956 East 82nd Street.
Rites and festivities included the crowning of Lynela Jones as May Queen, who will represent the group as a youth ambassador on an upcoming education tour to Guyana and Trinidad.
In many European countries, maypoles provide a centerpiece for formal communal dancing and spring celebrations. References to maypoles extend back to the 14th century but the tradition of dancing round the beribboned pole was introduced in Great Britain by Professor John Ruskin.
The Canarsie celebration was presented in collaboration with Sesame Flyer’s Beacon Program.
