Montgomery celebrates ‘První máj’ (May Day)

Nothing says spring like blue skies, warm temperatures, and a lot of color. 

 

Montgomery welcomed spring on Sunday with its newest festival, “První máj” or Czech May Day.

 

Under blue skies on the corner of Vine Avenue and First Street, the festival blossomed with everything you would expect from a spring Czech festival: authentic Czech food, desserts, beer and music from the Czech Area Concertina Club.

 

One of the many highlights from the event included the raising of the Maypole, which was a 50-foot pine tree, with its lower truck shaved and smoothed. The top of the tree remained and was decorated with colorful flowers. Beneath it was a wreath decorated with flowers and ribbons. 

 

Another part of the colorful celebration was the traditional ribbon dance where 16 participants created unique patterns with ribbons hanging from the middle of the Maypole trunk. As they moved around the pole, the dancers intertwined their ribbons to create a colorful web above. In a second dance, the ribbons intertwined around the pole itself.

 

Organizers said they had little more than a month to prepare. However, opinions, applause and cheers from the approximate 200 people who attended indicates they succeeded in Montgomery’s first-ever May Day celebration.

 

See more in the print edition.