55-464: YpsiFest (formerly Ypsilanti Heritage Festival) is a festival in Ypsilanti , Michigan . Held each year on the fourth weekend of August, the festival sprawls across Frog Island Park, Riverside Park, and historic Depot Town. The festival features a variety of activities and entertainment including helicopter rides, acrobats and theater performances by Ring of Steel, evening concerts, gambling and bingo, and
110-714: A Christian saint as well as a celebration of the time of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, where it is particularly important in Sweden. Winter carnivals also provide the opportunity to utilise to celebrate creative or sporting activities requiring snow and ice. In the Philippines , each day of the year has at least one festival dedicated to harvesting of crops, fishes, crustaceans, milk, and other local goods. Scholarly literature notes that festivals functionally disseminate political values and meaning, such as ownership of place, which undergoes transformation in accordance with
165-433: A class entitled "Applied History", in which his students have contributed over 20,000 hours of service to various public history institutions. Formal education can help visitors interpret what they see at living history sites. By providing a structured way of looking at living histories, as well as questions to think about during visits, formal education can enrich the experience, just as living histories can enrich learning in
220-616: A dedication to education within their mission statements. For instance, the motto of Colonial Williamsburg , "That the Future May Learn from the Past", proclaims the site's commitment to public edification, as does the portion of the website created for the sole purpose of aiding teachers in instruction on the village. Certain educators, such as James Percoco in his Springfield, Virginia , high school class, have chosen to integrate public history into their curricula. Since 1991, Percoco has led
275-529: A global tourist prospect although they are commonly public or not-for-profit . Many festivals have religious origins and entwine cultural and religious significance in traditional activities. The most important religious festivals such as Christmas , Rosh Hashanah , Diwali , Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha serve to mark out the year. Others, such as harvest festivals , celebrate seasonal change. Events of historical significance, such as important military victories or other nation-building events also provide
330-404: A guidebook to the city's historic homes, and were told that no money was available for that purpose, but that there was funding available to stage a festival. A $ 15,000 grant from the state helped to fund the 1979 Ypsilanti Yesteryear Heritage Festival. In 1979, the festival drew 50,000 attendees, continued to grow quickly in subsequent years, and the name was soon shortened to the present name. By
385-574: A huge kids zone full of children specific activities and rides. Additionally there are featured evens like Illumination@YpsiFest where local business compete for prizes by creating illuminated sculptures for an evening display, and an illumination parade. There was music, there was dancing, there were draft horses prancing, and it all took place Saturday in Depot Town during the Sidewalk Celebration. When sunny skies and lots of heat helped bring out
440-430: A jumping-off point for conversation. "Interpreters" are the individuals who embody historical figures at living history sites. It is their responsibility to take the historical research that has been done on the sites and decide what meaning it has. These meanings are often a melding of fact and folklore . Folklore is an important aspect of living histories because it provides stories which visitors relate to. Whether it
495-434: A noun c. 1200 , and its first recorded use as a verb was circa 1300. The word gala comes from Arabic word khil'a , meaning robe of honor. The word gala was initially used to describe "festive dress", but came to be a synonym of "festival" starting in the 18th century. Festivals have long been significant in human culture and history and are found in virtually all cultures. The importance of festivals, to
550-501: A result of which there is a wide range of ancient and modern harvest festivals . Ancient Egyptians relied upon the seasonal inundation caused by the Nile River , a form of irrigation , which provided fertile land for crops. In the Alps , in autumn the return of the cattle from the mountain pastures to the stables in the valley is celebrated as Almabtrieb . A recognized winter festival,
605-551: A rubber duck race, a living history encampment, a high wire performance by one of The Flying Wallendas , and a circus. In 1973, Carolyn King, with support from the Ypsilanti City Council, became one of the first girls in the country to play Little League Baseball . When they found out that she was playing, Little League International officials pulled the Ypsilanti American Little League's charter, and
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#1733085735570660-404: A sense of a way of life, than in recreating exact events, accurate in every detail. Many factors contribute to creating a setting in which visitors to living history sites can become active participants in their historical education. Two of the most important are the material culture and the interpreters. Material culture both grounds the audience in the time and place being portrayed, and provides
715-608: A separate area for combat reenactment activities. While some such exhibits may be conducted in character as a representation of typical everyday life, others are specifically organized to inform the public and so might include an emphasis on handicrafts or other day-to-day activities, which are convenient to stage and interesting to watch, and may be explained out of character. During the 1990s, reenactment groups, primarily American Civil War groups, began to show interest in this style of interpretation and began using it at their reenactments. As David Thelen has written, many Americans use
770-427: A sort of amusement park (compare Westworld ). List, himself a right-wing neopagan, asked his staff of landlords, waiters and rangers to be dressed in historical gear. He also asked to have any visitors re-dressed in costumes and described rituals to signify "in-game" and "out-game" status to enhance the immersion experience. E.g. the role of the garment is of interest till today. The term "living history" describes
825-406: A type of experiential learning in which they make discoveries firsthand, rather than reading about the experience of others. Living history can also be used to supplement and extend formal education. Collaborations between professional historians who work at living history sites and teachers can lead to greater enthusiasm about studying history at all grade levels. Many living history sites profess
880-832: A widespread variety in Eastern Germany that were closely monitored by security forces. That sort of "second-hand" living history is also part of western German folklore and attempts a high level of authenticity. Activities may be confined to wearing period dress and explaining relevant historical information, either in role (also called first-person interpretation ) or out of character (also called third-person interpretation ). While many museums allow their staff to move in and out of character to better answer visitor questions, some encourage their staff to stay in role at all times. Living history portrayal often involves demonstrating everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning, medical care, or particular skills and handicrafts . Depending on
935-516: Is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is similar to, and sometimes incorporates, historical reenactment . Living history is an educational medium used by living history museums , historic sites , heritage interpreters , schools and historical reenactment groups to educate
990-411: Is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures . It is often marked as a local or national holiday , mela , or eid . A festival constitutes typical cases of glocalization , as well as the high culture-low culture interrelationship. Next to religion and folklore , a significant origin is agricultural . Food
1045-461: Is an interpreter embodying a past individual's personal story or discussing a superstition of the time, these accounts allow the audience to see these past figures not as names on a page, but as actual people. However, folklore is also more than stories. Objects, such as dolls or handmade clothing among others, are considered "folk artifacts", which are grouped under the heading of "material culture". Individuals can participate in living histories as
1100-497: Is such a vital resource that many festivals are associated with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are blended in events that take place in autumn , such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere and Easter in the southern. Festivals often serve to fulfill specific communal purposes, especially in regard to commemoration or thanking to the gods, goddesses or saints: they are called patronal festivals . They may also provide entertainment , which
1155-678: Is the Peter and Paul festival in Bretten . the Landshut Wedding or the Schloss Kaltenberg knights tournament. The majority of combat reenactment groups are battlefield reenactment groups, some of which have become isolated due to a strong focus on authenticity. Events with the professional reenactment group Ulfhednar lead to a controversy in German archaeology. The German Polish living history group
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#17330857355701210-430: Is the distinction between live action role-playing games . While professional living history presentations routinely use museum professionals and trained interpreters to help convey the story of history to the public, some museums and historic sites employ living history groups with high standards of authenticity for the same role at special events. Such events do not necessarily include a mock battle but aim at portraying
1265-609: The Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , and Anglican liturgical calendars there are a great number of lesser feasts throughout the year commemorating saints, sacred events or doctrines. In the Philippines , each day of the year has at least one specific religious festival, either from Catholic, Islamic, or indigenous origins. Buddhist religious festivals, such as Esala Perahera are held in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Hindu festivals , such as Holi are very ancient. The Sikh community celebrates
1320-578: The Chinese New Year , is set by the lunar calendar, and celebrated from the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice . Dree Festival of the Apatanis living in Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh is celebrated every year from July 4 to 7 by praying for a bumper crop harvest. Midsummer or St John's Day, is an example of a seasonal festival, related to the feast day of
1375-717: The National Peanut Festival in the United States, or the Galway International Oyster Festival in Ireland. There are also specific beverage festivals, such as the famous Oktoberfest in Germany for beer . Many countries hold festivals to celebrate wine . One example is the global celebration of the arrival of Beaujolais nouveau , which involves shipping the new wine around the world for its release date on
1430-497: The Philippines , aside from numerous art festivals scattered throughout the year, February is known as national arts month, the culmination of all art festivals in the entire archipelago. The modern model of music festivals began in the 1960s-70s and have become a lucrative global industry. Predecessors extend back to the 11th century and some, such as the Three Choirs Festival, remain to this day. Film festivals involve
1485-641: The Vaisakhi festival marking the new year and birth of the Khalsa . Among the many offspring of general arts festivals are also more specific types of festivals, including ones that showcase intellectual or creative achievement such as science festivals , literary festivals and music festivals . Sub-categories include comedy festivals , rock festivals , jazz festivals and buskers festivals ; poetry festivals, theatre festivals , and storytelling festivals ; and re-enactment festivals such as Renaissance fairs . In
1540-553: The historical period portrayed, these might include spinning , sewing , loom weaving , tablet weaving , inkle weaving or tapestry weaving, cloth dyeing , basket weaving , rope making, leather-working , shoemaking , metalworking , glassblowing , woodworking or other crafts. Considerable research is often applied to identifying authentic techniques and often recreating replica tools and equipment. Historical reenactment groups often attempt to organize such displays in an encampment or display area at an event, and have
1595-542: The 1973 All-Star game between the rival Ypsilanti American and National Little Leagues was never played. Thirty-seven years later, the teams were re-assembled similar to an Old-Timers' Day event, in Frog Island Park, as part of the 2010 festival. Billed as "The Game That Never Was", the American League All-Stars (led by Carolyn, who led off and played center field) won, 15–14. Festival A festival
1650-473: The 43rd on COVID-19 pandemic concerns. That was deferred to 2021. The Ypsilanti Heritage Festival includes and has included a wide variety of activities and events. The Ypsilanti Historic Home Tour, held annually during the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival, began, like the festival proper, in 1979. A beer garden and gambling tent anchored the center of the festival from 1979 through 2010. In 2011
1705-567: The United States, on the National Park Service land, NPS policy "does not allow for battle reenactments (simulated combat with opposing lines and casualties) on NPS property." There are exceptions, such as Saylors Creek, Gettysburg . These are highly controlled with exacting safety standards, as well as exacting historical truths. In Germany , medieval reenactment is usually associated with living history and renaissance fairs and festivals, which are found in many cities. One such example
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1760-455: The calendar in use at the time. The Sed festival , for example, celebrated the thirtieth year of an Egyptian pharaoh 's rule and then every three (or four in one case) years after that. Among the Ashantis , most of their traditional festivals are linked to gazette sites which are believed to be sacred with several rich biological resources in their pristine forms. Thus, the annual commemoration of
1815-622: The consumption of specially prepared food (showing the connection to "feasting") and they bring people together. Festivals are also strongly associated with national holidays. Lists of national festivals are published to make participation easier. The scale of festivals varies; in location and attendance, they may range from a local to national level. Music festivals, for example, often bring together disparate groups of people, such that they are both localised and global. The "vast majority" of festivals are, however, local, modest and populist. The abundance of festivals significantly hinders quantifying
1870-675: The crowds, they found plenty to do and see. The festival was first held on Saturday, July 15, 1978, "from noon 'til nightfall". The sidewalks and streets in Depot Town had just been re-paved, and the Depot Town Association held a "Sidewalk Celebration". The poster advertised a noon sidewalk promenade led by the Honorable George Goodman "Hizzoner" the mayor of Ypsilanti and exciting ribbon cutting ceremonies, dedications and plain or fancy walkin ' . The Sidewalk Celebration
1925-485: The festival. Furthermore, a festival may act as an artefact which allows citizens to achieve "certain ideals", including those of identity and ideology. Festivals may be used to rehabilitate or elevate the image of a city; the ephemerality of festivals means that their impact is often incorporeal, of name, memory and perception. In deviating from routine, festivals may reinforce the convention, be it social, cultural or economic. Living history Living history
1980-637: The festivals helps in maintaining the buoyancy of the conserved natural site, assisting in biodiversity conservation. In the Christian liturgical calendar , there are two principal feasts, properly known as the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas) and the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter), but minor festivals in honour of local patron saints are celebrated in almost all countries influenced by Christianity. In
2035-514: The gambling was eliminated for financial reasons, while the beer garden continued with an expanded food and drink selection; however, in January, 2012, new festival director Andrew Clock announced that "the casino will be back, set up right next to the beer tent, where it belongs." A bed race through downtown Ypsilanti was added as an annual event beginning in 2009. The Ypsilanti Heritage Festival Parade began in 1979, and has been held every year. In 2007,
2090-547: The impetus for a festival. An early example is the festival established by Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III celebrating his victory over the Libyans. In many countries, royal holidays commemorate dynastic events just as agricultural holidays are about harvests. Festivals are often commemorated annually. There are numerous types of festivals in the world and most countries celebrate important events or traditions with traditional cultural events and activities. Most culminate in
2145-618: The last few centuries – some traditional festivals in Ghana , for example, predate European colonisation of the 15th century. Festivals prospered following the Second World War. Both established in 1947, Avignon Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have been notable in shaping the modern model of festivals. Art festivals became more prominent by the turn of the 21st century. In modern times, festivals are commodified as
2200-474: The life, and more importantly the lifestyle, of people of the period. This often includes both military and civilian impressions. Occasionally, storytelling or acting sketches take place to involve or explain the everyday life or military activity to the viewing public. More common are craft and cooking demonstrations, song and leisure activities, and lectures. Combat training or duels can also be encountered even when larger combat demonstrations are not present. In
2255-487: The mid-1980s the festival was attracting attention from non-local newspapers — a June 1985 edition of the Toledo Blade referred to it as an "Old time circus, arts and crafts, and historic home tour" — and later that decade the festival was drawing more than 250,000 attendees a year, though attendance subsequently declined, and in recent years the festival has drawn about 100,000 attendees. 2020 saw officials cancel
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2310-400: The parade attracted wider attention when parade organizers approved the inclusion of a group protesting a proposed city income tax and subsequently revoked the permission. Festival coordinators explained that their rule was to exclude groups marching to represent controversial or political issues, and that the initial approval was an error. Because the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival has often been
2365-422: The past in their daily lives, while simultaneously viewing the place where they often encounter history – the school – with varying levels of distrust and disconnectedness. Living history can be a tool used to bridge the gap between school and daily life to educate people on historical topics. Living history is not solely an objective retelling of historical facts. Its importance lies more in presenting visitors with
2420-546: The performance of bringing history to life for the general public in a rather freewheeling manner. The players are less confined in their actions, but often have to stay at a certain place or building. Historical presentation includes a continuum from well-researched attempts to recreate a known historical event for educational purposes, through representations with theatrical elements, to competitive events for purposes of entertainment. The line between amateur and professional presentations at living history museums can be blurred, as
2475-423: The practice has been seen as a means of creating geographical connection, belonging and adaptability. The word "festival" was originally used as an adjective from the late fourteenth century, deriving from Latin via Old French . In Middle English , a "festival dai" was a religious holiday. The first recorded used of the word "festival" as a noun was in 1589 (as "Festifall"). Feast first came into usage as
2530-402: The present, is found in private and public; secular and religious life. Ancient Greek and Roman societies relied heavily upon festivals, both communal and administrative. Saturnalia was likely influential to Christmas and Carnival . Celebration of social occasions, religion and nature were common. Specific festivals have century-long histories and festivals in general have developed over
2585-423: The public or their own members in particular areas of history, such as clothing styles, pastimes and handicrafts, or to simply convey a sense of the everyday life of a certain period in history. Living history's approach to gain authenticity is less about replaying a certain event according to a planned script as in other reenactment fields. It is more about an immersion of players in a certain era , to catch, in
2640-776: The same weekend as the Woodward Dream Cruise , festival coordinators "decided it would be a blast to have something that was the direct opposite of the Dream Cruise", and the Nightmare Cruise, a spoof of the Woodward Dream Cruise , was born in 2005. The only rules are that "[t]he car has to be legally driveable, and fluid leaks should be at a minimum." Other events have included a pole vault competition sanctioned by USA Track & Field , live theater, antique cars and fire engines, vintage base ball sponsored by Greenfield Village , "Precious Pets" and "Beautiful Babies" contests,
2695-622: The screenings of several different films, and are usually held annually. Some of the most significant film festivals include the Berlin International Film Festival , the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival . A food festival is an event celebrating food or drink. These often highlight the output of producers from a certain region. Some food festivals are focused on a particular item of food, such as
2750-620: The sense of Walter Benjamin the "spiritual message expressed in every monument's and every site's own 'trace' and 'aura ' ", even in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction . An early example of the spiritual and futuristic side of living history can be found in Guido von List 's book Der Wiederaufbau von Carnuntum (1900), which suggested rebuilding the Roman Carnuntum military camp in Vienna's neighborhood as
2805-516: The third Thursday of November each year. Both Beaujolais nouveau and the Japanese rice wine sake are associated with harvest time. In the Philippines, there are at least two hundred festivals dedicated to food and drinks. Seasonal festivals, such as Beltane , are determined by the solar and the lunar calendars and by the cycle of the seasons , especially because of its effect on food supply, as
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#17330857355702860-517: The total there of. There exists significant variation among festivals, beyond binary dichotomies of sacred and secular, rural and urban, people and establishment. Among many religions , a feast is a set of celebrations in honour of God or gods . A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable. Most religions have festivals that recur annually and some, such as Passover , Easter, and Eid al-Adha are moveable feasts – that is, those that are determined either by lunar or agricultural cycles or
2915-412: Was particularly important to local communities before the advent of mass-produced entertainment. Festivals that focus on cultural or ethnic topics also seek to inform community members of their traditions; the involvement of elders sharing stories and experience provides a means for unity among families . Attendants of festivals are often motivated by a desire for escapism, socialization and camaraderie;
2970-476: Was such a success that a decision was made to repeat the event, to be known as the "Ypsilanti Yesteryear Heritage Festival". According to other reports, a motivating factor was the desire to establish a historic district in Ypsilanti, to prevent the city from replacing historic buildings on North Huron Street and in Depot Town with new construction. A group of Ypsilantians applied to the state for funding to publish
3025-403: Was supported by large museums and scholars, and since 2000 has largely coined the image of early history in Germany and worldwide. Among others, a paper with the programmatic title Under the crocheted Swastika, Germanic Living History and rightwing affects started the dispute in 2009. On the other hand, Communist Eastern Germans had problems with accepting "Indianistic" living history reenactors,
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