Carnival Celebration Kicks Off National Library Week

Libraries are such quiet places. Normally, there is no jumping, dancing and singing, but at the you could Samba in the stacks on Sunday.

Tracie Yorke, professional dancer and ethnologist, kicked up her nine-inch heels for a celebration of all things Carnival. The cultural scholar spoke about the various differences of the celebration, focusing on the festivals of Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad, and New Orleans.

The crowd was greeted at the front door by a stunning costumed Jennifer Beechak, dressed as Sol, a Latin-inspired anthropomorphized version of the sun.

Carley Adams and Emily Magdalena, two library volunteers from , marketed the event by creating banners, signs, and flyers.

Library Director Pier Lee opened the event by welcoming a packed crowd of patrons. She graciously thanked the patrons for attending and then thanked her tireless staff and enthusiastic volunteers.

Margaret Deitzer introduced the flamboyantly-dressed lecturer, who danced down the staircase to a Latin beat. Yorke, bedecked in feathers and sequins, shook and shimmied for the audience. She described her bright red costume and its theme.

"Every year we make a new costume with a new theme," she said. "This year, I was a Roman warrior, in charge of protecting the heart."

Yorke was energetic, frenetic and entertaining, using both wit and wisdom to engage the crowd. She described the costumes, the culture, the dances and their meanings. She spoke about the Sambodromo, the vast stadium in Rio where performers dance and sing.

"At Carnival, cultural differences drop away," she said. "If you are black or white, rich or poor, it doesn’t matter as much during the festival. The differences are still there, but they matter much less."

Yorke spoke about the difference between two distinct flavors of island music, Calypso and Samba.

"Calypso is a song of lament," Yorke said. "The Banana Boat song (Day-O) is about banana workers toiling in the fields. Whereas, the Samba is about joy and happiness."

She played the Banana Boat song, made famous by the king of Calypso, Harry Belafonte, and then played a joyful Samba song.

Yorke’s discussion was highly interactive. She found volunteers from the audience to play the instruments, the cuica, the shaker and the bell drum.

Elsie Eason played the shaker, Jack Greenberg manned the drum and Natalie Cummings played the cuica. They were backed up by Ernie Brown on guitar, a professional musician.

Tamiah Bridgett sang a traditional song.

Yorke spoke, at length, about the Trinidad version of the famous festival, incorporating her family heritage into the lively lecture. She also spoke about the American version of the famous festival in New Orleans.

"One of the main differences is that in Rio and Trinidad, you will still feel like a foreigner, but in America, there is no separation between the party-goers," she said.  

As is the festival tradition, she crowned a king and queen of the festival, Bill Wahl and Lauren Foster respectively. Yorke then got everyone on their feet, dancing to the Latin beat.

At the end of her talk, Sharon Haramic and Debbie Kartik, wheeled out a large king cake and began serving up slices as they doled out punch. With the aid of Maddie Siegel, the young adult librarian, children and young adults were invited to create their own colorful carnival masks with beads, stickers and feathers.

According to tradition, there is a baby Jesus inside the cake and whomever is served the slice with the Christ child must host the next party. Let’s hope Pier Lee or Margaret Deitzer were served that particular slice, because they hosted a terrific event and they should do it again next year.