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The Lafayette community is participating in two local events — The Miles of Mules project and the 21st Annual Shad Fishing Tournament — in celebration of the area’s distinctive heritage, the arts, and the arrival of spring.
The Shad Fishing Tournament, organized by Forks of the Delaware Shad Fishing Committee, and the Shad Arts Celebration, organized by the Arts Community of Easton, began last Saturday and runs daily from noon-5 p.m. through Saturday, May 3, at Scott Park in Easton. The eight-day Shad Arts Celebration features mural painting, live music, art exhibits, and other activities.
In one of the Lafayette entries in the 8th annual Doo-Dah Parade, students, faculty, and staff will represent a school of fish. The parade celebrates the American shad’s annual run up the Delaware River to spawn. The procession will begin 1 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at Perkins Restaurant on Third and Ferry Streets, and will advance down South Third Street and Larry Holmes Drive to Scott Park.
Each Lafayette participant will dress as a specific type of fish. This year, goldfish, angelfish, tuna, red snapper, and striped bass will be among the ranks. As they approach, spectators guess the name of the species, and a piece of muslin affixed to the marcher’s back confirms or denies the answer.
Any member of the college community interested being part of “the school” should call Allison Blatt, director of operations at the Williams Center, at x5011. Some costumes are already made, and ideas are available for original costumes. Costume consultant Polly Kendrick will be at the Williams Center 1-4 p.m. today for costume consultations and fin construction. Prizes for parade entries will be given out at the park after the parade
Lafayette’s female a cappella group, Cadence, performed at the festival 5 p.m. Thursday, followed by co-ed counterpart Soulfege at 7:30 p.m.
“Fish Impressions: Collograph Fish Prints,” an exhibit created by students in the Principles of Studio Art class taught by Alastair Noble, assistant professor of art, opens today at the Quadrant Book Mart on Third Street from 5-6 p.m. The opening reception will be part of an evening of Shad Arts Celebration activities, including artist’s receptions for ACE’s “River Rites: In Celebration of Shad” exhibition at the Connexions and Innovare Galleries from 6-9 p.m., and a free concert at Scott Park — site of the tournament and arts activities — by the Lost Ramblers, a blues band from East Stroudsburg, from 5-8 p.m.
Noble and his son, Stewart, will participate in the parade as an elaborate “Gold Fish mobile.”
Lafayette’s Crew Club will play a role in the festival by introducing children to the art of rowing. Team members are creating a cardboard boat that will be used to simulate rowing. The lesson will be given free of charge. The cardboard boat will be part of the club’s Doo-Dah parade entry, “Roe Roe Roe Your Boat.”
“This is for novices,” says Marta Murczek ’06 (Reading, Pa.), a member of Crew Club. “We try to get children interested in rowing.”
“Lafayette is participating in two very important community events,” notes Michiko Okaya, gallery director at Lafayette’s Williams Center for the Arts, as well as an Easton representative to the Miles of Mules Project and treasurer of the Arts Community of Easton (ACE). “Miles of Mules is a one-time public art project that will place decorated mules in towns along 165 miles along the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers. ACE is working with the Shad Tournament Committee to make the long running tournament and festival into a broad community event.”
Alison Scudder, a senior psychology major from Mamaroneck, N.Y., won the competition to create Lafayette’s mule and will use acrylics to make “Mule A La Mode,” a mule decorated in a sundae motif. Upon completion, her work will be displayed in Easton. Art majors Marisa Damiano ’04 (Easton, Pa.) and Janice Truszkowski ’03 (Phillipsburg, N.J.) are creating a second mule, sponsored by the National Canal Museum and Hugh Moore Historical Park in Easton, which will also be in the Easton “corral.”
Miles of Mules features painted and decorated mules in various locations along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. The fiberglass replicas are eight-by-six feet and will be on display throughout Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh, Luzerne, and Northampton Counties from June through October. Several will be exhibited at Scott Park during the Shad Festival on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4.
The mule was selected as a symbol of local heritage because of the key role it played in helping 19th century coalmines, canals, and farms flourish. The animal was crucial to the coal industry before the advent of mechanized trains and coal cars. They enabled the extraction of coal and facilitated its journey to market by providing the sole source of power.