WHEN: Saturday, May 3rd, 11-4pm

WHERE: @Rheingarten Park: 100 N Main Ave, White Salmon, WA 98672

WHY: Gather and celebrate as a community and support holistic education in the Gorge through Heartsong Living Arts.

HOW MUCH: This is a Free Community Event! Donations & Sponsorships are gratefully accepted. Sponsorships ensure everyone gets to participate.

Celebrating Spring

Through Living Arts

Heartsong, is a holistic education program in White Salmon that has been celebrating Spring through a craft-centered Mayfaire in The Gorge for the last five years. In 2024, Heartsong was asked to bring the Maypole celebration back to White Salmon’s Rheingarten Park in a new and inclusive way. We are honored and excited to bring the joy of this ancient tradition back to our beloved White Salmon community on May 4th, 2024.

Envisioned as a way to celebrate the joy of springtime, to share the beauty of craft and to honor local traditions, such as the Maypole Dance, Mayfaire sets the stage for an inclusive and creative community celebration!  

For those who might remember, the Maypole Dance was a mainstay of Spring Fest from the 1970’s through 1990’s. Meaningful to many residents in our community, the roots of this tradition can be traced to the German heritage of the settlers of this area. This year, Heartsong Living Arts is thrilled to reintroduce this tradition in a new and inclusive manner, inviting all members of the community to join us in rejoicing the wonders of spring.

In addition to the Maypole Dance, the Mayfaire will offer a selection of ‘Craft Booths’ where children and their families can explore a variety of handicrafts, learning from skilled educators, and creating hand-made items to take home! Mayfaire will also feature food & beverage vendors, music, storytelling, dancers and a selection of Gorge artisans, selling high-quality, hand-crafted goods.

Schedule of Events

11 am Opening Ceremony- A tribute to the culture and life of White Salmon. Dances by NK Studio, Local Families and Dance Groups.

Craft Booths Open!- Make your flower crowns and other Spring-themed crafts!

12:30 PM Traveling Minstrels- Performers and dancers will be throughout the event.

1:30 PM Maypole Entrance & Dance- A foot parade of children and adults will circle the park to meet maypole. Once the children are in place we will dance.

1:45 PM Maypole Dance- A choreographed dance around the Maypole followed by a community invitation for all to grab a ribbon and weave the bottom portion of the maypole.

2:30 PM - Music and Celebration

3:30 Closing Ceremony. Silent Auction and Raffles Announced. Craft Booths Close

4:00 Vendor Booths and Event Closes.

Example Craft Booth Activities include:

Flower Crowns

Face Painting

Tea Making

Wet Felting

Jewelry Making

Live Performances

A Pocket Fairy

Food

Dancing Around the Maypole

and More!

When We all Give a Little,

Big Celebrations Happen

  • The weather the first week of May is unpredictable at best. a 20 x 40 tent will allow all our crafters to have a dry place to do their wonderful work.

    Cost for rental, set up and break down of one tent is $800

    email us to fill this need

  • Four face painters for four hours.

    We need four sponsors at the $250 level to sponsor four face painters who will work all day long to insure that every child gets their face painted for FREE at Mayfaire.

    We would also happily have four professional volunteers donate their time.

    email us to fill this need.

  • We are havng Red Yarn, beloved pupiteer and storyteller come for the day.

    Sponsor a live band for after the May Pole Dance.

    Email us to sponsor this entertainment

  • We need folks to bring flowers or help us buy them in bulk.

    email stephanie to let us know if you pan do either or both.

  • We are working on getting cotton ribbon… It’s cheaper if we dye it ourselves… do you have time or experience with dying hundreds of feet of yarn or ribbon?

    For pre-dyed ribbon we are looking at $500-$600 for enough ribbon for a year +.

    If someone dyes it we are looking at $300.

    email stephanie to suport with this

  • We are working on a free soup for everyone… a stone soup…

    The Seliga-Soulseed Family has donated two 20lb. Turkeys… Can you help with the soup? A commercial kitchen, big pots and tending to the serving will all be so very helpful.

    Please email Stephanie if you can help with this. To sponsor, use the buttons to the left.

    Money raised will purchase paper plates, napkins, spoons and ingredients.

  • Craft Booths bring the event to life.

    We need sponsors at the $100-$250 level to help us purchase materials for 175 children to craft at each of the craft booths.

    We also need volunteers to person craft booths:

    Flower themed henna

    Wool Soap

    Hand kites

    Tea bags

    Flower press with cardboard

    Whittling station

    Sewed flower bobby pins

    Painting bud vases

    Paper flowers

    Bath salts

    Summer sprays/hydrosols

    Weaving with flowers and ferns

    Potpourri bags

    Succulent planters

    Seed planters

    Drawing with botanical inks

    Decorating and filling seed bags

    Plant tags

    Finger Knitting necklaces

    If you would like to help with any of the above crafts or have an idea of your own, fill out this form.

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    Follow this link to sponsor as a family or individual.

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    Follow this link to sponsor as a business.

  • Events like this take a lot of work. We appreciate all who get their hands involved.

    Fill out this form to help with set up and/or clean up.

We are a small group of dedicated volunteers coordinating this effort. Your help and support will ensure a wonderful first year and many more to come of this beloved festival. We imagine the festival growing and evolving with community feedback and collaboration. Please reach out via email to volunteer, support and offer feedback.

We will be securing sponsorships and grants leading up to the event to cover the costs of a community event. This is a FREE COMMUNITY EVENT.

WHEN: Saturday, May 3rd, 11-4pm

WHERE: @Rheingarten Park: 100 N Main Ave, White Salmon, WA 98672

WHY: Gather and celebrate as a community and support holistic education in the Gorge through Heartsong Living Arts.

HOW MUCH: This is a Free Community Event! Donations & Sponsorships are gratefully accepted. Sponsorships ensure everyone gets to participate.

Thank YOU 2024

Mayfaire Sponsors

Thank you to our Root and Leaf level sponsors!

Thank you to ALL our Sponsors

Stem Level Sponsors:

Innate Traditions

Leaf Level Sponsors:

Riverview Bank

Skyline Foundation

Fertile Soil Sponsors:

Holly Hamilton- Healing Pathways

First Security Bank

Individual Sponsor:

Stacy Danielle

Family Sponsors:

Quiver Family

Silent Auction:

Harley Davidson Basket

Edible Landscape Consult

Everybodys Gift basket

Music Books Signing

Wedding Consult

Yoga Lessons (2)

Body Work

Pacific City Beach House 2 nights

Van Rental

WildCraft Gift Certificate

WA Winemakers Basket

Artwork

Gift Certificate from Moon Mountain

Art Picture

Wet Planet Rafting gift certificate

Community Partners:

NK Studios

Cascadia Edible Landscapes

Little Oak

Volunteers

Cassandra Kotas

Crystal Luster-Pitz

Natalie Anderson

Chelesa Berger

Jessica McGimpsey

Stephanie Seliga-Soulseed

Thank you to our volunteers!