MAGNIFICENT FETES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 May 1938, Page 10

MAGNIFICENT FETES

PREPARATIONS IN PARIS. BIG ROUND OF EVENTS. Nine magnificent fetes organised by the Paris Fetes Committee, under the presidency of M. Francois Latour, assisted by M. Georges de Wissant, will form an important part of the programme of entertainments which will take place between May 15 and August 1. A “Procession of Light,” one of the events, will be the first procession planned to be seen at night, and will be a homage to light in all its forms, from the earliest form of illumination. The procession will be headed by torches, followed by candles, and lanterns, with a carnival touch, for the lanterns will be huge and carried by men hidden inside them. By way of diversion, next will come a huge glow-worm, a moving mass of lights. Following this, “Normandie” will ride above the heads of the marchers, with all lights lit and searchlights which will play on the spectators as the huge model passes. Neonlight and X-rays will be represented in the procession. Later will come the stars, the Milky Way and the rainbow, the procession ending with a representation of the sun, around which the planets will gravitate. Sports will not be forgotten in the festivities, and the 20 wards of Paris, after choosing their champions by elimination, will compete in a foot race through the streets of the capital. A nautical week-end on the Seine is set next on the programme, with races for rowing-boats, yachts, outboard motor-launches, hydroplanes and motorboats. The “Soir de la Rose,” to be held in he gardens of Bagatelle, where it is hoped the famous Rosearaie will be seen under special illuminations, will be a festival of the rose in history and art. The white and red roses of York and Lancaster will be symbolised, there will be ballets of the rose, and Serge Lifar will dance the “Spectre de la Rose." It is expected that their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth will be present at this fete. The stone terrace between the two wings of the Palais de I’Art Moderne will be used for a fancy dress ball in which everyone taking part will be dressed as a subject from a famous picture. During this “Bal des Chefsd’oeuvre” there will be a number of

tableaux vivants of some of the most famous pictures in French art museums. Lovers of music will have two festivals. One of these will celebrate the centenary of the Requiem of Berlioz, and the other will be a form of homage to Ravel. Once more visitors to Paris will be able to see the “Vray Mistere de la Passion,” the medieval miracle play performed on the open space before Notre-Dame Cathedral, which already two years in succession drawn almost 10,000 spectators a night for a week. New features will be added this year with slight changes in the scenery before the portals of the cathedral