Under a waxing gibbous moon, a magical group of youngsters dressed as gnomes and holding handmade lanterns joined the procession of the 31st annual Ashland Festival of Light celebration on Friday.
Bouncing beneath pointy red hats, some in curly-toe shoes and sporting beards crafted from colored paper, the Wish Lantern Makers, as they were named, lighted the path along East Main Street for Wanda the Winter Queen, a giant walking puppet.
Thousands of spectators cheered on the jovial gnomes as they swished their lanterns in the air and made their way to the downtown Plaza area to witness Santa Claus switching on the twinkling lights adorning the 19th-century storefronts.
The gnome roam didn’t end there. The next day, a Gnomecoming Dance was held at ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum, which hosts monthly themed events and parties, like gnome dances, as well as year-round interactive experiences that blend art and culture with science, said museum curator Cynthia Salbato.
The museum’s homecoming setting had fantasy features to entice fans of gnomes and other ancient earth-dwelling spirits who guard underground treasures. “Gnomecoming celebrates the return of winter when gnomes get especially active and can be called upon to help with the holiday season,” said Salbato, who was dressed in a red dress and furry, polar bear-white leggings.
The weekend before the parade and dance, humans aspiring to be gnomes gathered at ScienceWorks and were provided lantern-making supplies by the museum and the popular downtown TreeHouse Books store.
Sitting around tables with sticky surfaces, the lantern makers dunked tissue paper into tubs of runny paste and smoothed the pieces onto balloons blown up all the way to globe shape or halfway to look like a gourd. After the papier-mâché sculptures dried, the balloons were popped, an LED light stick was dropped inside the paper lantern and string handles were added. Each lantern was then hung at the top of a pole-like tree branch, ready for parade day.
Parade goers with keen eyes and who were standing outside of TreeHouse Books on the Plaza noticed a portal to the magical realm, a tiny second entrance. Once inside, they were surrounded by books about gnomes, elves, tomtes, brownies, leprechauns and and other diminutive household spirits as well as wizard kits and faery supplies. Here, visitors can also ask for a map created by the nonprofit Art Now, founded by TreeHouse Books’ owner Jane Almquist and Salbato, showing the way to other secret gnome doors at the mayor’s office, Ashland library and more spots around the city.
Tiny gnome homes displayed at ScienceWorks intend to inspire visitors to “gnome-ready” their residences for winter, Salbato told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “Our No. 1 goal at ScienceWorks is to be of service to our community.”
With Gnomecoming, the museum staff invited guests to remember “the magic of the world around us,” Salbato said, adding that many of the stories about gnomes, elves and tomtes came from northern cultures where winter can be inhospitable unless people pay attention and care for their home and town.
“Our gnome theme reminds us to work with our environment rather than against it. Care for your gnome and your gnome will care for you,” she said. “Gnomes are a story placeholder for the spirit of place. In winter and when we gather together, the places we call home are important to our sense of belonging and security.”
Story writing and more gnome arts and crafts will be taught at ScienceWorks’ Storyworld’s Gnomekeeping Camp from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 at 1500 E. Main St. ($10 each day, free to members; scienceworksmuseum.org/camps). Campers will help organize a gnome lantern procession to welcome winter on Dec. 21 at the Wishing Tree in downtown’s Lithia Park, adjacent to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus and near the Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink.
Salbato explained the history of Scienceworks, a nonprofit center that opened in 2001 with exhibits built by community volunteers. The mostly retired entrepreneurs wanted the Rogue Valley to have the same access to science educational experiences as found at the Exploratorium: The Museum of Science, Art & Human Perception in San Francisco and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland.
“Their big-hearted mission didn’t fully acknowledge that we have a smaller and less materially prosperous community in southern Oregon,” said Salbato. “Thus to be sustainable, we have to work a little harder to remain accessible and interesting to as much of our community as possible.”
The museum invites businesses to participate and they have. Ashland Aerial Arts installed a vertical wall on the outside of the 26,000-square-foot museum building and the group’s youth and adult aerial students performed as stilt walkers in the parade organized by the Ashland Chamber of Commerce. The Ashland Independent Film Festival hosts screenings on the ScienceWorks Plaza and the Funagain Games store provides card and board games.
At the homecoming, dance caller Brooke Friendly guided people through traditional jigs from England, Scotland and the United States as fiddlers with Creekside Strings performed and DJ Veach added more music.
“Scienceworks also collaborates with Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine, the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market, Mt. Ashland ski area and other Ashland businesses and organizations to throw these monthly parties,” Salbato said.
— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
[email protected] | @janeteastman