The Grafton Jacaranda Festival<\/a>\u00a0 is nearly in full swing in my hometown as I write this post. It is a spring celebration that is held every year during the first week in November. At this time, the jacaranda trees are in full bloom.<\/p>\nSome childhood memories are golden. Or, in this case, mauve, lilac, purple, and, as Dad once said, “heliotrope”. It’s hard to pin down the actual colour of the flowers that bloom on the jacaranda trees, and form carpets of blossoms on the surface of the roads and avenues. Sometimes they seem lighter hued, mauve in my memory, at other times, darkly purple.<\/p>\n
Local businesses decorated “floats” that were driven through the city streets, in a parade viewed by crowds of spectators.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The chosen “Jacaranda Queen” rode in one vehicle and waved to the crowds. My ex-schoolmate friend was chosen one year.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nAt night, decorated vessel floats were steered along the Clarence River, watched by crowds of spectators lining the waterfront. One of these\u00a0 floats would carry the Jacaranda Queen, who was selected each year by a special board to give speeches and represent the whole occasion.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0Y<\/strong>oung girls in the fifties and sixties wore leis made out of crepe paper at jacaranda time. Mum always ran up a bright new skirt on her Singer sewing machine for me\u2014and my sisters\u2014to wear with a white blouse. <\/p>\nMany thanks for the historical Grafton Jacaranda Photos <\/strong>(above) which <\/strong>are from the Hackett family albums.<\/strong><\/p>\nAn early jacaranda festival with maypole dancing<\/p><\/div>\n
Early maypole in Ireland<\/p><\/div>\n
My daughter, Kate’s new house in Yarrawarrah, that we share with her as an escape from the city, has two Jacaranda trees in full eye sight from the house, nearly ready to burst into bloom with enthralling colour.<\/p>\n\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\nAlthough the blossoms look unreal floating on the top of the infinity pool, it is now noted that they are the worst trees to have over a swimming pool if you wish for an easy life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m remembering the Jacaranda Festivals of my childhood at Grafton in northern New South Wales, with a certain nostalgia. Did such a time of innocence really exist? Is this celebration different today? Below is a photo from my sister’s album of her, Sweet Susan, and our dear little sister, Jillian, folk dancing with school friends […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"I'm remembering the Jacaranda Festivals of my childhood at Grafton in northern New South Wales, with a certain nostalgia. Did such a time of innocence really exist? Is this celebration different today?\n\nBelow is a photo from my sister's album of her, Sweet Susan, and our dear little sister, Jillian, folk dancing with school friends at the Grafton Jacaranda Festival in the fifties.\n\n \n\nThis annual spring-time celebration begins at the end of October and lasts until the first week in November. It has gone on since nineteen thirty-four, and was the first such folk festival in the country.\n\nThe Grafton Jacaranda Festival<\/a>\u00a0 is in nearly in full swing in my hometown as I write this post. It is a spring celebration that is held every year during the first week in November. At this time, the jacaranda trees are in full bloom.\n\nSome childhood memories are golden. Or, in this case, mauve, lilac, purple, and, as Dad once said, \"heliotrope\". It's hard to pin down the actual colour of the flowers that bloom on the jacaranda trees, and form carpets of blossoms on the surface of the roads and avenues. Sometimes they seem lighter hued, mauve in my memory, at other times, darkly purple.\nLocal businesses decorated \"floats\" that were driven through the city streets, in a parade viewed by crowds of spectators.<\/p>\n \n\nThe chosen \"Jacaranda Queen\" rode in one vehicle and waved to the crowds. My ex-schoolmate friend was chosen one year.\n\n <\/strong>\n\nAt night, decorated vessel floats were steered along the Clarence River, watched by crowds of spectators lining the waterfront. One of these\u00a0 floats would carry the Jacaranda Queen, who was selected each year by a special board to give speeches and represent the whole occasion.\n\n <\/strong>\n\n\u00a0Y<\/strong>oung girls in the fifties and sixties wore leis made out of crepe paper at jacaranda time. Mum always ran up a bright new skirt on her Singer sewing machine for me\u2014and my sisters\u2014to wear with a white blouse. \nMany thanks for the historical Grafton Jacaranda Photos <\/strong>(above) which <\/strong>are from the Hackett family albums.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_10872\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"750\"] An early jacaranda festival with maypole dancing[\/caption]\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_10876\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"360\"] Early maypole in Ireland[\/caption]\n\nMy daughter, Kate's new house in Yarrawarrah, that we share with her as an escape from the city, has two Jacaranda trees in full eye sight from the house, nearly ready to burst into bloom with enthralling colour.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1752,1734],"tags":[2849,2848,4262,2754,2755],"class_list":["post-8874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-memoir","tag-a-spring-time-festival-in-grafton-nsw","tag-age-old-tradition-of-the-maypole","tag-cultural-traditions","tag-precious-family-photos","tag-the-grafton-jacaranda-festival-in-the-forties-and-fifties"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Grafton Jacaranda Festival of Yesteryear - The Art of Creative Writing<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n