A May Day Merriment
Our community May Day celebration in Prospect Park!
Join us at the Concert Pavilion in Prospect Park for a free, family-friendly afternoon of guided circle dancing, instrument demonstrations, and face painting!
Alkemie members will also be joined by students from two local universities for this special event. Brooklyn College undergraduate students will demonstrate aspects of medieval asceticism by re-performing the behavior of medieval stylites, anchorites, hermits, and pilgrims. Interpreters will be on hand to help you understand how medieval ascetic practices can still teach us a lot in 2026 about the human condition.
The Fordham Medieval Dramatists will present the spectacular, interactive outdoor staging of the 13th-century animal fable, The Fox and the Wolf, bringing Reynard the fox, Sigrim the wolf, Chaunticleer the cock, and a flock of befuddled friars to present-day NYC.
SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2026
Tickets are free, but please register in advance for schedule and location updates!
Meet Eleanor Lincoln — Our May Day Dance Caller
Glossary of May Day-Related Words
anchorite - one who lives in place-bound isolation, usually connected to a church.
circle dance - social dance led by a caller and performed to musical accompaniment.
hermit - one who lives in solitude; not necessarily tied to a fixed place.
May Pole - a tall pole with long ribbons attached to the top that people hold to create patterns while dancing around it.
medieval drama - a public and interactive form of allegorical theater, often involving elements of morality and comedy.
pilgrim - a pious venturer
stylite - a “pillar-dweller”
ARTISTS
Tracy Cowart (harp, percussion)
Ben Matus (recorders, bagpipes, percussion)
San Ricketts (bagpipes, recorders, douçaines)
Elisa Sutherland (voice, lyre)
Spiff Wiegand (percussion)
~with~
Eleanor Lincoln (dance caller)
Brooklyn College
Fordham Medieval Dramatists