Feast for the Eyes
By JOSEPH G. COTE, Telegraph Staff
Published: Monday, October 8, 2007
Caption for Photo on Right:
Bellydancers Carolina Dean, Melanie Swiderek, Alexandra Bleys [corrected from misprint], and Nancy Frye show their technique to bystanders on East Pearl Street in Nashua as part of the FireFest street fair Sunday.
Photograph by Stanton M. Paddock
Complete listing, from left to right: Sabrina's student, Mike Davis (Benan) on hand drum, Les Booth (Aslahan) behind Carolina Dean, Melanie Swiderek (Zahra Al-Baida), Alexandra Bleys (Alexandra), Nancy Frye (Zahira)
Not pictured: Amanda Quick (Jaleela), Melissa Breton (Ayla), and Sabrina of Boston and fellow students
NASHUA – The celebration of the city's performing and visual arts that descended on East Pearl Street yesterday was bigger than ever.
"Ever" only amounts to last year, but the second annual FireFest is roughly twice the size of its inaugural year, according to creator and organizer Amethyst Wyldfyre. And next year, she hopes to run the whole thing using solar power.
Belly dancers, psychics, didgeridoo-ers and a 3,600-pound chunk of quartz in the back of a U-Haul van joined the more traditional painters, yarn makers and florists.
Visitors were able to wander down the street browsing through collections of jewelry and clothes, participating in kid-centric activities, trying out the 24-foot rock-climbing wall or checking out music and live theater performances on two stages.
Variety is the name of the game for this festival, Wyldfyre said.
"One of my intentions is to raise the visibility of Nashua as a destination city for the arts, and we want to have something for everyone," she said. "In one year, we've managed to turn it into a regional event."
During a brief, whirlwind tour of the festival, Wyldfyre led the way from the main stage near Spring Street where rock band Double Yellow was playing, to the rock wall from Dwight Damon Associates, to the Munay Ki crystal.
The gigantic hunk of quartz crystal was covered by a purple cloth in the back of a U-Haul van. Through a series of holistic ceremonies, the crystal – one of the largest on the East Coast, according to Wyldfyre – now "radiates unconditional love and total acceptance."
It fits in nicely with the goal of the festival.
"The intention is for this just to be a beautiful celebration in the heart of the city," Wyldfyre said.
Angie D'Anjou, the owner of Heart of Spirit Healing in Hudson, joined Wyldfyre organizing the festival this year, helping it double in size to 80 vendors and 25 performers.
"This is all types of arts," she said. "I think it's just a smorgasbord of everything you can have in Nashua. It's time for the residents to come out and play."
Several people wandering among the booths and stages didn't plan on coming to the festival but stumbled upon it by accident.
Nashua residents Dick Harmon and Cheryl Pikora were out for a run but decided to check out the gathering.
"It's kind of cool," Harmon said. "Nashua has a lot of these nice little artsy places. It's pretty excellent. I'm impressed."
"And it's stuff that keeps you in Nashua instead of going somewhere else to spend money," Pikora added.
Amherst resident Dorothy Lindom wanted to come to the festival after hearing about it last year.
"I think it's great. I really do," she said. "The mixture of cultures, that's really, really interesting."
© Copyright by The Telegraph (Nashua)
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