Celebrations & Festivals
At Under the Canopy school we celebrate our community by marking the seasons, celebrating holidays and sharing cultural traditions.
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The wholeness and connection of human beings with all life is at the foundation of Waldorf education. One way in which this connection manifests is through the observance of the changes in the seasons. These events become opportunities for outward observances of nature’s seasonal changes. Celebrating festivals can bring us consciously to what we all experience instinctively in our daily lives: the changing cycles of the seasons and of life itself. Through various festivals and celebrations we acknowledge our connection to and our responsibility toward each other and the world.
1. First Day Celebration
To mark the beginning of the school year, the children gather on school grounds together to sing, greet their teachers, and file into school with music playing.
2. The Festival of Courage
Typically held in late September. Our Festival of courage celebrates the bounty of the land, connects the children and community to the rhythms of nature, and fosters a sense of gratitude in the students. We gather to recognize our striving, both as individuals and as a community, and to foster our bravery to face the challenges of the school year ahead and the opportunities for inner growth that come in the quieter, darker half of the year. The fruits of the summer garden are shared with the warmth of soup and bread, and a sip of sweet apple cider. The children bring the magic of the season with songs and pageantry.
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3. Lantern Walk
In the late autumn, around Halloween, we have a Lantern Walk. This is a festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the darker half of the year. The children make their lanterns in an effort to bring their inner light forth as the winter days grow shorter, darkness comes earlier, and the winter chill begins to sink in. Upper grades students help prepare the pathway the younger students will travel on while the younger grades teachers tell a story at the end of the walk. The story kindles our inner courage, so that it may grow and strengthen throughout the quieter, darker winter months.
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4. Winter Faire
UTCS will host an Winter Faire annually in early December that will be free and open to the public. Winter Faire will focus on artistic practice and mindset celebrating the rich artistic expression of our School’s culture. Local artisan vendors will be invited to table their wares for the holiday shoppers. Booths will be set up in the UTCS school campus gymnasium and will be accessible for all participants. The UTCS community will also participate by setting up their class areas as magical rooms like The Crystal Cave or Old Time Games where children can search for gems and enjoy screen-free games. UTCS students and community members will also provide hands-on activities such as plant dyeing, candle dipping, and jump rope making. Participants will be invited to enjoy delicious homemade food and treats for sale and live music performances, including a puppet show staged by UTCS students.
Winter Faire offers opportunities for the local community to experience first-hand the Waldorf artistic mindset and community spirit while also celebrating our many local artisans. Winter Faire will be a weekend event and will focus on engaging families in the Greater Tulsa community to enjoy the day as a family.
5. Earth Day
UTCS will host an annual free Earth Day Festival on the campus of our School and invite local district schools to participate with a field day on our campus. We aim to invite all Tulsa Public Schools to participate, but will especially focus on the school sites closest to our campus to create stronger ties to the neighborhood schools.
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Along with community patterns such as The Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition, Blue Thumb, Tulsa Parks and the Herman and Kate Kaiser YMCA and more, UTCS will provide booths for these partners to demonstrate environmental practices each organization amplifies in our community. This event will be hosted on a weekday and will be considered a school field trip.
This collaboration will celebrate the local organizations work in providing environmental stewardship, a main tenant of our school. This will also provide opportunities for Tulsa Public School students and teachers to engage with our schools nature-based pedagogy.
6. May Faire
May Faire Festival is a celebration to say farewell to winter and welcome to spring and is celebrated in the early month of May. We come together as a community to celebrate the warmth we feel inside and out and find joy in the abundance of life by which we are surrounded.
The May Pole Dance is a joyful experience, and often the center of the May Day celebration. The May Pole often bears garlands and symbolizes the tree of life and growth of spring vegetation. This festival is celebrated as an entire school community. Children from each grade take turns doing a May Pole dance. The patterns get more complicated as the children mature.
This is a celebration of Spring for the entire school. The whole school day is devoted to activities: dancing round the maypole, outdoor games, and live music. Everyone is invited to wear white this day, and families are asked to donate flowers for crowns and supplies for crafts.
7. Field Day
The final day of school is an outdoor rotation of fun activities and games open to all students and family volunteers to celebrate our learning and say farewell for the summer.
