robklurfield
eclipse
Religious festivals can be filled with all kinds of exotic imagery... here's mine from O'Giglio e Paradiso at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. At this event, celebrants raise a 50+ foot high "Giglio."
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37531245@N08/sets/72157622031042829/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37531245@N08/3860486075/in/set-72157622031042829/
Quoted from their website:
"The giglio tower is a heavy structure weighing about 4 tons and standing 65 feet in height. It was originally built of wood, but since 1966, in Brooklyn, the framework of the giglio has been constructed of metal. The front of the structure is divided into six panels of papier-mache saints, angels, flowers and a map of Italy. On top the giglio is a statue of San Paolino. The tower is anchored on a square platform, large enough to accommodate a band and singer/M.C. The entire weight rests on four sturdy metal legs. Beneath the platform, a line of seven evenly spaced metal poles (I-beams) protrude at a length of four feet on each of four sides. Four men to a pole, on bent knees, position their shoulders and when 112 men simultaneously stand erect, the giglio is off the ground; it is a lift. La barca is constructed in the same fashion and is lifted by the same principle. Riding in the boat is a band and singer, the Turk, and young boys, dressed in Arabian costumes who shower the audience with confetti."
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37531245@N08/sets/72157622031042829/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37531245@N08/3860486075/in/set-72157622031042829/
Quoted from their website:
"The giglio tower is a heavy structure weighing about 4 tons and standing 65 feet in height. It was originally built of wood, but since 1966, in Brooklyn, the framework of the giglio has been constructed of metal. The front of the structure is divided into six panels of papier-mache saints, angels, flowers and a map of Italy. On top the giglio is a statue of San Paolino. The tower is anchored on a square platform, large enough to accommodate a band and singer/M.C. The entire weight rests on four sturdy metal legs. Beneath the platform, a line of seven evenly spaced metal poles (I-beams) protrude at a length of four feet on each of four sides. Four men to a pole, on bent knees, position their shoulders and when 112 men simultaneously stand erect, the giglio is off the ground; it is a lift. La barca is constructed in the same fashion and is lifted by the same principle. Riding in the boat is a band and singer, the Turk, and young boys, dressed in Arabian costumes who shower the audience with confetti."
