Show OLD FOLK FESTIVAL IS BIG QUARTERLY but religious pilgrimage has greatly changed today Is big quarterly an un der sized dimmed and sophisticated big quarterly true but one of the few real folk festivals still celebrated in our country for years on the last sunday in august a 11 throng ot of negroes once tumultuous ly devout and intensely emotional has streamed in to wilmington del by many roads tn in commemoration of the establishment there of the african union free colored metho dist protestant church the formed by free negroes in 1811 it Is an occasion unique to the delmarva peninsula thousands came in other days many hundreds came today they gather all down the ea eastern stern sho all up through pennsylvania and new jersey fro from in virginia and dela delaware ware in a religious pilgrimage e that used to be comparable to the romer rom erias las of spanish america in the begin ning bing big quarterly was strictly a church festival and its spiritual character was obvious in the decor um of the celebrants who arrived on foot or or in ox carts but with the years it became a gen eral homecoming for colored people of this large region a huge gay outing and reunion special trains were ran run from many points to accommodate the devotees Ilac hailmen kmen grew rich watermelons fried fish and boastin ears disappeared by the ton one custard maker as in the green pastures would never neve r have been adequate there were bare feet and slat sunbonnets gentlemen of any importance wore high silk hats it was a gorgeous vivid crowd that promenaded french street forty years ago just about then the change the falling aay annay began this sunday tan face powder and rosewood rouge plus tours fours and antibes shirts instead of ceremonial toppers topper s plenty of motor busses and private cars to save the pilgrims time the original animating relle ons ous fervor has departed observance Is perfunctory not exalting youth does not look wonderstruck nor Is age renewed the waning was in evitable after the younger colored folk lost the their ir strong devotion to church practice and turned to world ly emotional outlets A century ago big quarterly was for many of them the drop of honey in the tasteless comb isow they share with all of us a surfeit of diversions of human contacts of omniscience new york herald tribune |