Show OLD FOLK FESTIVAL IS BIG QUARTERLY but reli religious ioui pilgrimage has greatly changed today Is big biff quarterly an undersized 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 throng of negroes ne 9 once tumultuously devout and intensely emotional has hag streamed in to wilmington del by many roads in commemoration ot of the establishment there of the african union free colored methodist protestant church the formed by free negroes in 1811 it Is an occasion unique to the delmarva thousands came in other days many hundreds came today they gather all down the eastern sho she all up through pennsylvania and new jersey from virginia and delaware in a religious pilgrimage that used to ie b e comparable to the romer las of spanish america in the beginning elg big quarterly was wag strictly a church festival and its spiritual character was obvious in the decorum of the celebrants who arrived on toot foot or or in ox carts but with the years it became a general homecoming tor for colored people of this large reglo region a huge gay outing and reunion special trains were run from many points to accommodate the devotees hackmer Ilac kmen grew rich watermelons Water melons fried fish and boastin roast ro astin ln ears disappeared by the ton one custard maker as tn in the green pastures would never have been adequate there were bare feet fe t and slat sunbonnets sun bonnets gentlemen of any importance wore high silk hats it was a gorgeous vivid crowd that prom promenades promenaded evaded french street forty years ago just about then the change the falling away began this sunday tan face powder find and rosewood rouge plus fours and antibus antibes shirts instead of ceremonial toppers plenty of motor busses and private cars to save the pilgrims time the original animating religious fervor has departed observance Is perfunctory not exalt exalting in youth does not look wonderstruck wonder struck nor Is age renewed the waning was inevitable e bitable after the younger colored folk fo k lost their strong devotion to church practice and turned to worldly emotional outlets A century ago big quarterly was for many of them the drop of 0 honey in the tasteless comb now they share with all of us a surfeit of diversions of human contacts of omniscience omnis clence new york herald tribune |