Chamberlins Chasing Chaos: Dancing dress-up party

Which is Which? Who is this 2-month-old?

(Answer at end of post)

The weekend after Rachel’s birthday, we went to Ferriday for a visit with a purpose. The highlight of the Natchez pilgrimage season is the Confederate Pageant (renamed these days as the Natchez Pilgrimage Pageant, but whatever), which runs through March and the beginning of April. At one point, it was the most exciting thing in my life. There’s hardly a scene, even in the re-worked version they produced this year, that either I or my siblings haven’t been part of. Just looking at pictures from it sets off music in my head. (Unfortunately, it’s polka music at the moment, but I’m hoping to shift it over to a waltz soon, so my head will stop twitching side-to-side on the “bounce” beat!) The pageant is not like a beauty pageant, but a series of short tableaux that tell a story or show scenes from Natchez’s history. From the Natchez Indians to the Confederate Ball, all participants are local volunteers, with the 2 garden clubs supervising. I haven’t been to see it in 10 years (since thankfully, it’s not the most exciting thing in my life anymore!), but my cousin Wyatt was king this year (you’d have to know what that means – it’s an honor), so I decided it was time to introduce it to my kids. We left Caroline with my dad, and Mom, Dolly, and I took the other kids, plus my niece Grace. The program lasts less than 2 hours, and there were surprisingly few complaints, which was high praise indeed. Daniel stood up and cheerfully announced, “That wasn’t so bad!” I can’t imagine why he thought I would want to torture him with 2 hours of misery, but the fact remains he was honestly shocked that he liked it. Rachel’s favorite part was the very short part that involved dogs (The Hunt). She ignored the performers waving at her in a previous tableau, but when the dogs walked by, she stood up and waved and said, “Bye, dogs!” I think that’s probably a first for the most under-appreciated performers in the entire show!

So that was Friday night, but the main event was Saturday – the King’s Ball (remember my cousin was king!). Mom, Dolly, Lori, and Ryan dressed to the hilt and went to the pageant, then the black-tie ball afterwards. I decided early not to go, but regretted it when I saw everyone else dressed up and looking so snazzy. Oh well. Here’s a picture of my family before the ball. Left to right: Wyatt, mom, Uncle Wade (my mom’s brother and Wyatt’s dad), Dolly, Lori, and Ryan.

So yes, they dressed up and went dancing (Well, actually not so much, but it’s a good segue - just go with it.), but the REAL dancing took place the next day, when Aunt Lori showed the girls where the old pageant costumes are kept, along with a few baton twirling costumes that I might admit to having worn. Apparently, it’s impossible to wear such pretty dresses without dancing…