Festival of Courage (Michaelmas)

With the autumn equinox, the relationship of light and darkness changes in the world around us. On September 29, the autumn festival traditionally known as Michaelmas (sometimes referred to as the “festival of the will”) celebrates this special time. Children, families, and community members gather outside on our school’s farmland, offering food and decorations for the harvest table. Children share in picking apples and digging for potatoes, eating home-baked “dragon bread” and other harvest treats, singing songs, planting bulbs for the spring, and participating in cooperative games—“the games of courage.”

Dia de los muertos

The IWS curriculum includes Spanish instruction twice a week for all children beginning in the first grade. We celebrate this language and its culture in our Día de los Muertos Festival, traditionally a Mexican holiday on November, 1st. Children learn to make sugar skulls, favorite foods of the departed, and construct a traditional altar in the foyer of the school to honor their relatives.

This year, renowned storyteller, Regi Carpenter spent an afternoon with students telling autumn themed stories. The 6/7th grade String Ensemble took special care in performing La Llorona for all grades students. In Latin American folklore, La Llorona is a version of "The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer" story.

Lantern walk

Lantern Walks are celebrated by children throughout Europe and in Waldorf Schools worldwide. November 11 is Martinmas, a very old European festival. St. Martin of Tours (CE 316–397) is said to have met a poor beggar freezing in the cold. Drawing his sword, Martin cut his warm cloak in half so they could each share in its warmth. Many cultures and religions at this time of year celebrate similar themes of caring for others and carrying the light into the darkness.

Elves’ Faire

The Elves’ Faire is IWS Parent Council’s annual winter festival of magic and craft. It is parent-run, child-centered, open-to-the-public, and proceeds benefit our scholarship fund. The school is transformed into the Elves’ workshop, with evergreen boughs and twinkle lights highlighting our already beautiful halls and classrooms. Elves of all sizes are invited to come create simple, beautiful, natural-material crafts for holiday giving. The Early Childhood faculty presents a marionette puppet show appropriate for the very young, and enjoyable for all. Live music presented by alumni and friends of the school wafts over the Great Hall, which houses a dozen local artisan vendors, book sale, and warm lunch for purchase. Learn more… here

Winter spiral

At this time of year, we celebrate the anticipation we feel as we move from the fall and early winter season, when nature withers and dies, to the turning point—when light begins to increase. The Winter Spiral Festival features a quiet, evening walk through a “winter garden” constructed of pine boughs laid out on the floor in a large spiral pattern and decorated with hidden handmade objects and treasures from the natural world. Both children and adults experience a feeling of reverence, an appreciation for the season, and deep reflection as they walk, candle in hand, in through the winter garden’s spiral and then out again. The evening culminates in the quiet singing of holiday songs accompanied by live harp and stringed instruments.

MayFaire Celebration

We celebrate the spring season with a lively community Mayfaire Celebration filled with song and dance. Our traditional maypole is decorated with brightly colored ribbons and flowers. Families and friends gather for a picnic lunch and flower crown making, followed by maypole dancing and singing, live music performances, games, and delicious, homemade treats. This is often our largest festival of the year, as many friends, neighbors, alumni, and newcomers join our school community to enjoy the outside activities and celebration (after a long Ithaca winter!). Learn more here.