The Story Behind the Boar’s Head Costumes
If you are one of the thousands of people who have attended the Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival, you know about this special Epiphany celebration, its glorious music, colorful costumes, dancers, and singing by our renowned choir. Our 58th performance of the pageant will take place on January 11th and 12th.
Unique to this festival is that it is presented in the format of a medieval holiday celebration: the Lord Mayor has invited both royalty and the local townspeople for the Boar’s Head Feast. Lords in elegant attire and Ladies in beautiful gowns and the King and Queen with giant lace collars. Soon the story of the visitation of the Magi is told and the Three Kings enter in their elaborate attire, complete with crowns and pages to carry their trains.
An important part of the celebration is the team of church members responsible for the creation, care and maintenance of the costumes for the more than 100 cast members. What started as a “little church pageant” using bathrobes and rudimentary costumes soon became more sophisticated and period costumes were rented from a theatre costume company in Hartford.
But as the cast grew, renting costumes became increasingly expensive. In the 1980s some costumes were purchased. But a group of women in the church decided to create our own costumes.
Margot McDermid Johns, a former church Moderator who chaired the committee, tapped Alathena Byrnes to help. She was a trained seamstress who was able to create the patterns. They convinced Marcie Sener, who is still on the committee today, to help make the camel’s coat. She had no experience and had to buy her first sewing machine, but soon they were creating the King and Queen’s costumes that are still being used. That evolved into the production of about 20 costumes each year.
Today, all costumes are owned, stored and maintained by the church and Marcie is still making costumes! Her costumes feature a unique Velcro closure system that allows them to be worn by people of different sizes. Today she admits that she created it because she had never sewn in a zipper before in her life!
There are too many other talented and dedicated members to name that have created this beautiful legacy, but they have our admiration and thanks. Carrying on the tradition this year of sewing, fitting and caring for over 100 costumes to be used in this year’s festival are Co-Chairs Sally Tresselt and Kathy Valade and their committee of Carolyn Cass, Linda Mead and Marcie Sener.
Tickets are still available for this year’s Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival. Purchase your here!
See you there!