photos by Rick Rosen
Exploring the photo archives, I came across the images of our Ascension Day celebration of 2003 here in Newport.
Things began with the blessing of the remi, which I shared in my post from November 23rd entitled "Blessing of the Remi".
After the oars were blessed, we all took to the water on our boats and did our best to create our own version of the ceremony symbolizing Venice's marriage to the sea.
Here are a couple shots of the main boat:
A friend of mine who was born and raised in Italy, agreed to assume the role of the Doge (Venice's elected leader). Reading a scripted ceremony, my friend gave historic context, spoke about the importance of the sea, then raised a gold ring in his hand and cast it into the water.
Of course all the boats were filled with friends and family to celebrate the occasion as we cruised the canals in loose formation.
What a great day.
1 comment:
What a wonderful ceremony!
Did your ring have a retrieval string tied to it ... like the wondrous ones used in Venice? (How else did they fetch then for display in the Arsenale Museum?)
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