Franklin Elementary students weave a maypole in 25th year of the school’s annual spring festival, ‘it’s harder than it looks’

For much of her childhood in White Salmon, Washington, Tristin Roy marked the first of May by clutching a long ribbon and twirling it around a maypole with the rest of her ballet class until an intricate weave blanketed the length of the pole.

Now a physical education teacher at Franklin Elementary School, Roy and her therapy dog Garfield lead around 20 fourth-graders in the same winding folk dance, practiced worldwide, to celebrate May Day.

Franklin welcomed springtime with marimbas, bagpipes and scarves in their annual celebration, an outdoor program attended by families that showcases a performance by each grade level. For the finale, some fourth-graders danced the maypole as other students sang “Simple Gifts,” composed in 1848 and sung at each maypole weaving in Franklin’s history.

“It’s a celebration that we do every year and it’s really special to me ‘cause it’s really fun to do,” said fourth-grader Alexis Kelly who this year danced around the maypole. The dance is always reserved for the fourth-graders, with younger kids watching envious and eager for their time to shine.

“It’s for us to celebrate spring and May and that the sun is coming out,” said fourth-grader Ava Terry.

The 25-year-old tradition predates any of the teachers who work at the school. Music teacher of 20 years Teresa Sauther inherited the tradition from her predecessors who last year attended the festivities as audience members. It’s since become a Franklin fixture, with students beginning to practice in March.

“They look forward to it every year,” she said. “The kids love to be outside in nature and springtime is such a great time to come out and celebrate music.”

Maypole weaving is a volunteer position, with interested fourth-graders forfeiting two lunches and recesses each week since mid-March to practice the intricate dance.

“I’ve wanted to do it since I was in like second grade ‘cause it looks so easy just watching, and when you actually get to doing it, it’s actually a lot harder than it looks,” said fourth-grader Evie Wienclaw.

In addition to being “fun” and “pretty,” kids said, the dance teaches them teamwork and persistence. When circling a pole with 20 other 9- and 10-year-olds, a misstep from a neighbor could easily fluster a dancer.

“It takes a lot of cooperation and teamwork to weave the maypole because they have to all go together and if one person stops, it stops the whole thing,” Roy said. “They have to learn to keep going even if they’re like, ‘I know I’m supposed to be up and the other person’s up’ I say ‘Yeah, just keep going.’ ”

After neatly wrapping the tall metal pole in a precise pattern of multicolor ribbon, school staff keep the still-woven pole in the cafeteria, where it will stay until it’s time to practice for next year’s May Day. In the meantime, the fourth-graders will admire their handiwork, while Franklin’s younger students can fantasize about one day dancing around the maypole when they’re older.

Seeing the flower-topped pole loom in the lunchroom makes the young weavers proud, they said.

“I just love seeing them start where it’s very hard and then becoming a group that can do that all together,” Roy said. “And how they feel when they get to be able to do that all together.”