The Taumata Summer Festival

The Taumata Summer Festival is celebration held each year in the city of Taumata on Deseret. It marks the official transition from spring to summer, and the ability to plant a wider variety of Old Earth crops. It is famous for its colorful stalls featuring a wide variety of food and crafts, drawing tourists from both on and off planet.

History

Years are longer on the planet Deseret than they are on Old Earth, resulting in seasons roughly a quarter longer than average. While this means that growing periods are long, allowing for more Earth crops to be grown farther North, it also means more food must be preserved to survive the long winter. While most of the original prefabricated homes brought to the planet included sizable and climate controlled greenhouses, these were too small to scale up food production. This however gave the colonists time to learn more about their new home and plan expansion appropiately.

The site of the nation's capitol Zarahemla was chosen primarily for its well rounded access to diverse resources such as timber, heavy metal, fresh water, and wind energy. Ocean Forest would be founded shortly after, specializing in maritime materials of food and organically produced chemicals. In 50 DE (after extensive chemical and bacterial testing of global soil conditions) Tauamata was established much with the explicit goal of being the star nation's breadbasket. Laid out in the city charter were the original plans for the Summer Festival.

Starting two weeks before the Northern hemisphere's summer, the festival would feature seed and plant sales for visitors to take back home and plant in their own gardens and greenhouses. Many of these crops were subsidized by the Deseret Department of Agriculture (DDA), leveraging the city's closer proximity to the equator and longer growing season. Priority was given to crops that best promoted food security and genetic diversity. Taumatans take pride in their history as stewards of the nation's agricultural heritage, viewing themselves as scientist farmers. Over time, the dependence of other Desereti cities for Taumatan crops diminished as they solidified their own agricultural systems. In response, the Taumatan government has overseen a decades long transition to a more artistic celebration drawing in a more touristic crowd. In recent years off world tourists have begun arriving, spreading the festival's fame to distant star nations.

Schedule

The festival is one week long, with each day featuring two seperate Taumatan burroughs. Each burrough is responsible for holding competitions featuring one of the crops the DDA is subsidizing that year, a additional crop or food type of their own choice, and at least one art competition. As the final day is the Sabbath, custom dictates that no sales are made. Instead, excess stock is given away and food shared in giant potlucks. Visitors who have attended all six of the previous days are allowed to vote on which burrough they feel held the best attractions, with the winner being announced that year's "Burrough of the Year".

Attractions

Crops

Taumatans take extreme pride in their crops, both those grown commercially and those grown by hobbyists in their potager allotments. Consistent favorites (and the most consistely competed over) are mangoes, cacao, vanilla, grapes, strawberries, bananas, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, rhubarb, oranges, lemons, and limes. Competitions are also held for crops grown in colder cities (wheat, rye, berries, squashes) but these are considered less prestigious (if no less delicious).

Outrage was sparked a few years ago when Joel Harrington, a hobby farmer from Ocean Forest, won the festival's strawberry competition. Gurney, the burrough hosting the competition, was accused of poor management and bad judging as locals argued that there was no way a non-Taumatan could produce a crop worthy of beating local competitors. An investigation into the issue assessed the competition was judged fairly, sparking furious breeding of local varieties to beat the interloper. So far none have succeeded.

Food

While a true Taumatan will claim that the best food is quality ingredients cooked simply, that has not stopped a wide variety of culinary traditions to take root. Pickled goods, pies, chutneys, curries, and barbecues are common sights in every burrough. But the most famous of them all are the ice cream competitions. The most famous of these are the chocolate and vanilla competitions of the Spiderwick and Baum burroughs.

Crafts

All manner of craft goods can be found at the festival stalls but most popular of all are the Palekh and Khlokloma painted wood. Originally russian folk arts, they feature either curving shapes of flowers, berries, grasses, and leaves, or small scenes from daily life or important events. Original settlers fell in love with these styles when they stopped at the Hermetic Order of Saint Seraphim of Sarov's space station before leaving the Sol system. These styles are often blended with the flowing style of Maori peitatanga, representing more of the Polynesian descent of many of Taumata's inhabitants.

Timber is often brought in from Zarahemla or Rivendell and sold to the locals for their own crafting.

Clothes

The summer festival also marks the moment when Taumatans switch their wardrobe out of their cooler spring colors and into their bright summer colors. Dark blues and greens make way for yellows, reds, and chartruse. In recent years the festival has been an opportunity for visitors from Rivendell to sell their textiles of silk, marino, and cashmere.

Music

Skilled musicians are encouraged to apply for festival perfomance permits, allowing them to play around the city. Recipients of these permits are guaranteed a lump sum after the festival, becoming a way for many fledgling musicians to make ends meet. Music is often cited as one of the most important factors for winning the "Burrough of the Year" award, prompting burroughs to compete fiercely for different musicians. On the final day of the festival the Taumata Symphony Orchestra performs, featuring a suite of music themed on various things such as Spring/Winter/Fall/Winter or Appetizer/Main Dish/Dessert.

Dance

Dance is often celebrated in the cooler evenings. Teams from cities world wide compete in large group dances, with individuals representing themselves in solo or couple brackets. In recent years controversy has arisen due to the Taumatan municipal government banning Bhramaputran refugees from competing as a racial bloc. Authorities have claimed that they did not want to foster racial divides with official teams, with refugees claiming that it limits their ability to protect their culture. The current compromise sees city teams using Bhramaputran dances, and mass dancing lessons in Bhramaputran styles offered to attendees.