Blue Solstice Festival

"Lived here mah whole life, y'know. Learned to swim 'fore I could walk. Knew how ta fish 'fore my letters. Fishing. Tha's the way o' life here in Fysburne. And grow'n' up, there ain't no day where my fam'ly di'n't had me workin'. But a few days a year, we step back a bit, y'know. Fishin's still on the mind but we'd sing and dance, eat, and a whole lotta prayin'. Make sure the gods know we respect 'em, like my grans did and their grans. Give back to 'em just like they'd give'd to us.

Even met mah wife durin' the Blue Solstice, got married the same time the followin' year. The whole district feels like one big ol' fam'ly durin' the festival. I ain't the only one thinkin' that, and it's just a...a part o' everyone here. Mah son's a man now, festival's comin' up, so I reckon he'll nab himself a gal sometime soon, too."

— Roger Hompton, Fysburne fisherman

The Blue Solstice Festival is a major event that takes place in Wiltide's Fysburne district during the month of Lorhm. It celebrates the gods of the seas and the bounties provided by the waters, especially through fishing. The festivities usually remain confined to Fysburne though celebrants attend from all over the city and nearby areas.

History

The Blue Solstice Festival's origins trace back to the Second Era, preceding the city of Wiltide itself. Fishing settlements that dotted the Blue Bay's coast held yearly celebrations thanking the gods of nature, particularly Janas, Isiril, and Visarias Eri, for particularly bountiful fishing seasons. This tradition continues into present day throughout the Hanalian coast, and the Blue Solstice Festival evolved from such festivities, albeit on a much larger scale.
In 22 3E, approximately two decades after Wiltide's founding, bands of fishermen and their families in the growing Fysburne settlement congregated for a celebration on the coastal part of the city after a rare occurrence known as a Blue Season, which marks an extraordinarily bountiful fishing season. However, the gathering garnered the attention of the rest of the city, leading to a much larger congregation of attendees than previous celebrations dotting the Blue Bay. The following year, the Wiltidish government formally sanctioned a repeat of the event, which led to its evolution as a full-blown festival held within the city proper. The Blue Solstice Festival, as it became known, continued to be observed in central Wiltide for the following six hundred years.
By 636 3E, Wiltide had developed into a major trading port along the Hanalian Coast. At this point in time, the Blue Solstice Festival served as a mainly religious event to acknowledge the gods and other benevolent forces of the seas. Even though the week-long festivities took place only once a year, the large traffic of festival goers at the coastal and dock areas of the city increasingly disrupted the constant stream of trade. As a result, the city's government officially relocated the festival's main events to the Fysburne district, considered the event's birthplace, which took effect in 637 3E.
With the yearly festivities funneled to Fysburne, the district attained a growing tourism market in addition to the staple fishing industry. The Blue Solstice Festival maintained its themes of religiosity and reverence for the divine forces. Dances, prayer circles, and mass ceremonial offerings still occurred. However, the flexibility brought about by the end of the fishing season allowed Fysburne's denizens to elaborate on the generally observational and communal events of the festival. For example, the first known occurrence of the Marine Triathlon occurred in 700 3E, preceded by years of unofficial swimming contests. Other events also arose regarding cuisine, art, and cultural performances.
The festival inevitably became more commercialized as, once more, the great amount of foot traffic in Fysburne attracted economic opportunists. Free of burdening the trades of Wiltide proper, businesses implemented stalls, mobile shops, and representatives in the district during the event. Though locals often viewed the business side of the festival with neutrality or disdain, Fysburne received a percentage of the profits that helped fund the more involved activities of the festival. By 1439 3E, the Blue Solstice Festival had a formally sequestered business area near southern Fysburne known as the Trading Grounds.
In the millennia following its founding, the Blue Solstice Festival continued as a major event in Wiltidish culture and Northwestern Varia. The throes of wartime, unfortunately, stymied the extent of the festivities whenever the Wiltide area became involved. However, the Blue Solstice Festival has infallibly taken place every year to the point that most residents in Fysburne believe that failure to hold the event would merit divine retribution.

Execution

The Blue Solstice Festival begins with an opening ceremony led by a leading member of the priesthood based in Fysburne. During this time, the festivities are dedicated to the deities of nature—mosty Visarias Eri, Janas, and Isiril—and other benevolent forces. Over the course of the next ten days, Fysburne's local residents hold cultural shows, competitions, and feasting. On the fifth day of the proceedings, the festivities become muted for a day of observance and reverence to the gods where attendees offer both prayers and physical gifts. The rest of the Blue Solstice Festival continues as it did in the early half of the week with more jovial revelries. Engagements, weddings, and familial celebrations are often aligned with the Blue Solstice Festival, as observing those occasions during that period is considered good luck. Lastly, the priesthood, accompanied then with a group of veteran fishermen, conducts a closing ceremony at the end of the week.
Competitions during the Blue Solstice Festival cover a variety of areas. Some of these events are divided into age brackets, and many have some sort of prize beyond renown, usually in the form of local products. Food competitions where contestants create and present or even consume a variety of cuisines are common events, though fish is a staple of such events. There are also expositions for craftsmen, including those of fishing vessels and tools, as well as artists who utilize remains of sea life and local resources in their works. Within the last few centuries, talent competitions have come into vogue where local artists perform, such as through singing, instrument playing, or dancing; categories range from traditional to miscellaneous performances. However, contests of physical prowess, such as tests of strength, wrestling, and races, number the most of these competitions with the most popular of being the Marine Triathlon.

Marine Triathlon

One of the biggest events takes place on the ninth day of the Blue Solstice Festival. The Marine Triathlon is a continuous three-event race. From a starting point in Fysburne, competitors first run about three miles towards the northern curve of the Blue Bay. From the edge of the bay, they then swim to a set of floating docks situated a mile and a half out in the open sea. At the docks, competitors must finish off the Triathlon by mounting kayaks and paddling on a set course around the Blue Bay and back to the shores of Fysburne. The winner of the event is determined by time and adherence to the stipulated routes.

Trading Grounds

Active during the Blue Solstice Festival, the Trading Grounds spawned from the increased presence of external businesses in Fysburne for the event. They are located on the south side of the district and serve as a place for businesses, merchants, and other traders to congregate. While anyone can visit the Trading Grounds to peruse and purchase wares, stalls may only be erected after purchasing vending licenses and renting out lots of space from local authorities.

Participants

The festival's organization remains under the local government of Fysburne's purview. More often than not, the fishermen of the district, especially veteran fishermen, weigh in on the decision making through town hall proceedings. While external parties, such as representatives from businesses based in central Wiltide, may offer input, the natives of Fysburne maintain majority control over the Blue Solstice Festival's organization, which helps maintain the standard of the event's internal regional authenticity.
Furthermore, a representative of the priesthood, typically a priestess, of the shrines in Fysburne formally announces the beginning and end of the Blue Solstice festival. The local clergy possesses a pivotal part in directing traditional cultural festivities, such as the feasts and mass ceremonies dedicated to the gods. To ensure the efficiency of the overall organization, Fysburne's Council(wo)man, the district's representative to the larger Wiltidish government, acts as a mediator between the priesthood, local organizers, and other external parties.
All Fysburne natives attend the Blue Solstice festival, often filling the ranks of participants for the main events. They typically partake in cultural performances and competitions of physical prowess. Traditionally, at least one person from each family in the district contributes to the preparation of the feasts. However, typically all residents of age aid in preparing and conducting the festival.
However, circumstances willing, denizens of Wiltide's other districts as well as travelers from beyond the city also attend. Attendees from outside of Fysburne often engage in trade or as audience members to the activities, though a handful each year take more involved roles in festivities. It has also become a tradition for Wiltide's mayor and the members of the city council to participate in the Blue Solstice Festival's formal beginning and ending ceremonies as well as awarding competition winners.

Observance

The Blue Solstice Festival takes place for a duration of one week during Lorhm, the tenth month of the year. Though typically held during the first week, the exact date for the beginning of the festival follows the last week of the mid-year fishing season, the end of which is determined by Fysburne's fishermen and local ecclesiastics.

Primary Related Location

Wiltide