Come One, Come All!
to welcome spring with the Morris dancers!

It's May Day morning! Help us dance up the sun. Morris dancers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area will gather together with their sticks, ribbons, bells, hankies, and baldrics, for music and dance in our annual May Day celebrations (this year Monday, May 1st, 2006). We start by waking the sun and bringing it back for a whole year! (Besides being a great deal of fun, is this dedication or what?! You may have noticed that it works, too.)

Be a part of it. Show up while it's dark and watch the Sun make a grand entrance. See the spectacle! Watch the magic! Cheer the dancers! Join in the celebration! Wonder why you're up at this hour!

(Note: Sunrise and event starting times can vary significantly, depending on location. You may need to contact a specific team directly to find out more about the local schedule.)

Berkeley with Berkeley Morris.

Meet at Inspiration Point in Tilden Park around 5:30 am. Directions here More dancing the rest of the day throughout Berkeley, likely including BART and a stop at the Jupiter pub.

For more information, email Berkeley Morris or call (510) 524-6966.

Palo Alto, with Mayfield Morris and Sword, Mad Molly, Deer Creek Morris Men and guests.

Meet at at 5:30 am. the Palo Alto Baylands. Take Embarcadero East from the US-101 to the end of the road, turn left, go past the airport, bear right, past the Duck Pond and Gate B, right again to the parking lots. Coffee and muffins will be available. Join in, too, as everyone learns and dances Sellenger's Round (or The Beginning of the World). Yes! We actually teach it! Teams will be be performing around the South Bay throughout the day. Contact each team for specifics. For more information contact: Mayfield Morris and Sword: email squire Suzanne or call (408) 730-9622. Mad Molly: email Amy or call (408) 730-9622. Deer Creek Morris Men: email squire Dick or call (510) 548-1206. These teams will be joined by the non-BACDS team Faultline Morris. This is the last May Day danceout for Mayfield, after 21 years, so come out and wish them a fond farewell.

San Francisco with Goat Hill Morris

Meet around 5:45 in the Twin Peaks parking lot overlooking downtown, the East Bay, and (if we're lucky) the rising sun. For more information, contact Squire (Doug) or call Jocelyn at 415-731-7104.

Santa Cruz with Seabright Morris and Sword

Meet at the Lighthouse on West Cliff Drive around 6:00 am. Take Hwy 1, turn on Bay St. towards the ocean, go all the way to the end, then right onto West Cliff Drive - leave extra time to find parking. Schedule for the rest of the day will be distributed at the Lighthouse. Additional dancing is typically at the Homeless Garden around 9:30 am, the Santa Cruz Bookshop on the Pacific Garden Mall around 10:30 am, ending the day at the Boulder Creek Brewery on Highway 9 in Boulder Creek. For more information, email Squire Teresa or call (408) 768-3693.

Sebastopol with Apple Tree Morris

Meet at Alpha Farm in Sebastopol (3000 Llano Road, between highways 12 and 116) by 5:30 a.m. Dancing until sunrise (around 6:20) a bit more, and then you are welcome to join the team at a potluck breakfast nearby. For more information, call the squire at (707) 829-3478. (Apple Tree is sponsored by our sister organization, the North Bay Country Dance Society, and is listed here by special request.)

Teams listed here are associated with the Bay Area Country Dance Society (BACDS). For additional information about BACDS events and programs, please check the BACDS website, http://www.bacds.org/.

Last updated April 28, 2006.