Cloggies in Seattle

Walking in Seattle yesterday we came across the Northwest Folklife Festival. We had no idea what this was but wandered in to follow the strains of music and the smell of the food.

Imagine my shock when the FIRST thing we came across was the North by Northwest Morris Men – Lancashire clog dancing in Seattle – The Cloggies incarnate.

Now I would like to explain to my American friends why grown, bearded men dress in white with flowered hats and with bells on their ankles and then dance whilst waving handkerchiefs in the air.

But I cannot even begin. You’ll have to checkout the explanations below.

I am including the very first Bill Tidy cartoon for The Cloggies which will tickle the Brits on this list and bemuse everyone else.

The rest of the festival was an overload of twenty stages of every imaginable style of music and dance – with every available space filled with bands who obviously just showed up and performed. Here we see The Conjugal Visitors and The Tallboys working the crowd.

Further reading on The Cloggies – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cloggies

Details of Northwest Folklife – www.nwfolklifefestival.org/

History of The Morris – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance