Indiana University May Festival collection, 1897-1928
A Guide to the Collection at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Katie Morrison
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana
University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University, Bloomington.
University Archives (2016- )
TitleIndiana University May Festival
collection, 1897-1928
Collection No.
C693
Extent
.1 cubic feet
(8 items)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
Indiana University faculty members and
student groups organized campus springtime May Day celebrations as early as 1897.
From 1908 through at least 1928, the Women's Athletic Association and IU Department
of Physical Education for Women organized the official campus May Festival, which
featured dance exercises by female students and musical performances. This
collection contains May Festival programs dating from 1897 through 1928, as well as
a student ticket to a 1926 May Day event.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Historical Note
Traditional springtime "May Day" celebrations were organized at Indiana University as
early as 1897, when IU Musical Director C. Norman Hassler presented the May Music
Festival, a grand concert and oratorio in the Men’s Gymnasium. The "Indiana
University May Festival" began in 1905 under the auspices of the Indiana University
Lecture Association. Modeled on the 1897 event, the festival featured orchestral and
choral performances by German, American, and local musicians in the Men’s Gymnasium.
Starting in 1908, the Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) and IU Department of
Physical Education for Women co-organized the May Festival and highlighted exercises
and dance programs at the Women’s Gymnasium. By the 1920s, due to the growth and
popularity of the event, the festival was moved to Dunn Meadow. The event included a
“Dance Drama” program presented by singers and students from the Department of
Physical Education’s natural dancing classes. The Women’s Student Government
Association (WSGA) also sponsored the construction of a large May pole and the
crowing of a May Queen.
The WAA and Department of Physical Education for Women continued to organize an
annual May Festival through at least 1928, although other organizations such as
women’s residence hall groups organized their own festivities in following
years.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains Indiana University May Festival programs dating from 1905
through 1928. The collection also includes an 1897 program for a May Music Festival
and a 1926 ticket to the “Dance Drama” program of the May Festival.
-
Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
Related Material
Records of the Women’s Student Government Association are available in
Indiana University Association of Women Students records, Collection
C478
.
Photographs of May Festival activities in the 1930s and 1940s can be found in the
Indiana University Women’s Residence Halls scrapbooks, Collection
C631
.
Related photographs are available in the
University Archives Photographs Database
.
Administrative Information
Usage RestrictionsCopyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units,
departments, and other offices are held by the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of
others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials
in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift.
Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials
rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are
responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights
holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other
statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives
are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If
you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have
questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University
Archives staff.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University May Festival collection, Collection C693, Indiana
University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
This collection was assembled by Indiana University Archives staff. The immediate
sources of the collection materials was not documented, but it is likely they
were separated from other collections already held by the IU Archives.
Processing InformationProcessed by Katie Morrison.
Completed in May 2018
Container List
Series:
Indiana University May Festival collection, 1897-1928
Box SC17
May Music Festival program, 1897
May Festival program, 1905
(5 copies)
May Festival program, 1924
(2 copies)
May Festival program, 1925
May Festival program, 1926
(2 copies)
Dance Drama May Festival ticket, 1926
Dance Drama Every Day program, 1927
Dance Festival program, 1928
