In 1921, the Seattle Times organized the "Midsummer Fete," a week-long festival in July that included fireworks displays, dances, a parade of 7,000 members of Elks Lodges, and races between sailors of the U. S. Pacific Fleet, who were anchored in Elliott Bay for the event. In addition, a massive staging was presented of "The Wayfarer," a religious work combining drama, opera, pageant, and oratorio written by James Edwin Crowther (1874-1970), a minister from Seattle.
This image appears to have been taken during a rehearsal for "The Wayfarer," which opened on July 23 at Husky Stadium on the University of Washington campus. Local music teacher Montgomery Lynch (1879-1948) adapted and directed the play, which had about 7,000 performers. The play was first performed in 1919 in Ohio, then toured to New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles.
Handwritten on negative: Cowan Photo, Seattle, U.S.A. 1921
Caption information source: The Seattle Daily Times, July 23, 1921, page 1 Caption information source: Crowther, J. E. (1920). The Birth of The Wayfarer. The Christian Advocate, Volume 95, page 89.
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 6 x 8 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, 1980.7005.5, photo by Cowen Photo Studio
