John's take on the Drowning

John Cavanagh came along to the Drowning of 2012 and he's been a vital part of our festival ever since. Here is Drowning Marzanna in his own words.

John Cavanagh reporting live at the 2013 event.

The first time I encountered the Drowning Marzanna Spring Festival, I was a little confused. Was I being invited to some event with, shall we say terminal intent? Well, it certainly grabbed my attention. The meaning of the festival was, of course, not in the least murderous and purely reflected an ancient European culture of banishing winter and welcoming spring. This was achieved with a celebration involving the dispatch of an effigy representing the goddess of winter and death: Marzanna. It all reminded me, in a pleasingly macabre way, of our own Wicker Man.

It just so happened that we, in Glasgow, had our own Marzanna: far from being a harbinger of winter (or death), she is one of the most lively and inspiring people and, along with her friend Ania, another vibrant talent who's chosen this city as her home, they'd been staging Drowning Marzanna here since 2010.

My first taste of the pageant was a wonderful introduction to the festival, with music, dancing, people of all ages and from many places taking part in a wonderful setting by the Kelvin. In getting to know Ania, Marzanna and their friends better through the following year, I was very happy to be invited to get involved in the 2013 event, then the 2014 one as well, with each year's Drowning finding more friends in a true spirit of getting together in celebration, not only of spring itself, but in an enriching feeling of humanity gathering in our city in such a joyous way.

People Make Glasgow. You can hardly have escaped the slogan which became ubiquitous on everything from badges to bike stands around the time of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. An event like Drowning Marzanna proves the point. However, one of the many new rules regarding the use of our public park space nearly wiped Drowning Marzanna off the calendar for 2015. It involved the requirement for public liability insurance to be in place. One suspects this would be prohibitively expensive, however potential insurers showed scant interest in even offering a quote to a small group hoping to run this event, in spite of their good record in previous years. Had this happened around the inaugural drowning event, it would never have got off the ground at all and it appears the new rules act as a wet blanket to people wanting to make anything that is not buoyed up by substantial funding.

The Marzanna festival has no funding to support it. It is run, if not on a shoestring, then on threads of brightly coloured ribbon, bought by the group who make the thing happen. That is all. It's an event made from the enthusiasm of those who choose to create open connections in our world and it serves as a beacon of Glasgow Life. I use capital letters there, as Glasgow Life is the City Council umbrella organisation which controls such things as making rules about the parks we pay for. The application of their powers is, in some areas, rendering the “People Make Glasgow” slogan to be a piece of empty rhetoric: while people are trying to make things in Glasgow, Glasgow Life are placing formidable obstacles in their way.

In recent weeks, I have been approached by several people whom I barely know in public and contacted by more who are familiar to me asking what's happening with Drowning Marzanna this year. It's sad that what has been a growing, evolving and eagerly awaited event each year has now been forced to get it all together very swiftly in the days before it all happens. However, at least it is all happening, once again by the Kelvin on Sunday 19^th April. We hope for a healthy and enthusiastic turnout for what should be a wonderful day in one of Glasgow's many beautiful spots.

Come along! Be as colourful as you like! Dance, sing or just watch if you're too shy! It'll be a great day, I'm sure and everyone is welcome to Drowning Marzanna, just as Drowning Marzanna welcomes spring!