Festival of Colored Glass
They say the festival will paint your soul with color. I hope it's as true for the Metilth Working Caste as it was for me.
The Festival of Colored Glass takes place every summer on the island of Tilth. The main exihibitions take place in the capital, Central Tilth, but the smaller settlements that dot the island produce magnificent works of their own and are likewise worth visiting.
History
The Festival of Colored Glass goes back thousands and thousands of years. When Tige the Uniter announced that Talla of Smouge had agreed to be his wife, all of Tilth united to present the pair with a wedding gift that reflected their vision of a united continent.
Each foundry was tasked with creating a fantastical glass artwork -- sculpture, stained glass window, mobile, anything so long as it showcased the beauty of colored glass -- based on a theme set forth by the Metilth Ruling Caste: The Power of Unity.
After the wedding, while the newlyweds were on their royal wedding tour, they visited the Island of Glass, and were treated to hundreds of amazing art pieces, each one showcasing the skills and style of each individual foundry. Tige and Talla were encouraged to choose as many of the sculptures as they pleased to decorate the new Library Palace that was being constructed as their home.
Tige and Talla paid each foundry for the work that they had done, and bought all of the sculptures. Each was given to the capital city of an island to serve as the nucleus around which a museum should be built. This, they hoped, would set a good example of fostering the local arts of each island and encourage cultural exchange between islands instead of just economics.
They were right, and many islands still display these sculptures. (Of course, glass being glass, some have been lost to natural disasters and vandalism. One was even stolen!)
As for their wedding gift, Tige and Talla accepted one small, delicate-looking sculpture as a memento of their trip. In addition, they sought and recieved from the (now defunct) Council of Leaders among the ruling caste a promise that they would host a festival of colored glass every year, that the entire continent might have the opportunity to witness such a spectacle as they had.
Execution
This year's festival of summer glass displayed a very clear theme: public defiance of Ploui Jirs, Spu's latest piece of authoritarian overreach, the recent Edict of Principle requiring extermination of all vermin, including the beloved Winged Sand Fox. Images and depictions of this adorable and friendly creature have dominated the submissions from every art house and foundary.
Observance
The festival begins on the second day of summer, and lasts for the entire season.
Examples from this year's festival
Art, the finest form of protest, absolutely glorious! I love the added images, really brings it all to life. :)
Beware the artists; they mingle with all classes and are therefore, the most dangerous.
Haly, the Moonlight Bard