When Villager Kathy Duffy informed her 9-year-old grandson they were going to gather Teflon frying pans and join the Drumming Circle welcome in the “Super Moon” Sunday evening, he was skeptical.
“I thought she was trying to trick me,” said young Trystan, visiting from Maryland.
Roughly 75 drummers gathered on a grassy area near the Villages Polo Fields to engage in a spiritual beating of drums and immerse themselves in the lunar event.
The full moon experienced Sunday evening was not only the closest and largest full moon of the year. It also was the moon’s closest encounter with Earth for all of 2013. The moon will not be as close again until August 2014.
Villager Jo Ward who serves as the de facto leader of the Drumming Circle, offered personal testament to the power of drum beating.
She lost her husband 17 years ago. To make sense of it all, she went on a retreat to the Boundary Waters. Those on the retreat had all suffered some personal hardship, but she was the only widow. The group roughed it. Catching fish, building fires. She looked forward to climbing into a bunk bed.
“Then they brought out these old drums,” Ward recalled.
For her, it was a turning point.
She led Sunday’s group through some simple exercises to get them in rhythm.
Soon, they had the hang of it.
Village of Silver Lake resident Bill Jackson is of Cree Indian descent.
He was able to chime in with a native chant.
Brand-new Villager Pat Presenti was there for the fun.
“I came to howl at the moon,” said the Village of Pennecamp resident.
There was concern clouds might block the moon’s arrival. All eyes were eagerly pointed at the horizon.
Then a slice of bright orange moon appeared.
The drumming grew stronger, almost begging the moon to rise.
And rise it did.
Soon, young Trystan was running down the hillside, banging his Teflon frying pan with absolutely no inhibition.
“This is the coolest,” he screamed.
The Drumming Circle meets 2-3 p.m. Thursdays in the small gazebo near the children’s playground in Lake Sumter Landing, across from TooJay’s. It is not necessary to own a drum to participate. Good substitutes are pots and pans, buckets, rattles or plastic or metal bottles filled with pebbles or dry beans. For information, call Jo Ward at 753-7241.