U-Matic

Indian/Scandinavian Fest. 4-29-88 #2

U-Matic S tape containing footage shot in Hart Plaza during Scandinavian festival and Festival of India on April 29, 1988.

The tape begins with a series of shots of the trees on the lawn near the east end of Hart Plaza, and the Renaissance Center standing in the background. Shots follow of flowers planted in the median of Jefferson Avenue at Woodward Avenue.

The camera then returns to Hart Plaza for a shot featuring a Detroit Citizen's Railway passing along Jefferson Avenue. A temporary sign for the Downtown Hoedown stands near the entrance, and Hart Plaza's sign board promotes the Scandinavian and Indian events, as well as food in the Detroit Underground area.

A pan down the Pylon, the several shots of people in Hart Plaza follow. Dodge Fountain is shown turned off. A wide show captures a vendor selling purses at a stall. The camera then zooms from a light fixture, out to show Hart Plaza with the City-County Building in the background. Next the camera finds a group of women clad in traditional Indian dress.

The camera then moves to the amphitheater area, where a woman in a sari dances in front of the stage to pre-recorded music. The camera pans across the audience and back to the dancer. She is followed by another female dancer, and then a man and woman who perform a routine to a Ravi Shankar song. Following some announcements made over a loud speaker while the camera films the crowd and flags around the stage, the 1988 Festival of India Queen dances. Afterward, the camera captures several shots of other dancers in costume waiting beside the stage, as well as more shots of the audience. The festival queen is shown dancing again, before the camera turns to shots of people around the amphitheater area. Near the end of the tape, the camera captures shots of the Renaissance Center, Dodge Fountain, and Ford Auditorium.

The recording is on a 3M UCA-30s U-Matic S tape with a small handwritten label on its top. The tape is housed within a black plastic latching case with a matching label on its cover.