An Unusual Procession Wends its Way

Though a slim crescent moon had climbed into the sky, the night was still dark, despite pathways of tea light candles that Tassos and his wife Norah had put out to guide visitors in from the main road. But there was no need to worry. "We have six torches," Tassos, the tall,shaven headed impresario behind the Ikarus Arts Complex informed me. Silly me, I thought he was using the British term for a flashlight. But no. We gingerly gathered in the lane as a half-dozen braver guests took on torch duty - holding up bamboo torches with eight-inch flames licking toward the sky and unnervingly near clothing and hairstyles.