Dazzling sunlight and bright blue skies meant sunburn for the fairer skinned participants during the Queen’s Jubilee Family Festival at Oglethorpe University Saturday, June 2, but the gorgeous weather made it a small price to pay.
More than 2,000 British Commonwealth subjects and their admirers came to the university’s Elizabethan setting for the cricket, fish and chips, and an Atlanta nod to the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
The event, which was sponsored by the British Consulate General in Atlanta, raised $15,000-20,000 for the Queen’s Jubilee Trust, a charity for members of the Commonwealth.
The strains of accents from around the world added to the international flavor, as a showing of both British and Commonwealth immigrants to the U.S. with notable representation from Australia, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, India and New Zealand came out in support.
A car show featuring spotless antique Bentley’s and Rolls-Royce’s completed the picture of British royalty and circumstance–one prize Bentley parked on the drive actually carried the Queen on one of her five tours through Australia.
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is in full swing in Britain. The country is also in the final stages of preparation for the London 2012 Olympics, set to begin Friday, July 27.
Atlanta Ballet is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Culture Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Culture newsletters.