Pt. Reyes Day of the Dead Updates & Info

10/26/2019 8:45 am by Devi

POWER UPDATE: The event will go on regardless of whether the power is shut off. The procession and ceremony have been shifted 1/2 hour earlier so that things can finish before it gets too dark at Toby's. The times listed below have been adjusted to reflect this.

Pt. Reyes Day of the Dead Schedule
4:00 PM - Gather at Gallery Route One, group photos, choir sings Canaan Aaahs
4:30 PM - Procession through town, choir sings Canaan Aaahs 
5:00 PM - Choir sings our five songs at the little yellow house
5:30 PM - Ceremony at Toby's (see detailed schedule below)
6:00 PM - Celebration at Toby's with Food, Drink, Music.

Ceremony Schedule
5 min - Aztec dancers: one song
3 min - Elder women: Sage blessing
7 min - Children's Choir: two songs
4 min - Luis Mora: Speaks about butterfly imagery & ancestral 
5 min - West Marin Choir sings one song (May the Road Rise with You)
7 min - Skeleton Dance: Ernesto
10 min - Community makes altar offerings, accompanied by West Marin Choir singing Canaan Aaah's

Note some new things:
• The ceremony is much shorter than in past years. 
• It turns out Ernesto would really like us to sing an uplifting song during the ceremony. It's still optional but it would be nice to have a good-size group.
• We will *not* need to wait on stage for the whole ceremony. You can take a regular seat in the audience and then come up and join the choir quietly during Luis' butterfly talk. We'll do "May the Road Rise with You", and we'll stay up there through the skeleton dance so we can sing Canaan Aaahs during the community altar offerings.

Please practice in advance. We'll still meet at 3:00 but we'll only have time to run through each song once, so you must come knowing all your parts and transitions.

Wardrobe
Please note changes
We are switching gears and going back to the more festive attire we've worn in the past, but with our own face-painting scheme. If you're new, our typical Day of the Dead wardrobe might be a black base layer with orange/yellow/red accents, often flor decor or flower sin the hair. Or, anything fesive! This year, please *do not* wear white at all. 

​See you all very soon!

Here's how choir members' faces will be painted, with dots and also with foreheads anointed with gold mica, as a ritual to prepare for our offering of love and support for the community through song.