The Northland Pioneer College Folklorico Dancers perform at Snowdrift’s Day of the Dead event in 2012. Photo courtesy of Daniel Lutzick.
WINSLOW — Snowdrift Art Space, Flagstaff Nuestras Raíces, and the Winslow Chamber of Commerce will present a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration from 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 at 120 W. Second St., downtown Winslow. The family tradition honors departed loved ones in a festival setting. (Please be advised that this is not a Halloween-related event.)
Día de los Muertos is held throughout Latin America and the Southwestern United States from October 31 through November 2, when families celebrate and remember their departed ancestors and loved ones by placing ofrendas (offerings) at graves and altars. They also pray, dance, sing and share memories of the departed, who are thought to briefly visit the earth at this time each year to make sure that all is well and that they have not been forgotten.
Snowdrift will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1 so that members of the public can set up their own individual altars for departed family and friends (small tables provided if needed). Ofrendas on the altars may include flowers, candles, incense, sugar skulls and statues of saints as well as pictures, personal items and favorite food or drinks of the departed. The process of creating an ofrenda can often help transform grief into acceptance.
On Saturday, Nov. 2, Snowdrift will be open from 10 a.m. to noon for final altar preparations. The public event begins at 1 p.m., and Nuestras Raíces will host a Sugar Skull Workshop starting at 2 p.m. Attendees are also encouraged to add their own ofrendas to Snowdrift’s Community Altar by lighting candles and placing flowers, pictures and prayers for the departed. There will also be music, skull-mask decorating, Día de los Muertos crafts and event t-shirts for sale, and cake and refreshments for everyone.
The Northland Pioneer College Folklorico Dancers will perform from 7 to 8 p.m., followed immediately by a traditional Día de los Muertos procession from Snowdrift to the Hubbell/Winslow Visitors Center along the First Street Pathway. The procession will end at the Hubbell with the burning of an urn filled with prayers for the departed that event attendees have added along the way.
For more information, contact Dan Lutzick at 928-587-8934 or dlutzick@yahoo.com. Support for this event has been provided by Snowdrift Art Space, the Winslow Chamber of Commerce, and Flagstaff Nuestras Raíces, which is dedicated to promoting Hispanic culture and history through events, gatherings, and the performing and visual arts.