Twin Ports Scene: Six Days Till Seventh Annual All Souls Night

Shortly after noon Saturday I was able to slip downtown to drop by the All Souls Festival art space in the storefront at 134 W. First Street just west of Pineapple Arts. Mary Plaster and two others were there preparing costumes to make this year's All Souls Night celebration the best yet.

This will be the seventh year the festival has been held, and my guess is that it will be bigger than ever. If you have not been, it's very much an experience best appreciated when you get totally immersed.

The event, billed as an alternative to Halloween, will begin in the Depot's Great Hall. Setting up the space will commence on Friday the 31st.

Though the chimerical celebrations are intended to be fun, there's a serious side as well.  In some ways the imagery and activities parallel Mexico's Day of the Dead celebrations, but in this case the aim is to acknowledge the fullness of life by honoring deceased loved ones and reimagining a better future for the living. Hence the name All Souls Night.

In the spirit of the event and its roots, home made costuming is the decor of the day. The organizers do not encourage store-bought masks and costumery unless it is excessively customized and made one's own. There will be an abundance of face painters on hand to get your own "mask" accessorized.

A $10 donation is suggested to support the indoor art displays, spoken word, music, dance and outdoor spectacle makers: musicians, larger-than-life street puppets, stilt walkers and fire ceremony and spinning.

The event itself is slated to run from 3 p.m. till 7 p.m. Sunday. Because our Daylight Savings Time clocks fall back an hour Saturday night, there will be plenty of time for the after dark parading to make its way about the area. You can find the full slate of activities and their times here on the Event page at Facebook.

One of Lake Erie's now extinct pike 

Definitely something you might not expect here in Duluth. But why not?