27 Oct

Celebrate Día De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at the Museum of Anthropology

Photo by Valeria Almaraz on Unsplash

The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) is well worth the trip out to Point Grey near UBC for its extensive collection of First Nations artifacts and aristry along with the stunning setting perched above the Pacific Ocean. Next week, they will also be hosting a party to celebrate the dead!

Similar to some of Vancouver’s other top attractions who have begun to offer extremely successful night-time events (e.g. FUSE, After Hours at the Aquarium, etc…), MOA now doesn’t shut down after dark. On the first Thursday of every month, the museum hosts monthly cabaret parties with an unexpected mix of comedy, music, dance and experimental theatre by some of the most interesting artists from Vancouver and beyond.

Next week, MOA invites you to an immersive evening of music, interactive theatre, live painting, and altar-making for this year’s Day of the Dead (Día De Los Muertos) on Thursday, November 2 from 6pm-11pm.

Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash

Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures (you may recognize the sugar skull imagery). The holiday, which is celebrated mostly in Mexico on November 1 and 2, is like a family reunion—except dead ancestors are the guests of honor. Day of the Dead is a joyful time that helps people remember the deceased and celebrate their memory.

On Thursday, November 2, MOA will be transforming into a vast, underworld labyrinth for this year’s Day of the Dead festivities in Vancouver. You can come to the event simply as an observer or you can come in your favourite costume and bring a photo of a deceased person who is dear to your heart to add to the collective altar.

Schedule:

6:00 pm onward – Drop-in altar making with the women’s art collective Retazos and artists Harry Grunsky and Ari De La Mora, with live music by DJ Kemo and cash bar.

8:00 / 9:00 pm – Underworld – an interactive theatre experience led by SITE theatre. Journey through the underworld with an inexperienced guide who must liberate the dead from an eternal migration through a decaying landscape.

9:00 pm – The Bardo – an interactive painting performance by artist Kalsang Dawa. Enter the bardo, the Tibetan realm of existence between death and rebirth.

Tickets to the event are $10 for general admission, but free for UBC students + staff, MOA members, and indigenous peoples.