Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos), is a holiday celebrated in Mexico.
The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honouring the deceased using sugar skulls, retablo, marigolds and the favourite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.
Due to occurring shortly after Halloween, the Day of the Dead is sometimes thought to be a similar holiday, although the two actually have little in common. The Day of the Dead is a time of celebration.
The Comox Valley Community Arts Council (CVCAC) asks you to explore the celebrations in which Mexican traditions are being extended to make artistic or sometimes political statements. Updated, intercultural versions of the Day of the Dead have been evolving in North America creating a mixture of Mexican traditions and hip, conventional altars. Colourful native dancers and music intermix with performance artists play on traditional themes.
A CVCAC members’ show based on this theme will run from Oct. 14 to Nov. 15 at the Muir Gallery. The exhibit’s opening happens Oct. 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. The dropoff date for pieces is Oct. 12 from 10 to noon.
The CVCAC will also hold its annual AGM at 6:30 at the Muir prior to the opening of the this festive members show, and invites any of the public or potential volunteers who are interested in the organization to come and learn what it’s been doing within our vibrant community.
The Muir Gallery is operated by the Comox Valley Community Arts Council. It runs thanks to volunteers.
The Muir is at 440 Anderton Ave. in Courtenay and is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, visit www.comoxvalleyarts.org or e-mail info@comoxvalleyarts.org.
— Comox Valley Community Arts Council
