Artists to Offer Oct. 19 Talk on Making Altars for Day of Dead Festival
A free talk and video will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, to provide information and encouragement for people who would like to make an altar to remember a loved one at the Nov. 1 Day of the Dead Arts Festival in Tulsa. The talk will be presented at Living Arts of Tulsa, 307 E. Brady St.
Speakers will be Steve Liggett, artistic director of Living Arts, and Ruperto Hernández with the festival’s organizing committee. They will discuss the history and significance of the event, and they will show slides of altars that have been made in past years and a part of a video filmed by Liggett during a Day of the Dead celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico.
In the traditional “Día de los Muertos,” relatives hold vigil by an altar, often at a grave site, to remember those who have died. Altars are decorated with flowers and objects favored by the deceased, including food and drink.
For the Tulsa festival, altars can be simple or elaborate, and can be created on a table. Each participant gets a space, located indoors, that is 4 feet wide, 3 feet deep and 12 feet high. People may also bring items to be placed on a community altar.
The festival, set from 5 to 11 p.m., will feature Hispanic food, music and artists. Admission is $5 per person; children 12 and under are free.
For more information, contact Liggett at steve@livingarts.org or (918) 585-1234, or visit the Web site, www.livingarts.org, for more information.
Updated 10-08-2010
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