Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Day of the Dead seeks volunteer souls for 10th annual festivities
Florida Day of the Dead in downtown Fort Lauderdale — considered one of the Top 10 Día de los Muertos events in America — is planning an even more elaborate celebration for its 10th anniversary festivities on Nov. 2, with more skeletons, more Frida Kahlos, more stages of entertainment, even a small herd of Mexican dancing horses.
Locals looking to get involved with the creative team that produces the evening of macabre joy can attend Florida Day of the Dead’s first meeting for volunteers 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Art Serve, 1350 E Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale.
The free open-to-thepublic meeting will begin the creative brainstorming that sets the stage for an eight-week series of skeleton-themed workshops, exhibitions and community events in September and October.
This year’s free, familyfriendly Florida Day of the Dead festivities are again led by event founder and Puppet Network executive producer Jim Hammond and presented by Damn Good Hospitality, in partnership with the Florida Mexican Festival, the Foundation of Mexican Art & Folklore, and the Consulate General of Mexico.
The partnership will create a showcase for what organizers say will be the largest number of Mexican folklorico artists to perform in one evening in Florida.
Hammond’s mission over the years has been to create an event that “maintains and respects the cultural essence of the Day of the Dead tradition, but also interjects a modern aesthetic as envisioned by regional artists.”
This year’s expanded celebration will include seven performance stages, more than 60 of the event’s signature 18-foot puppets, 20 folklorico dance and music groups, and a dozen Mexican dancing horses.
Florida Day of the Dead 2018 festivities drew nearly 20,000 visitors to the Fort Lauderdale riverfront for a processional that began at Huizenga Plaza, across the street from NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, and streamed along the New River to a block party in the historic Himmarshee District hosted by Damn Good Hospitality nightclubs Revolution Live, America’s Backyard and Stache.
“The Florida Day of the Dead celebration provides a memory for the dead and a party for the living,” Hammond says.
As they did last year, Damn Good Hospitality nightclubs will host a “Night of the Dead” concert and party, this year on Friday, Nov. 1. The lineup is still to be determined, but last year it included Dark Star Orchestra and Galactic, two nationally touring bands inspired by the Grateful Dead, and South Florida’s Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio and Crazy Fingers.
For more information, visit DayOfTheDeadFlorida.com.