MMOS News Update: Vernal Equinox 2010

Spring greetings, y’all! I’ll be posting quarterly news updates at the solstices and equinoxes from now on, to keep everyone up to speed with what’s in the works in the present and for the future on the MMOS front.

First, I’m pleased to be able to tell you that with the addition of a grant pending from Union Pacific to the general fund, we will be officially paid up on debts for All Souls Procession 2009. I also want you to know that All Souls Procession received more financial support in 2009 from individuals like you and I than ever before. We are moving closer and closer toward our goal of making All Souls a major community event created, produced and supported entirely by its own participants. Think about that. How many cities are there, anywhere in the world today, who are putting on completely non-commercial, totally grassroots sustained public festival gatherings upwards of 20,000 people? This is a brand new way of doing such things, or new to us in the 20th and 21st centuries anyway. The lines between participant and observer, maker and consumer are dissolving before our eyes. We –all of us– are manifesting culture, and we’re doing it together. Amazing!

On that same note, we’ve got a fundraiser coming up on Saturday, April 17th for Procession of Little Angels. This will be the first time we’ve had a benefit to raise funds specifically for Little Angels and to reach out to the families and friends who attend it and who appreciate its very special community value, inviting them to come out and support the event that they love and to make it their own. We’re also excited about having this Family Get-Together midway through the year as a way to begin bridging the gap between All Souls seasons, a chance for us to gather again, be united in our love for the things that matter most in Life, and have some fun. Speaking of fun, I should mention that it’s not just a show but a “do”; almost every performance on the line-up will include audience participation, so it’s a great opportunity to give your kids a taste of all kinds of cool and unique things. HUGE amounts of love and gratitude to all those who are contributing their time, energy and talents to make this event happen: Elizabeth Tobias, our host at Splinter Brothers and Sisters Warehouse; Bob and Trish Evans (juggling workshop); Capoeira Mandinga (afro-brazilian martial dance); Kelly Domitrz (hoola-hoop movement and workshop); Charlie Middagh and Angela Walker from Tucson Puppet Works (puppet show); Mat Bevel (art table); Tucson Circus Arts (poi-spinning and globe-walking workshops); Alex Ferris and Anarchestra (audience-performed musical improvisation on metal sculpture instruments); and Epic Cafe for helping us with food and drink. None of it could happen without people like them, and YOU!

And last, what would you think about an All Souls Procession film, one that would document not only this year’s Procession but all the various elements leading up to it: the workshops, rehearsals, its history, people’s projects and stories, the Remembering Dinner, benefits, potlucks, Little Angels….the whole thing? It is happening, and we ourselves are doing it! Many Mouths One Stomach is producing a world-class documentary on All Souls Procession with our friend Gerry Loew, whose superb work you can see for yourself in the short film he made of last year’s finale performance highlights (click here). This will be a product we’ll sell ourselves on dvd as a benefit to support the Procession Weekend, as well as potentially shop around to film festivals and other outlets in the future. How does that sound? The Little Angels FUNdraiser in April will be the first public shoot!

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