And here we are again friends, at the end of another year on ye olde Gregorian calendar, in the wake of the 21st annual All Souls Procession, and at the start of what may well be a rather warm and dry winter for those of us here in Southern Arizona!
With the new year approaching, our thoughts naturally turn toward what lies ahead. As we look to the doorway of the future, with its twin sentries Hope and Fear stationed at either side, always remember that future is ours to decide upon, friends. What shall we make of it? Anything that we can dream of. Then let’s make it a good dream, one in which our precious, all-too-fleeting lives are lived to their fullest potential, where the best of ourselves trumps out the worst of ourselves, where the natural exuberance and ingenuity that is our birthright is put to greatest use building an amazing world for every one of us to live in, and where we each play our part in the infinite game of that ongoing creation. Many Mouths One Stomach will do its best to play its own small part here in the desert southwest to make our locale a stronger, healthier, more fulfilling place for living. We hope you’ll join us and take part in this Great Work of building community.
And now for some news!
• As is always the situation at this time of year, our most pressing need is to pay off the debt remaining on this year’s All Souls Procession Weekend. At the moment it stands at roughly $10,000 (click here to read the 2010 Profit and Loss statement).
We are largely relying on personal donations and sales of the 2010 All Souls Procession merchandise to help put us in the black. The end-of-year holiday season can be very demanding on personal resources, but if you attend the All Souls Procession and find value in it on any level, please do consider offering whatever you can to help support the event. It doesn’t take much if everyone who participates also donates; a lot of a little goes a long way. At 20,000 plus in attendance, three or four dollars from everyone who is able pays for the event weekend in its entirety.
Consider ways in which you can creatively fundraise on behalf of Many Mouths One Stomach to help us close out the 2010 debt and raise the funds for All Souls Procession 2011. A New Years Eve party/ benefit for All Souls with a small cover charge? A neighborhood yard sale? Just use your imagination and you can think of all kinds of ways to not only help support the Procession but make new connections in the community and have lots of fun doing it.
You can make online donations here on manymouths.org on the donate/support page (through a Paypal link) or on allsoulsprocession.org on the donate page (where there are buttons for both Paypal and Network For Good), or by way of snail mail at Many Mouths One Stomach p.o. box 15, Tucson, AZ. 85702.
We thank you for your support of the All Souls Procession!
• We are poised to move to a new and permanent host site for the All Souls Procession grand finale ceremony! Negotiations are still underway so there isn’t much more to report to you yet, but it looks to be very promising and we think would be of great benefit for all parties involved, which means you too, friends! The proposed site would be situated on private property and has the potential for development into a multi-purpose space that could be custom-sculpted for our purposes, to optimize the Finale experience for everyone in attendance. This project would entail a time-span over two or three years at best, so we shouldn’t expect it all to manifest between now and next November, but if everything pans out as we hope, the outcome will be an amazing community space as well as a great location in which to comfortably accommodate the thousands that now gather for the Urn burning. So keep this in your thoughts for a positive outcome, friends. We’ll keep you posted as events develop and circumstances permit!
• Production on the All Souls Procession documentary film by Gerry Loew continues, with interviews and supplemental location shots still underway throughout the year, and we see filming extending into the All Souls Procession 2011 season as well. We’re in no hurry here, as we want the whole story to be told and told well. Many of you have seen Gerry’s skillfully composed shorts already, posted right here on The Mouth as well as the All Souls Procession account on Facebook. We are indeed lucky to have him working on this project with us!
• The Procession of Little Angels is super-proud to announce a new partnership with the wonderful Ben’s Bells Project! We are only now in the formative stages of what will certainly be an ongoing relationship through the years ahead, but there are many exciting things planned. Among them, we are hoping to have the kid’s Costuming Workshop series in their studio space if all goes well (and parents, we really want to encourage you to attend the workshop, as wing-making –in addition to the other usual costuming activities– will now take place there in the run-up to the event and NOT at the event itself).
All kinds of other possibilities are in discussion for the future between Ben’s Bells and Little Angels, so get ready for more and more and more MAGIC!
• And lastly, Many Mouths One Stomach will again partner with our friends and allies in the ultra-mighty afro-brasilian drum and dance ensemble Batucaxé on the 2010 Tucson Carnaval, Saturday, February 19th at Armory Park! Flam Chen and Tucson Circus Arts will be in attendance to add to the festivities, including workshops and performance. Stay tuned for more details, coming soon!