Presented by
Richie Richardson in collaboration with
The Great Falls Harvest Restaurant
SATURDAY, 31 OCTOBER
At The Great Falls Harvest, Big Hall
50 3rd Street, Turners Falls
8pm, Contribution $10.
FEATURING
Franken-Mash with Ezzell Floranina and Rainbow Players
MUSIC
Pitchfork , DJ Mello ‘D, No Name, Burrie Jenkins
Come in costume or come as you are!
Enjoy the revelry, music and live performances
Just bring your FABulous energy
PRIZES FOR THE BEST COSTUMES
Background/About Richie:
I absolutely love the culture, the theater and the ritual of Halloween and I consider myself a Halloween maven. Even though the day of the dead festivals are celebrated universally, Halloween was not part of the cultural narrative, when I was growing up in the Caribbean. Instead, we celebrated the traditions of All Saints and All Souls, which are observed on November 1st and November 2nd. On those two days there would be ceremonial gatherings at the gravesites of family members and loved ones. We would gather during the day to clean their graves, plant flowers and bring lots of white candles. Then at night, we would light the candles in a grand festival of light and the entire cemetery would come alive with festive remembrance; sometimes there would be music, but mainly with percussion instruments, solemn chanting and singing, but no dancing. All Saints is also called All Hallows or Hallowmas and that was probably one of the few occasions, when solemnity was truly observed, without any major fanfare. In my culture, almost any event can easily blossom into some kind of impromptu festive celebration or big party. If you were born in Trinidad & Tobago, the spirit of carnival, calypso and steel pan is firmly in your DNA. And the further away you are from that triad, the urge to libate in that rich cultural milieu, will continue to grow, manifest and expand in the most extraordinary ways. In 1990, when I arrived in New York, my desires were to become involved in the Caribbean Carnival and the New York’s Village Halloween Parade. I designed my first masquerade carnival costumes for the Band Savage In 1991 and the following year, I became involved with Village Halloween Parade and for me…it was the most natural fit. Since then I have been enthralled with Halloween…conjuring, celebrating and producing.