Halloween at Redd and Blu's!

It's that time of year again! Halloween is one of my very favorite holidays, for a few reasons. It's the beginning of an amazing season of holiday cheer. It means autumn is officially in full swing - leaves are falling, the sun is going into hiding, and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the other high holidays are right around the corner!

Halloween, though, is something very special. Besides the traditions of trick or treating, costumes, and jack o' lanterns, it's a time for us to solemnly remember our dead regardless of our religious tradition (or lack thereof).

Just yesterday, Blu and I went to go see a Halloween extravaganza performed by BareBones Productions entitled "A Fistful of Dirt: How the Death was Won" at the Hidden Falls Regional Park in St. Paul.

I wish I had more pictures, but it was in a very dark
place, and using the flash would have been rude

It was a pretty interesting play, though very visually oriented. We sat far from the front, so at times it was hard to hear, as well, and I had to go back and look up the story to get a fuller understanding of what was going on.

The production was about a lost soul, a traveler stuck between worlds when the tengu (Japanese spirits) decide to break the Veil by sundering the Book of the Dead. In the 150 years following, people grow old and never die, and after pleas from the elderly victims of their choice as well as the dying Earth itself, the tengu are finally convinced to restore the Book and reopen the Veil for all to pass. The audience is asked to participate in opening the Veil with the power of their breath.

The production is very grassroots, featuring handmade puppets, a volunteer orchestra, aerialists, stilt-walkers, and dancers. It is also heavy on audience participation, ending with a funereal procession and a burning of a pyre, where all in the audience are asked to shout the names of their dead as the smoke rises from the flames. It was very beautiful, and I found myself tearing up a little despite being absolutely freezing cold. After the show, free soup, pasta, and hot chocolate were served by Sisters' Camelot, a mobile food-share and organic collective. It was AMAZING!

Unfortunately the last showing of this year's production was tonight, but I urge all of you to mark it in your calendars for next year, when BareBones will be putting on their 19th annual Halloween extravaganza, and to support them as well as Sisters' Camelot by donating your money or your time. I feel so blessed to be living in a community with such a healthy arts community, and this show truly was worth the commute AND the cold.

In the meantime, Halloween geared up at our place with a big bowl of candy. I'll be the first to tell you that I am no Martha Stewart (or Carla, seriously, go read her blog) but we spruced up our porch with a couple of pumpkins and an inviting sign:

My pumpkin. Blu's, unfortunately, did not survive the carving.

Ugh, I have got to get this front step repainted. Add
another to the list!

Matt's pumpkin, still surprised....and on FIRE! AAGH!

All in all, we had a total of ten trick or treaters. What a disappointing turnout, and almost none of them were wearing costumes! I was hoping it would be significantly more than that, but with the plethora of free trick-or-treating nearby, I shouldn't have been surprised.

We turned on the blacklights on our patio, ordered pizza, started a horror movie, and had a great night. Trillian was a surprisingly good dog the entire time - maybe I'll get a costume for her next year!

Trillian says, "oh please god no."

With that, I'll wrap it up for tonight. In future posts, I'll blog about our adventures with our garage door opener, more winterization (including the all-important water heater blanket), and our ongoing battle with the furnace. The joys of being a homeowner never cease, and as long as they exist, I'll be here, blogging about them. Happy Halloween!