At the Secret Souls Walk, the audience was guided on their own journey through a fantastical parallel world.
Last year, we returned Parade of Lost Souls to its roots, and gave all participants, performers and patrons a rich and new experience of art created by the community, for the community.
The artist collective known as the Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret told the story of a world void of art or music, coming to life in a bombastic celebration, full of connection and community. Entering off Victoria Drive, patrons found themselves in an alley transformed into a labyrinth, with an eerie sense of loneliness and desertion. There, the Lost Souls, dressed all in white and moving in slow unison, wandered searchingly amongst the crowd.
The audience traveled deeper until the first signs of life appeared . . . with howl of the trickster coyote. Further they spiraled into overwhelming clutter, noise and excitement, with giant puppets, trash monsters, and a big band playing wild jazz. Then, the renewal of life, in the form of swing and zombie dancing, clowns, stilting, and shadow puppetry . . . all building to a haunting crescendo, until being released back onto the same street they departed from, transformed and uplifted.
With more than 130 performers and some 15,000 participants, Secret Souls Walk was created specifically to balance audience appreciation with audience participation. The workshops leading up to the event were facilitated by professional artists, with the intent to empower community members to develop their own creative instincts and be the parade. The result was a resounding success; one neighbor projected light and shadow from his balcony, another couple played beautiful, improvised jazz, a group of drummers entertained the crowd as they waited to depart on the walk. And the majority of the scheduled performers played and danced for the entire four-hour period – out of pure enjoyment!
Each of the 20-some odd houses that partnered with us to create the event went above and beyond — many created beautiful set pieces all their own. In addition, on the night of the event, some additional 15-20 houses opened their garages and yards, and brought out their own performances – a beautiful sight to behold.
The team from Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret who took on the production of Secret Souls Walk included Kat Single-Dain as Performance Coordinator; Ari Lazar as Site Coordinator, Andrea Curtis as Event Coordinator, Travis Jones as Puppet Master, and Brodie Kitchen as Production Designer.
Welcome back!
Will a section of Commercial Drive be close off similar to previous years?
No, we won’t be shutting down a section of Commercial Drive. Programming is at Britannia Community Centre and at a secret locale for the walks to be released the day of the event.
Where do we look to find out where the walk is starting?
What fun! An adventure!
I’m just wondering how wheelchair accessible it will be. Also, is there parking for handicap vans available?
Thanks
Public Dreams,
I will really miss the Parade of Lost Souls for the second year. While your site lists “reduced financial support ” as a legitimate reason, I was dismayed to discover from the 24 hours newspaper link–and not on here–that a $45 000 shortfall was not due to lack of enthusiasm from the community, or overspending by Public Dreams–but was as direct result of ($45000!) budget cuts by the provincial government. I think if we really want Public Dreams to turn myth to reality, this includes educating a public about these issues so that we can make our demands, or support for the continuation and value of these events, known at the ballot box. Why shy away from pointing this out? Otherwise we have only you to blame, rather than the politicians who do not share the work of Public Dreams.
I want to say thank you for organizing such events. It brings the creativity and a chance to be together as a community.
a what time the actual walk starts? I’m going to be working until late and coming from burnaby, i just want to kind of organize my way down there, thank you and keep the great work! cheers
Is this only for residents living near Commercial dr. or can anyone attend?
Is this rain or moonshine?
I’m so excited! I love Dusty Flower pot Cabaret! !! I love public dreams! thank you so much people!
We just got home from Britannia and had a blast! Thank you so much for continuing this imaginative programming. Our almost 3-year old especially loved the projection graffiti, hula hoops, and storytelling.
Happy Hallowe’en!
Butch says “well done” to all who put so much work into this event that attracted what seemed to be well over 1,000 people. I will upload some video at both my YouTube ButchBeaver and YouTube ButchNews channels. It was quite difficult shooting conditions… first time I’ve tried to do video at night, but a great learning experience. I know how I’ll do it next time.
Regards from Butch
Butch News
Here is the full video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L8N7jBT_Lc
Congratulations, Public Dreams Society for putting on another great Halloween event this year. We were concerned that with the funding cutbacks and with Commercial Drive remaining open that it would have a signficant impact on the event. So were pleasantly surprised to find our experience to be as good as before. We liked the set up at the Brittania Community Centre as it provided a central location to share the experience. It was a bit of a hike to get to join the parade in the Victoria block, but well worth it. Thanks to the homeowners in the Victoria block that provided the fun atmosphere for the parade.