Life in Death Festival Honors the Dead
Traditional Mexican Holiday Celebrated Nov. 1 and 2 at Winchester
Clark County Parks and Recreation presents “Life in Death: Day of the Dead,” a two-day festival featuring displays, an art exhibit, performances, craft sales and food vendors from 4 to 9 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2 at Winchester Cultural Center and Park, 3130 S. McLeod Drive. The event will explore cultural traditions relating to the Mexican holiday of El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Admission to the festival is free.
The festival will feature “ofrendas,” or altars built by families and other groups in memory of deceased relatives or other beloved individuals. The ofrendas are elaborate works of art, detailed and sometimes large in size and will be displayed outdoors in Winchester Park. Ofrendas will be judged in three categories including most traditional, most creative and best theme, and a $500 award will be given in each category.
Performances in the park each day will feature Mexican dance troupes and readings of “calaveras,” or “skulls,” which are satirical poems written to commemorate people who are still alive. The poems treat the menace of death with good-natured humor and offer a chance to poke fun at prominent celebrity and political figures. Judges will award calaveras winners $150, $125 and $100 prizes.
Authentic Mexican crafts will be offered for sale and a variety of food vendors will be on site, and free samples of special Day of the Dead bread ‑ made only once a year ‑ will be given out to festival attendees. Demonstrations of traditional embroidery, as well as children’s activities and workshops on basket making and sugar and clay skull decoration, are offered free of charge.
On the stage, traditional Mexican folkloric dance performances are presented by well-known local groups such as Marichi Acero, Ballet Mexicano de Martha Luevanos, Viejitos de Uren, Matachines of Juarez, Los Zapotecas, Grupo Folklorico Perla Tapatia, Trio Imperial, Izel and Xyachimal. Mariachi Acero will perform from 4 to 5 p.m. Nov. 1. On Nov. 2, Mariachi Los Vaqueros de Chaparral is set to perform at 4 p.m. with Mariachi Colima from 4:30 to 5 p.m.
The Winchester Cultural Center Gallery will host an exhibition of various artists. The exhibit opens Oct. 31 and will be on display through Nov. 21.
Those interested in “Life in Death: Day of the Dead” can call Winchester Cultural Center at 455-7340 or visit the Web site at www.accessclarkcounty.com/parks. Clark County Parks and Recreation events also can be found on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook by visiting http://tinyurl.com/l87c4l.
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 15th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to more than 2 million citizens and 44 million visitors a year. Included are the nation’s 7th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The county also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to almost 900,000 residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development. In 2009, Clark County celebrates a “century of service.”