GATHERING

Procession gathering starts at 4:00 PM on November 8, on 6th Avenue just south of 6th Street.

If you are planning to sit to watch the Procession, do NOT gather in this area—there are way too many people. Choose somewhere further along the route.

And, if you are planning on walking, you may want to join in further along the route as well. There are a whole lot of people trying to walk, and it can get very, very crowded at the gathering area.

Ushers in Usher sashes will be helping to guide the Procession. Please respect their requests of you—and help them out along the way!

Floats, large groups, and musical groups, we will need you to register ahead of time to get details on how and when to enter the Procession. Please sign up to receive registration information. Ushers will release you into the Procession as it passes to maintain optimal spacing.

HUNGRY GHOST BUSKING TROUPE

Hungry Ghost—the official All Souls Street Busking Fundraising crew—will be busking at the gathering point, along the Procession, and at the Finale grounds. They’ll have pedicabs, bullhorns, and signs to identify them. Please donate whatever you can to help support the Procession. We depend on the support of people like you!

PROCESSION

We walk starting at 6:30. You will be walking in city streets and in an unfinished dirt lot. So wear comfy shoes, bring water, and you might want a flashlight. Please keep an eye out for each other! All of us are responsible for taking care of each other.

Downtown has very few public restrooms. There are port-a-potties at the gathering and Finale site along with a couple of other locations along the route and restrooms in the Mercado San Agustin. Local businesses may be happy to let you use a restroom if you are also patronizing their business.

If you want to push a float or a stroller, please do, but know that it takes a little work. The route is about 2 miles and we walk slowly. Consider starting further along the route if you need to.

If you are not walking in the Procession, but are watching from the sidewalk, please stay on the curb as the Procession approaches you. Once the Urn & taiko drums pass, feel free to step in and join the Procession if you would like.

If you have a large group, musical group, or float, it’s not a bad idea to register ahead of time so we can help you enter the Procession smoothly. Details will be sent out by Friday of Procession week.

URN

The Urn is at the front of the Procession. Everyone is invited to make offerings, which will be burnt in the Finale. People typically write down prayers and dreams, habits they are letting go of or initiating, the names of loved ones, pictures, trinkets, etc. Anything that isn’t toxic is cool to put into the Urn: paper is good; plastic is not. The combined energy of all of our wishes, prayers and remembrances and the ritual burning of them is a defining part of the whole experience.

Please do not get between the Urn and the Procession’s police escort or crowd up around the Urn as you walk. The Urn Attendants need to be able to get to all the people along the street to collect their messages and remembrances.

If you want to physically bring your offerings,  you can bring them to any of these locations

• To the Urn at The Procession of Little Angels, November 7, 4PM-8PM, Armory Park
• To the Urn at the 6th Avenue Gateway, November 8, 4PM-6PM, 6th Ave & 7th Street
• To the Urn at the front of the Procession during the Procession, November 8
• To the 4th Avenue Pre-Party, November 8, 3PM-5PM, Haggerty Park
• To the Columbarium on the Finale Site Grounds, November 8, 4PM-6PM

You can also submit your offerings ahead of time electronically if you want to ensure that they get in.

STREETCAR

The streetcar will be running the night of the Procession. We suggest that you purchase streetcar passes in advance to avoid the rush at the Procession.

Because of the overhead electrical lines, NO floats/puppets can be over 12 feet tall. And please be careful around the tracks and the streetcars. We may need to pause occasionally to accommodate the streetcar.

FINALE CEREMONY

The Finale Ceremony will take place next door to Mercado San Agustin. If you have a float, musical group, or large crew and want to participate in the Domo (walk across the stage before the Finale Ceremony). The entrance is at the east end of the stage (toward I-10). Turn down Linda Ave to head for the Domo staging area. Ushers will hold you there until the Urn arrives from the Columbarium. After the Urn arrives, you will be allowed into the staging area.

At the Finale site, you will see a designated area for floats and groups that are going to participate in the Domo. DO NOT enter this area unless you are a float or group planning to participate in the Domo.

If you need handicapped-accessible seating, there is a designated area at the front of the Finale grounds. The entrance is off of Avenida del Convento near the Finale stage. Map to come.

Finale Ceremony will start around 8:30, though the exact time will depend on when the bulk of the Procession arrives at the Finale grounds.

If you can’t make it to the Finale Ceremony, you can watch it streamed live online at www.visittucson.org/allsoulsprocession. URL will be active the night of Procession.

For more on the Finale theme & musical guest, check out our blog!

CLEAN UP

We will be gathering at 10AM Monday morning at the Finale site to clean up. If you can join us, please do! Many hands makes short work! Bring your own gloves. We always need more hands! Please sign up to help out. And, even if you can’t join us Monday morning, please lend a hand by picking up trash as you leave the Finale site. Your efforts will be appreciated Monday morning!

DO

Come and enjoy the experience in a way that works for you. Dress up, get out of your regular regimen and persona: make a mask, a puppet, an art installation, an altar, some way of honoring those who have gone before, who we remember, honor, release, and embrace. Allow yourself to flow into an experience of real community, where we interact in ways that are different, authentic to our nature, and open to our feelings.

DON’T

Be high, drunk, or in anyone else’s space in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. This event should be safe to bring a newborn infant to, or your dear aging grandmother. What allows the magic to happen is for everyone to feel safe. It is your job to create this kind of space. The moment we require help from police or any other authority to make sure that happens, we have lost something truly precious.

DO

Recognize this amazing opportunity to interact with each other in the streets in ways we would like the rest of the world to experience. This does not mean an abandonment of responsibility: just the opposite. The freedom we can express during this event is EARNED through our responsibility. Anybody with a different agenda needs to go do that someplace else.

And we will see you in the streets. Love to you all!