On Saturday, October 24, 2015 the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) hosted their annual Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, a free family workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
As explained by the LCVA, Día de los Muertos is “often mistaken as Halloween. Day of the Dead is about remembering and celebrating the lives of family members and loved ones died. It is a very exciting and happy time of remembrance.”
As usual, the LCVA was decorated in bright colors with streamers, posters and flowers covering the downstairs area of the art center to fit the theme of the fall event that well over a hundred people from the community attended.
Set up throughout were different stations with crafts that families could enjoy, while also indulging in the free drinks and Mexican food provided by the LCVA. The stations included activities such as making flower headbands called marigold chains, painting sugar skulls, pumpkin carving, tin painting and face painting.
Along with the LCVA staff, Longwood students also volunteered at the event and got to participate in the activities along with the kids and families that came out. One student organization that was heavily present at Día de los Muertos was the Longwood Company of Belly Dance, who volunteered to dance, entertain and take photos with the kids.
Student volunteers also helped run the stations and assist children while they were doing crafts by demonstrating each activity and helping with event operations.
Senior Longwood University student volunteer Lesley Comer said, “The event was great and a bunch of people come out. It was really fun and I got to do pumpkin carving with the families that came. I was a pumpkin carver, so I helped a lot of happy kids carve pumpkins and got some awesome community service.”
The event also gave children and their families the chance to experience diversity and by participating in the central and southern Mexican cultural celebration that believes the gates of heaven open on October 31and spirits of the deceased reunite with their family members.
This year’s Dia de los Muertos was sponsored by Centra Southside Community Hospital and they also contributed to making it possible to provide all of the supplies for the crafts, except the pumpkins for pumpkin carving.
The LCVA will be sponsoring their next holiday family workshop is the ‘Winter Wonderland Free Family Workshop’ which will take place on Saturday, December 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
According to the LCVA website, family workshops are “designed to bring the family together in an enriching and creative environment to celebrate the seasons of the year,” and are free, require not registration and are open to the public.
