Get Your Skeletons Out of the Closet

Downtown Fort Lauderdale may not seem like the ideal backdrop for the Mexican holiday Dias de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. No desert fixtures like cacti or tumbleweeds. No cow skulls. (Sand at the beach doesn't count.) It rains a whole helluva lot down here. And where are...

By Erica K. Landau

October 27, 2011

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Downtown Fort Lauderdale may not seem like the ideal backdrop for the Mexican holiday Dias de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. No desert fixtures like cacti or tumbleweeds. No cow skulls. (Sand at the beach doesn't count.) It rains a whole helluva lot down here. And where are all the cemeteries to hang with the souls of the departed?

Still, Doug McCraw and puppeteer Jim Hammond see potential in local creative hub FAT -- Flagler Arts and Technology -- Village; or, as some are lobbying to label the area, NoBro (North of Broward). The two envisage a memorable end to your Halloween festivities Wednesday, starting with a puppet-led sidewalk processional at Nova Southeastern Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, but ultimately commencing at the FAT Village warehouses. Fall into the reverie of color from the displays of ofrendas (flowery offerings to the dead) and the altars they accompany, to the theatricality of the costumed procession and deadly themed arts and crafts. Attendees should observe the dress code: skeletal frills or black. If you need help accessorizing, Hammond's Puppet Network Studio (504 NW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale) will offer free mask and giant-skeleton-puppet workshops the previous Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.

The processional begins at 5:45 p.m. Saturday in the Museum of Art lobby (1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). FAT Village is composed of the area between NW Sixth and NW Fourth avenues, just west of Andrews Avenue. Visit dayofthedeadflorida.com, or email jim@puppetnetwork for more info.
Wed., Nov. 2, 5:45 p.m., 2011

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