By Loretta Downs | Cordinator
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your generous donations to help make the first-ever Intercultural Celebration of Life Festive a success! We are getting media coverage and expect an impressive turnout for each event.
A formal installation of our Before I Die Wall is planned for Monday, October 24th at noon on the Lake Chapala Society grounds. You are invited to be among the first to sign the wall, to put your dream into words: Before I die I want to_________.
If you cannot sign in person, please send me an email with your wish. It will be written on the wall as an inspiration to the rest of us and everyone who experiences this unique community art form. The Wall will be on campus for two weeks.
There was no budget for this event when Glorine came to me in July with the idea for this Festival as a way for all of us to share the grief, we were unable to process because of Covid (she lost two brothers in the pandemic).
As ideas and plans grew, I suggested that we include a Before I Die Wall, which I had seen at a blues festival in Portland years ago. I reached out to you for gifts, and you came through. My gratitude overflows.
This festival is one way that our 80-year-old Lake Chapala Society community center is making an effort to bridge the gaps between the Mexican and expatriate community (which is growing as more retirees seek more affordable and less stressful living than they have north of the border, in many cases displacing Mexican families).
Our Before I Die Wall has been constructed by the students of Have Hammer will travel A.C., Escuela de Artes Industriales, a charity-sponsored school for youth that teaches carpentry and woodworking skills.
It has been made of metal so it will survive a decade of use and, we hope, be set up in the plazas in other towns around Ajijic during the year, inspiring all of us to think about what is good about life, and how impermanent it is.
With love, gratitude, and hugs,
Thank you again for partnering with us, you made a difference.
Loretta
PS. My latest Open Circle presentation, "How to Live Forever," will be on YouTube a couple of weeks later. I will send you the link in case you want to watch it. No pressure!
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