When and where is it?
The Portland All Souls River Procession occurs in early November, typically on the Saturday falling nearest to All Souls Day. It is located in North Portland, Oregon by the Cathedral Park and St Johns neighborhoods.
The 4th annual procession will begin at 5pm on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024 with an opening ritual and invocation in the Green Anchors community pavilion at 8940 N Bradford Street.
Parking is at the Cathedral Park boat ramp, and restrooms and portable toilets are located at both Green Anchors and at the boat ramp parking lot.
Event Schedule
4 pm: Early arrival for volunteers.
Please plan to arrive an hour early if you have signed up for a character or ritual role.
5 pm: Welcome, Letters to the Dead, & Music and Dance Group Bulla!
Procession participants gather at the Green Anchors community pavilion at 8940 N Bradford St for a general welcome and the opportunity to add names of the dead to the Book of Souls and place paper messages to the dead placed in the Reliquary.
The group Bulla! will also lead processional dances and group singing in the pavilion that the audience is invited to join in with.
There will also be a large community Altar of Our Beloved Dead that participants may like to contribute flowers or other offerings to, or place a photo of a departed loved one upon the altar for the evening (to be taken home afterwards).
5:30pm Opening Ceremony & Invocation
The guardians of the four directions are summoned, and we meet the leading characters of this year’s procession in a creative performance which mixes ritual art, audience participation, dance and storytelling.
6 pm: The Procession
Walk with us through Cathedral Park to the river’s edge and site of the River Ritual, accompanied by illuminated lanterns and giant puppets. The procession follows a “there and back” route comprised of just under a ½ mile of paved paths and sidewalks. There is also an optional portion of the route closest to the river that is composed of grass and/or sand. Audience members are welcome to find a spot from where they can watch the procession go by, and/or to follow the procession along to the river. This year’s procession to the river will be headed by Bulla!
6:30 pm: The River Ritual
Simultaneously an elaborate performance of ritual theater and an offering to the dead and to the river. As grief and beauty come fully together, the names of the dead will be read aloud, and the messages to the dead will be burned over the river. Then we let our tears flow as we stand together in shared sadness and love, with the sounds of the lapping river waters and gentle music wrapping around us.
7 pm: The Return
Once the names are read, the messages burned, and the tears shed, a different music begins. One that starts slow, but builds into a rhythm that reminds us of life. A band assembles and takes their place on the “stage” of the beach. This band then marches, leading the entire procession all the way back to the beginning of the route. This year’s procession from the river will be headed by Portland Samba band Bloco Alegria.
~ 8pm: Post-processional Revelry at Green Anchors,
8940 N Bradford St:
At the end of the procession through Cathedral Park, participants and audience members are invited to the Green Anchors community pavilion for musical revelry until midnight. Bring a night picnic or enjoy delicious soup made by our soup crew. Children of the Moon will perform, to be followed by a DJ.
What to Bring:
- A ceremonial costume and/or decorative mask. Suggested themes: Light and dark, threshold, ancestors, seed, autumn, nature, connection to place.
- A lantern (Strongly recommended to navigate through the dark night)
- Messages for the dead written on paper, to be collected by the Reliquary Attendants during line-up and the first half of the procession, to be burned at the river’s edge during the River Ritual.
- Tokens to honor and remember those who have recently passed on, to wear or carry with you.
- A wagon “float” made in honor of your beloved dead, decorated as a portable memorial altar with flowers, lights, photos, and the things that they love.
- Offerings for the river whose healing powers we will be calling upon this night. (Biodegradable offerings please. If plant-based, no invasive species.)
- A blanket or something that is comfortable for you to sit on by the river.
- A picture or symbolic item to place on the community pavilion’s altar of our beloved dead of any loved one (human or non-human) you wish to honor during the event, (and then to take back home with you afterwards).
- Rattles, tambourines and drums.
- If the forecast calls for rain, we recommend you bring a large umbrella embellished for the procession.
Procession Order & Themed Groups
The procession consists of several themed groups and bands, as follows:
1. The Willow Dancers / Procession Band #1
Dressed in white and carrying paper lanterns made from branches, the Willow Dancers embody the spirit of the willow trees that grow along our river banks, and they will guide our procession to the river. This year Bulla! , leaders of community dances including Cuban, World Folk, and Sacred will head the Willow Dancers, and they invite community members who would like to join the dance to bring a lantern and join them at the head of the procession.
2. The Soul Tenders
Those who carry the paper mache reliquary containing messages to the dead, the attendants who collect the messages, plus the Ritual Leader and the Tender of the Book of Souls.
3. Blood & Bones
Image credit: Anna Androsova, 2023
The Blood are a red veiled chorus of beings (or a multi-part being) representing the blood that links us through the generations. They are led by the Bone Mother, a towering skeleton queen.
4. Procession of the Species
In honor of the other-then-human lives lost, especially due to environmental degradation. Consists of plant and animal puppets, costumes and masks, and led by our four Guardians of the Elements, Salmon (water), Coyote (fire), Mushroom (earth) and Owl (air). Any community members who are interested are invited to join along with costumes, puppets or effigies that represent animals (including pets!), plants, or entire ecosystems. Inspired by the the Earth and Spirit Council‘s Procession of the Species that was held in downtown Portland from 1999-2002.
5. Procession Band #2
This year we are excited to announce that Bloco Alegria will be one of our procession bands!
6. The Ancestors
Image credit: Ada Matusiewicz, 2024
This year we are adding several giant puppets to represent the ancestors. Any community members who feel drawn to honor and invite in their ancestors to be a part of the procession are invited to join in with this group.
7. Our Beloved Dead
Led by Grandmother Moon, this group consists of all others who want to join the procession. Participants are encouraged to carry lanterns, or to decorate and bring “float wagons” decorated with lights and flowers and images of their beloved dead.
8. Procession Band #3
TBA