All Souls Procession 2024
Nov 7, 2024: Rain dampened the spirit of this year's annual procession
The All Souls Procession is an annual event in Tucson. The Procession, in its 35th year, was created for community members to "express their grief and loss in a celebration of creative energy and rejoicing of life." I have read that "hundreds of thousands of people" participate. This year's rains dampened the participation numbers greatly. The gathering for the event begins on Grande Avenue, near where Pato Aguilar's mural on Unique Trends Salon sets the tone. To learn more about Tucson's All Souls Procession, go to their web page: https://allsoulsprocession.org/about/
Face painting is offered along the route. Here, in front of La Estrella Bakery, was one spot to get into the spirit.
One family that I recognized from prior years was there to honor the life of Randy, husband and father. Randy was born the same year that I was. He fought pancreatic cancer for two years before passing away this spring.
“Randy was my father.”
“Everyone loved my husband. Randy had a great sense of humor and he loved to golf.”
All Souls Procession is a volunteer run organization. A group of volunteers, called "Ghost Buskers", arrived on the Party Bike.
Some of the motorcycle police fit right in.
Here are two members of the "Ghost Buskers", the name of the volunteers who circulate asking for donations to support the event. Private individual donations provide more than half of the financial costs of this huge event.
"I haven't been to the Procession since before Covid, but we had to come this year."
Advocates from Homicide Survivors were there to support their families.
https://homicidesurvivorsinc.org
"We've been to the All Soul's processions as observers for many years. I lost three brothers in the past three years so my mother and I needed to walk this year."
It drizzled on and off but began pouring rain around 4:15. The rain kept so many people away. I left at 4:30 and usually, by that time, the streets are filled curb to curb with people.
An hour before the procession was to begin the street was still empty. After so very many weeks without rain in Tucson, it just had to rain that afternoon.
For more of my photos from this year's event, see my "album" on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122902197@N03/albums/72177720321730606
To see my photos from the last year’s 2023 Procession: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122902197@N03/albums/72177720312755256/
Photos from prior Processions can be found on my flickr album's page https://flickr.com/photos/122902197@N03/albums