TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In a corner of MotoSonora Brewing Co.'s space, a small group of artists sits with crafting supplies spilling over their table. They're making lanterns as a tribute to the yearly All Souls Procession in Tucson.
Karen Falkenstrom leads Odaiko Sonora as their executive director. The group offers Japanese Taiko drumming lessons to students; and since 2005, they've also played a unique role in the massive event that coincides with All Souls' Day, a holiday many Hispanic families celebrate.
“We realized," Falkenstrom said, "what we were really recreating was the Obon festival in Japan." So Odaiko wanted to find a way to incorporate their traditions, including the Toro Nagashi ceremony, which is described as letting paper lanterns float down a river.
"Of course, we don’t have a river really that flows here, so we thought of the procession itself as the river," Falkenstrom said. Each parade member that carries a hand-made lantern will, in turn, be part of an emotional group experience.
“We don’t have time, sacred time, to commune with our own grief," Falkenstrom said.
"Because it's so personal, we don’t express it outwardly. It can become a canker, and we need rituals where we come together to acknowledge that people grieve."
Odaiko Sonora will host another lantern workshop on Thurs. Oct. 24 at MotoSonora Brewery near 22nd St. and Park St.
