Saturday, November 1, 2008

My Halloween Birthday -- from Blessing Band to Cupping Room to Spiegelworld (to a diner at 6am)

Truly a birthday to remember...

I'm usually too lazy to organize my own birthday events; fortunately Halloween is kind enough to provide me with a read-made party day, letting me hop from ball to bash, dancing, drinking and partying my butt off.

Which I did this year... BUT...

I wanted to do something special since a lot has happened for me this year, creatively, emotionally and spiritually.

Queen Mama Donna, who was kind enough to lead PURE's Tree Dedication in Prospect Park this past summer, invited me to join her Blessing Band which, for the second year, led the NYC Village Halloween Parade, blessing the route, the crowd and the city.

Clad in silver and white, sparkles and bells, she gathered us at Spring Street and Sixth Avenue.

Blessing Band 3
(She is on the right in this photo.)

Some of us had wands... and some had red umbrellas??

Blessing Band 19

I was the only one with a hipscarf and a veil.

She guided us to our starting point and we formed a circle around her.

Blessing Band 18

And then led us north...

Blessing Band 20

And I danced and zilled and trailed behind...

Blessing Band 7

Here is a fun video of the procession:



Afterwards, I met with my family and friends and we headed down to The Cupping Room where Rayhana and her students performed a special tribute to the immortal Serena Wilson.

Around 1am, my hardiest (and heartiest) friends, Kisha and Bill K, joined me to see Sarah Locke and Alchemy dance at Spiegelworld at the Seaport.

We thought we were way too late for their show, which was supposed to be before 1am -- but it turned out we arrived just in time for their first number.

By chance, we walked in the right direction and were ordering a drink when we heard a familiar Djinn song coming from the tent behind the bar. We dashed through the crowd and found the beautiful Sarah gliding forward with serpentine mayas.

And then we drank.

And danced.

And danced more.

And ended up in a diner at dawn somewhere near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, raining glitter and good vibes in our french toast and coffee. Mmmmmmm.

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