Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter, and is thought to be the origin of our modern holiday- Halloween. Celebrated at the end of October and into early November, it is believed to be a time when the veil between the living and the dead was thinnest, allowing spirits to roam the earth. Be sure to secure your ticket for this one early, as we have limited space due to the nature of the event.
We will have a communal altar to the dead erected. We encourage you to bring photos and memorabilia of your beloved dead, as well as offerings for your ancestors. Examples of this could be tobacco, bread, or coins.
After compensating performers, 100% of remaining ticket sales will go to "Defending Our Neighbors" fund, an organization providing crucial legal representation and bond assistance to immigrant families facing separation, detention, and deportation.
6pm-7pm: Doors & Drinks, Snap Apple & Soulcake Fortune Telling
We will be serving GF soul cakes (included in your ticket), and have plenty to drink! Soul cakes are a small, round, spiced cake traditionally baked for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. They were given to "soulers"—beggars—who went door-to-door offering prayers for the deceased members of the household in exchange for the treat. They typically taste like a cross between a soft cookie and a scone, spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger, and are marked with a cross on top to signify their religious purpose.
When used for fortune-telling, bakers hide symbolic charms inside the dough before baking. When a person bites into or breaks open their soul cake, the object they find reveals their fate for the coming year.
Snap apple is a messy favorite of ours. Snap apple is an old-parlor game where players try to bite a suspended apple with their hands behind their back, while dodging a spinning lit candle on a swinging stick.
7:30pm-8pm: Ghost stories & season lore reading + Marigold garlands
Thread a small Marigold garland while listening to ghost stories and folklore on the returning spirits of the dead.
8pm-9:30pm: Samhain Singing with Ell Rieke, a group sing.
Our dear friend Ell Rieke (they/them) will teach us songs of the season. You do not need to consider yourself a singer to join in the group sing with us! We promise. We encourage participation in singing, but you are also most welcome to simply sit and enjoy. Ell is a lifelong musician and seeker of deep relationship with the world. In recent years Ell has become a student of folk singing, mostly in European and diasporic traditions. Ell directs the Future Ancestors Folk Choir, and gathers community in song in other ways, in Nisqually and Squaxin Island territory (Olympia, WA). For Samhain at Hedgerow Herb Co., Ell will lead folk songs of the season from Scottish, Irish and English backgrounds. Guests are invited to bring their own songs to share as well!
Shamhna shona daoibh go léir!
Be sure to secure your ticket for this one early, as we have limited space due to the nature of the event.