Each year, as All Hallows’ Eve crawls slowly from the autumn mist, preparations are well underway for the Parade of Lost Souls Festival. The annual tradition, a decades-old East Vancouver  mainstay, is refuge and release, community and collective for thousands of lost souls. Participants of the Parade of Lost Souls Festival gather together to redefine their ideas of community engagement; to reconnect with one another, and with ourselves, in a celebration of the cycles of life and death. The festival’s true popularity lies in its ability to inspire and accentuate the creativity of those who attend. The Parade of Lost Souls is proof that we have not lost our link to the richness and depth of the ritual celebrations of our ancestors.

The Parade of Lost Souls is organized by, and for, the community that it serves. It is a parade of spectacle and performance, an inclusive celebration

for the thousands of lost souls that join us every year to meander along its route. 

Parade takes place each year on or near October 31st - All Hallows' Eve - in the Commercial Drive area. In keeping with the decades-old tradition, the parade route is kept a well-guarded secret, announced only the midnight the before. And the party doesn't stop at the end of the parade. Celebrations continue through the night at the always sold-out Lost Souls After Party. 

We aim to inspire the performer and maker in all of us! As part of the festivities leading up to Parade, the Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret provides a variety of workshops offering opportunities to dance, play music, tickle your creative maker bone, and to participate in parade performances. 

Stay creative, and we'll see you next year at the Parade of Lost Souls.