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Towering skeletons are marching on Wanstead Library

Festival of the Dead runs at Wanstead Library from noon to 6pm on Thursday 29 October, with a lantern parade at about 5pm. Most of it is free, but the lantern workshop is paid and needs booking.

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A glowing red lantern puppet towers over children with painted skull faces at a Festival of the Dead parade
Lantern puppets and painted faces at a previous Festival of the Dead. Photo: Vision RCL

Wanstead Library is handing itself over to skeletons on Thursday 29 October. Festival of the Dead runs from noon to 6pm, building to a lantern parade that sets off at about 5pm, weather permitting.

It is Redbridge's Day of the Dead-inspired festival, run by Vision RCL and Redbridge Council, and this year it comes to Wanstead for the first of two days. Redbridge Central Library in Ilford hosts the second on Friday 30 October. For us it means a quiet corner of Spratt Hall Road turning into a procession of puppets, so dress up. Prizes go to the best dressed.

The parade

The lantern procession leaves Wanstead Library at about 5pm and finishes at Christchurch Green. Vision RCL says people will be gathered inside the library 30 minutes before the start, and the Los Soneros Mariachi Duo play a pre-parade serenade from 4.45pm.

A performer in a skull mask and monarch butterfly wings with arms outstretched in the street at night
A monarch butterfly performer from ITZATNA Arts at a previous Festival of the Dead. Photo: Vision RCL

The line-up is Strolling Bones by Walk the Plank, a troupe of dancing skeletons with a skeleton DJ, alongside Dance 21, the Lantern Company's tall puppet "Skellies", the This is Mexico! Folk Dance Group and ITZATNA Arts as monarch butterflies. In the Mexican tradition the monarchs stand for returning souls. Bring your own lantern, mask or glowsticks.

If the weather turns nasty, Vision RCL says it may cancel the parades at short notice, so check its Wanstead page before you set off. The parade also uses LED and strobing effects, which may not suit anyone with light sensitivity.

What to do before it

  • Lantern making, 12.30pm to 1.30pm: you make a Day of the Dead lantern, then carry it in the parade. Booking is essential, at £2 for a cylinder lantern or £3 for a globe, with a limited number of places on the day. It is for ages 5 and up, and Vision RCL suggests the cylinder for under-7s.
  • Craft drop-in, 12.30pm to 4pm: Obon-themed crafts for all ages, with some options free. All craft activities finish at 4.30pm.
  • Tree of Life clay workshop, 1pm to 4.30pm: ITZATNA Arts runs a free drop-in for ages 4 and up, making clay charms for a communal árbol de vida that stays on display at the library.
  • Storytelling with Vickie Holden: free, drop-in, 1.30pm and 3.45pm, about 30 minutes each, aimed at all ages.

Times are approximate, and Vision RCL says it will limit numbers when it gets busy. The venue is wheelchair accessible, service dogs are welcome and the quieter craft sessions from 12.30pm are meant for anyone who prefers to avoid the crowds. Questions go to culture@visionrcl.org.uk.

Why a library does death

Redbridge Libraries call themselves the UK's first Death Positive Library Service, and say they have been encouraging open conversations about death, dying and grief since 2017, with books, films, art and tea and cake. The festival is the loud, glittery end of that. Vision RCL warns that it deals with death and may be upsetting for some, though everything is designed with families in mind.

It is also a big day for our library, and it ends on the same green that will host the Christmas lights switch-on on 20 November. The festival is supported with National Lottery funding through Arts Council England. If you can't make it today, our November what's on guide has what comes next.

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