Noches de Altares 2015...

Yay!  I got to go this year!  Yay I wasn't sick this year!

This year there happen to be a couple of things going on.  Some sort of skate festival, the ArtWalk, a music festival and of course Noches!  Let's just say the parking/traffic situation was a little nutty.  But - I got in unscathed and met up with Terri at C4 Deli.  Great call T!  This place was awesome!  It's taken the place of what used to be American Apparel right next to Rude G's old home.  They have a beer and wine list and delicious food selections!

Yum!

 I ordered a Seven Daughters Pinot Noir.  Yum!  Bobby Dean joined up with us soon after I arrived and Julie Ackerman strolled in next.  We got some grub - myself a B.E.L.T. Bacon, Fried egg, Butter Lettuce and Tomato on Squaw.  Um -  Amazing!

Bobby Dean!

So frickin yum!

Not long after that Jill Johnson came in with her family in toe.  We got to say hello to Lanie and her litl man who is growing like a weed!  Then Terri's 2nd Family rolled in.  So there was quite a grip of us.  After a couple more glasses of wine we hit the event!  T/Robert and I stayed together for the whole thing we lost and gained the others throughout.

One of my favorite things that happened was I learned this new setting on my fancy camera!!!  I finally was able to shoot at night and it not be blurry and weird!  Yay - I'm learning!!!  See below for the photos!

So gorgeous!

This man was blessing people with Sage

This random UFO happened and freaked everyone out.  Apparently it was some unarmed test missile  WTF!?

This guy totally freaked me out

The detail is amazing

Catrina

Adorbs

This was an alter dedicated to some missing students in Mexico.  The two coffins are for the two they have found.

A lovely alter dedicated to Trans lives that we have lost

A Muertos Xmas Tree!

A Muertos Kitty!

Love these two!

This couple was so cute.  They caught me taking a photo and posed

This was one of my favorites.  It was dedicated to comedians!

There she is!

Beautiful hand embroidered

That's made with beans.  Yes.  Beans.  Gorgeous.

Tish!

RIP Bistro 400

Besties!

I did have a moment of sadness.  For some reason I thought of Papa.  I had been thinking of him when I drove to the event.  I took the way that took me past their old house.  I slowed down seeing how much it's changed.  The man living there now has taken out the back gate and made the wall go all the way around.  It looks like he's completely re-doing the landscape.  My heart twanged with memories.  As I was sitting in the line of cars to park I thought of him again.  What I would give to just hug him once more.  Feel his strong embrace when he was not withering away on the hospice bed.  I got ahead of the group and found myself standing alone staring at one of the alters.  A photograph of someone departed staring back at me.  I thought of him again and tears started running down my face.  I realized just next week will mark the 2 year anniversary of the day I watched him take his last breath.  Julie came up and saw me crying and gave me a hug.  I let myself cry for a moment.  I don't know why it came over me right then but oh how I miss him so much.  We had finished the viewing of the alters and decided this is a better time than any to get some more drinks.  Back to C4 we went and we ran into more friends!

A Julie, Elisha, Ponzer, T Sammich!

We then hit the ArtWalk.  We wandered around a bit.  Kristina and Eric joined up with us at this point as well.

Our last stop.  I was beat!

After Night Gallery I was toast.  Terri and I headed out together and parted ways at the structure. It was a perfectly lovely evening full of art, friends, wine, food and beautiful symbols of peoples loves for the dearly departed.