Day of the Dead grows in popularity

Dr. Mac Williams began celebrating the Day of the Dead with Coker College students soon after he joined the campus. Friday evening, November 2, was the 2012 Día de los Muertos. This is part of the email invitation Don Mac sent out to the Coker Community:

 

"Friday CCCC(Coker College Culture Club) is holding it's annual Day of the Dead Observance.  It's open to the public, so please feel free to bring families, neighbors, and friends.  All are welcome to create an altar for anyone who has passed away, even celebrities and pets.  It's a really peaceful and beautiful time, and I hope all can make it. "

Don Mac has a way of reaching his students and one proof of that was the larger crowd that came out the celebration this past Friday night. There were students, faculty, staff, former students, and community residents -- all joining in the celebration of memory.  I hesitate to describe the event as "Cool" because maybe I am not the right generation for that description but there was something just cool as this concept resonated with such a wide variety of people. And, the event has taken on a life in the Coker community -- pretty much part of our November culture.

I grew up in a culture where November 2 was called All Soul's Day but by the time I was growing up, the Holy Day was on the First -- which was All Saint's.  The rest of the souls really did not get that much attention. Don Mac has found a way to bridge many of the natural barriers of our culture and provide a lot of people with the comfort of shared memory. Don Mac, Muchas Gracias.

Top Photo == Grffin Sullivan built a memory of his grandfathers for the Coker College Day of the Dead Observance.

Next Photo -- Don Mac and many others in discussion of the altars of memories on display.

Bottom Photo -- participants in the Day of the Dead Coker College observance getting creative with the skull art.

MS Bike Ride makes stop at Coker College

The large parking lot in front of the Library and Information Center on the Coker College campus was transformed on Saturday (9-25) into a major bicycle parking lot and lunch area as 1600 runners were stopping for some fast rest, easy to eat lunch and some encouragement and cheers before heading on their way to the Myrtle Beach finish line. Reports were that more than 200 volunteers were working to help the event happen at Coker with many of those volunteers students from many organizations and athletic teams on campus. Dee Pierce, one of the major organizers for the event, said she had been told Coker had more volunteers signed up than some other larger colleges. This was a different way of being able to showcase the college and Dr. Robert Wyatt, president, noted that probably a thousand people who might never have heard of the college (these riders) were now aware of both Coker and Hartsville. Hope some of the photos of the scene are uploaded here.

On a side note, one of my old friends and now a Facebook friend commented on one of the photos with a thank you to those volunteering because she is one with MS who could benefit from the research dollars raised to fight the disease.