Gallery: Missoula Parades At Festival of the Dead

By Courtney Lowery, 11-03-09

As the sun began to set, there were as many photographers as ghosts ready to march. Slowly skeletons, ghouls, drummers, dancers, and dressed up dogs emerged on Missoula’s Higgins Ave. to celebrate Missoula’s Festival of the Dead. As the sunset turned to twilight and twilight turned to dusk, the revelers paraded down Higgins Avenue in a sea of light, color, motion and sound.

Every year a pack of photojournalists from the university marches in and out of the parade in search of photographs that capture the spirit of the festival. They seek moments of celebration and remembrance. They put to work what they have learned about lighting and journalism in the real world classroom. 

We graciously thank the participants who accepted our camera lens and our bright flashes as our students learned how to capture the spirit, light and emotion of the rich parade celebrating the spirits of the dead.