Dusking: A gathering to honour the dark

Dusking comes to The Ladies Parlour on Sunday 1 November, a gathering to mark the turn of the season. It's led by artists Hannah Davey and Vanessa Farinha, who'll introduce the tradition and provide prompts for the afternoon. The whole thing is free, and it starts at 4:15pm.

Dusking is a tradition conceived by artist Lucy J Wright in 2024, and it's framed as the counterpart to the morris dancing that takes place on 1 May to mark the arrival of summer. Where that tradition welcomes the light, Dusking invites people to 'dance the sun down' and honour the gifts of rest, reflection and replenishment that come with the darker months of the year. It's a way of leaning into the winter rather than just waiting for it to pass.

The gathering is open to anyone, whether you come alone or with friends. You can bring costumes, noise makers, hessian sacks, or simply yourself to dance, sing, move or reflect. There are repeated motifs to work with: using hessian sacks to 'extinguish the sun' and dancing in a morris style, or any style that suits the moment. It's as much about the doing as it is about the thinking.

It's a slow, communal way of acknowledging the change in the light, and you can take as much or as little part as you like. The Ladies Parlour is on West Hill in Hastings; the gathering starts at 4:15pm on 1 November, and it's free.