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DINNER WITH THE ANCESTORS & The Enchanted Waffle -A Día de los Muertos Sensory Ceremony & Death Meditation (curious what a death meditation is? Read more retails below)
An evening to remember the dead, and remember how you want to live.
There are people whose bodies are no longer here, but whose love, stories, lessons, recipes, laughter, wounds, wisdom, and presence continue to move through us.
Dinner with the Ancestors is an intimate Día de los Muertos inspired evening devoted to remembering them.
And through remembering them, remembering ourselves.
This is not an evening centered only around death.
It is an evening about **the love death could not erase.**
About making space for grief without asking it to disappear.
About sitting at a table with the people who are still here while honoring the people who are not.
About letting mortality remind us that this life is happening now.
Come with someone on your heart.
Come with a photograph.
Come with a story.
Come with grief, gratitude, curiosity, reverence, or simply the desire to experience something meaningful in community.
There is a place at the table for you.
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THE EXPERIENCE
The evening unfolds as one intentional journey through remembrance, mortality, nourishment, connection, and integration.
COMMUNITY GRIEF + ANCESTOR ALTAR CREATION
We begin by building a community altar together.
Guests are invited to bring a photograph, written name, flower, letter, favorite wrapped treat, small object, or meaningful offering representing someone they wish to remember.
Our individual memories become something collective.
A shared space for grief.
A shared space for love.
A reminder that none of us carries loss entirely alone.
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DEATH MEDITATION
Led by Ashleigh
From the altar, we move inward.
Ashleigh will guide a ceremonial Death Meditation: an intentional contemplation of impermanence, mortality, and the finite nature of this human life.
Not to create fear.
To create clarity.
What matters when we remember we will not be here forever?
What are we postponing?
Who do we love?
What are we ready to forgive, release, begin, say, create, or choose?
Death becomes not the end of the conversation, but a doorway into living more deliberately.
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DINNER WITH THE ANCESTORS
A three-course culinary experience
curated by The Enchanted Waffle
Then we return to the senses.
To food.
To conversation.
To pleasure.
To being alive.
The Enchanted Waffle will create a three-course farm-to-table dinner accompanied by thoughtfully paired non-alcoholic elixirs.
Their food philosophy is plant-forward, seasonal, and rooted in ingredients sourced as locally and organically as possible.
**Vegan and vegetarian options will be available**, with thoughtfully sourced meat offered alongside the plant-based meal for those who desire it.
The complete menu will be revealed closer to the gathering.
And this is not simply dinner.
The table itself becomes part of the ceremony.
A place for storytelling.
For remembering.
For laughing.
For saying their names.
For acknowledging that grief and joy are allowed to sit beside each other.
We are also exploring live musical accompaniment during the dinner to deepen the sensory landscape of the evening.
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QUANTUM SOUND IMMERSION
Led by Ashleigh Hakes · Accompanied by Miguel The Gnome
After the table has been cleared, we move beyond words.
Ashleigh and Miguel will close the evening with an immersive journey through sound, vibration, breath, stillness, and rest.
A space for everything that has moved throughout the night to settle into the body.
No need to analyze.
No need to make meaning.
Simply receive.
Integrate.
Remember.
And return.
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WHY GATHER THIS WAY?
Modern life gives us very few places to talk honestly about death.
And even fewer places to grieve in community.
We are often expected to lose someone, attend a funeral, return to work, and somehow continue as though an entire universe did not just change.
But human beings have gathered around death, food, ritual, music, story, and remembrance for thousands of years.
We believe there is wisdom in remembering how to do that together.
Dinner with the Ancestors creates space for both truths
Someone we love can be gone.
And...
Life can still be beautiful.
We can cry and laugh.
We can grieve and feast.
We can remember death and become more available to life.
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WHAT YOU MAY LEAVE WITH
There is no single transformation we expect from this evening.
Grief does not follow instructions.
But you may leave feeling:
more connected to someone you have lost,
more accepting of the complexity of grief,
clearer about what matters in your own life,
closer to the people sitting beside you,
more willing to have conversations we usually avoid,
more grateful for your body, breath, food, relationships, and time,
and more willing to live the life that is here now.
Sometimes honoring the dead is one of the most powerful ways to remember to live.
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WHAT TO BRING
We invite you to bring altar offerings for someone you would like to honor.
This might be:
a photograph
their written name
a handwritten letter
flowers
a small meaningful object
a favorite wrapped sweet or food offering
or anything that helps you feel connected to their memory
You are welcome to honor a family member, friend, teacher, beloved animal, ancestor you never personally met, or someone whose life meaningfully touched yours.
You do not need to identify with any particular spiritual belief to participate.
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WHO THIS IS FOR
This gathering is for you if you feel called to:
honor someone you love,
explore your relationship with death and impermanence,
experience grief in community rather than isolation,
connect with your ancestry,
share a meaningful evening with a partner, family member, or friend,
or simply step outside ordinary life and into a beautifully curated experience of remembrance.
You do **not** need to be "over" your grief.
You do not need to know exactly why you are coming.
You only need a willingness to be present.
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A NOTE ABOUT THE DEATH MEDITATION
The Death Meditation includes guided reflection on mortality and the temporary nature of life.
While it is held intentionally and with care, death and grief can naturally bring strong emotions to the surface.
You are always welcome to modify your participation, open your eyes, step outside, rest, or choose what feels supportive for your nervous system throughout the evening.
This is a ceremonial and community experience and is not a substitute for mental health treatment, grief counseling, or medical care.
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FOOD + DIETARY NEEDS
Dinner includes a **three-course meal and paired non-alcoholic elixirs** created by The Enchanted Waffle.
The menu is designed to be:
Always gluten-free
farm-to-table
plant-forward
as locally sourced as possible
as organic as possible
Vegan and vegetarian options will be available.
Guests who desire meat will have the option of a thoughtfully sourced meat accompaniment alongside the plant-forward meal.
We will collect dietary restrictions and allergy information during registration.
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RESERVATION TIERS
reserve your space at:
Venmo: @AUMarts last 4 digits of number 2518
CashApp: $AUMarts
Paypal: AUMarts
EARLY REMEMBRANCE · $188
A limited early invitation into the complete experience.
FULL EXPERIENCE · $222
Complete admission to the ceremony, three-course dinner, elixir pairings, and Quantum Sound Immersion.
COMMUNITY SUSTAINER · $266
The same complete experience, with your additional contribution helping create more accessible places at the table for others.
YOUTH · $88
For young people ages 6–17, including their meal and participation in the evening.
FAMILY TABLE · $555
For three adults.
Children five and under may attend at no charge when they do not require their own plated meal or seat.
A very limited number of **Community Access seats** will also be held by request.
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WHERE WE WILL GATHER
TBA
Austin, Texas
A space we will transform for the evening into an intimate world of candlelight, flowers, food, photographs, sound, remembrance, and connection.
Additional arrival, parking, accessibility, and preparation information will be shared with registered guests before the gathering.
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COME TAKE YOUR PLACE AT THE TABLE
Bring the photograph.
Bring the story.
Bring the person you still talk to when no one else is listening.
Bring the grief you do not always know what to do with.
Bring your appetite.
Bring your living, breathing body.
And sit with us.
Dinner with the Ancestors
Sunday, November 2, 2026 · Austin, Texas
Reserve your place at the table.
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