Secret Salon Series


We are delighted to announce our Secret Salon Series, offering immersive cultural experiences that merge art, education, science, music, and nature in unexpected ways. Events are held at Secret Headquarters, our beautiful studio in East Vancouver, home to hundreds of enchanting lanterns as seen at our Annual Winter Solstice Festival.

Traditional Egg Dying:
A Spring Ritual of the Ancestors

Thursday April 18th

6:00 PM - 9:30 PM PST

Join artist Marina Szijarto in this hands-on craft ritual creating beautifully dyed eggs to honour our ancestors.

Using beeswax, candle flame and special dyes, artist and ritualist Marina Szijarto will teach the traditional techniques of Eastern European egg decorating known as ‘pysanky’ to help you create seasonal offerings of beautiful coloured eggs. 
The gathering will be held in ‘sacred space’ and the preparation of the eggs done with intention, as a ritual in honour of our ancestors. Each participant may create 2 eggs, and together we will consecrate our completed eggs before taking them to use on home altars or other places of personal meaning.
The decorating of bird’s eggs has been practiced by ancient cultures worldwide and they are an important symbol in folklore and mythology, representing life and rebirth, healing and protection. Our ancestors prepared eggs for use in rituals and blessings, especially in the spring, and we are eager to share this knowledge with you.

Event Notes / Be Prepared:  

  • No prior experience or artistic training required

  • All materials will be provided but if you have your own kystka please bring them

  • Please bring pysanky you have made to inspire others!

  • Doors open at 6:00 PM

  • This event is for participants ages 16+

  • Space is limited to 14 participants so please book early

  • Tea & snacks provided

  • Please note this is a scent free space - no perfumes/laundry soap etc.

  • Tickets are available by sliding scale ($35-$55). Suggested admission: $40

Your donation contributes directly to supporting our programming to continue ongoing learning and cultural sharing. We thank you for your support. If you have financial barriers preventing you from purchasing a ticket, please email admin@secretlantern.org and we will do our best to accommodate.

Artist Bio

Marina Szijarto
I am a professional visual artist, shrine maker and ritualist with a diverse and eclectic arts practice. My worldview is based on animist principles and practices.
For over 3 decades I’ve worked within community-engaged rites and celebrations, site-specific installations, theatrical performance and ritual/ ancestral crafts - collaborating with landscapes, communities ( Human/ More than human) and the earth’s seasons.
I co-create A Night for All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery, now in its 20th season, and am a certified Ancestral Lineage Repair practitioner.
I am dedicated to embodying the creative alchemy of “my hands are their hands, their hands are my hands”, with my ancestors of blood (I’m from Europe) and vocation – to inspire others to explore the role of sacred creativity, for the benefit of ancestral, personal and cultural change.
I strive to create, in collaboration with the seen and unseen, spaces for magic to unfold! 

Facilitator Website Link:
www.marinaszijarto.com
Facilitator Social Media Handle:  
https://www.facebook.com/marina.szijarto
https://www.instagram.com/artomarina/

Getting Here: Secret Headquarters is located at 1398 East 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC. Bus # 22 is within walking distance; VCC Clark and Commercial Skytrain Stations are within 10 minutes' walk. Free parking on the street and in the large parking lot in the alley between 3rd and 4th.

Accessibility: Secret Headquarters is wheelchair and walker accessible. If you have specific accessibility needs, please get in touch with us at (778) 323-9489 or admin@secretlantern.org.

Omi, our lovely resident feline, loves to attend our gatherings. Please let us know if you have allergies and we will gently explain to him why he needs to stay home that night.