Festival of Dreams to return to Santa Cruz in October

We all have dreams — and, by that, I don’t mean life aspirations or distant longed-for hopes. We’re talking about, you know, dreams, the perplexing mini-dramas that play across our minds during sleep — like chatting about footwear with a co-worker who happens to be wearing an elephant head, in your grandma’s kitchen (to name an all-too-common example).

Most people, we’ll chance to say, don’t remember much about anything they dream, and thus don’t take dreams seriously. A newly announced event in Santa Cruz in October operates on the assumption that those who do remember their dreams and work to decode and heed the messages in their dreams have greater self-awareness, maybe even happiness, because of it.

The event is The Festival of Dreams, and it will take place Oct. 10-12 at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). Co-sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Dreams, a 40-year-old nonprofit born in the Bay Area devoted to the study of dreams and dreaming, the festival is a weekend-long conference of thinkers and researchers on the subject of dreams and their links to creativity, mental health and spirituality. It will feature a wide range of speakers and presenters on a number of different topics in the realm of dreams, along with workshops, art exhibitions, film screenings and even a Dream Ball dance.

The festival took place three times in Santa Cruz during pre-pandemic times, but October’s event will mark the first since 2019. 

Katherine Bell, who hosts KSQD’s weekly “Dream Journal” program (Saturdays, 10 to 11 a.m.) will serve as one of the event’s co-hosts and main organizers. She said the festival will have close to 30 presenters, and attendees can pick and choose the talks that apply to their specific interests.

“We’re going to have people giving experiential workshops where you can explore your dreams,” said Bell, a former NASA scientist who earned her Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz. “There’s also going to be talks about people’s experiences with dreams, lucid dreaming tips, and about health, how dreams help us keep healthy.”

Bell cited examples of “prodromal dreams,” dreams that, some researchers believe, can predict or reveal undiagnosed diseases or conditions. 

Organizers decided to go with the word “festival” rather than “conference,” because they wanted to stress that the event has a distinct element of fun and playfulness. Along with the research presentations and lectures, there will be chances to share poetry and songs inspired by dreams. During the Saturday night Dream Ball, for example, revelers will be encouraged to come dressed as figures from their own dreams. 

“People come dressed up as animals a lot of times,” said Bell. “One person last time came as an owl. I was a zebra, because I’ve had several zebra dreams that are meaningful to me. So you really get to embody something that’s meaningful to you. These creatures that show up in our dreams are sometimes really strange. But if you take them on their own terms, there’s something they have to offer.”

Artists, from painters to videographers, will be on hand to present their dream-related work. 

Bell has written her own book, now in search of a publisher, about dreams. And she said she’s interested in what she calls a “treasure hunt” approach to dreaming. 

“Lots of people say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to remember my dreams. They’re just awful.’ Yes, people have nightmares. But I have cultivated this approach where you can look for the good moments, even in nightmares,” she said. “And eventually you start to realize that the nightmare itself is helpful, because it’s telling you something really important is happening, or something needs to change. So, even your nightmares, they end up being a gift.”

The Festival of Dreams will take place Oct. 10-12 at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Tickets are now available. 

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