You’ve likely heard it already. And if you haven’t, you’ll likely be hearing it soon.
The howl.
You might think it’s wolves or coyotes. You may wonder what’s going on with the neighborhood dogs. Or you may even check your computer to make sure you didn’t leave that nature documentary running again. But no, listen closely and you’ll soon realize it’s the city of Denver that’s howling.
Shakira prepared us for this very moment
— Danika Worthington ♉️ (@Dani_Worth)
Partners Shelsea Ochoa and Brice Maiurro started the Facebook group on March 27. A little more than a week later, that group has more than 420,000 members. Many are in Colorado, including Ochoa and Maiurro who live in Congress Park, but many others live elsewhere, spreading from the East Coast to Switzerland and Brazil.
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“We can’t necessarily see the people we want to see or hug the people we want to hug, but we can reach out to people through this,” Ochoa said.
Both Ochoa and Maiurro are part of Denver’s art and community activism scene. Ochoa is an educator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the creative director of the local storytelling group . Maiurro works in administration at National Jewish Health and is the poetry editor for the local literary magazine .
But let’s get back to the howling.
How does it work?
- Step one: Note when the clock strikes 8 o’clock
- Step two: Open up your window or step into your backyard
- Step three: Howl.
Letap have a good howl in .
— Jamie Grayson (@TheJamieGrayson)
But, like, why?
That’s the thing. There’s not really a set reason. Some people howl to find joy in a communal experience. Others howl to grieve. Some howl to honor medical workers. Ochoa and Maiurro left the reasoning behind the howl open-ended. It’s up for you to decide. Personally, I’ve been howling because it’s freaking fun — and I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Many of the group’s participants comment that there’s something innately enjoyable about howling. Maiurro suggests that it’s a mix of being given permission to do something so wild and hearing the call and response with your neighbors. Plus, “there’s something western about howling that people really enjoy.”
8pm moon howl from my balcony in Denver, CO. Thank you all essential and front line folks!
— Prof Chris (@ProfChristinaA)
Okay, so where in the world did this idea come from?
The idea itself came up organically, Ochoa said. The two have a friend who lives in a “hippie” neighborhood in California. Every sunset, the whole neighborhood howls. Maiurro has another friend who hosts poetry nights every full moon in Boulder, where howling is apparently common.
The evolution of nighttime howling isn’t surprising for Ochoa and Maiurro. They pointed to the balcony music performances and cheers for medical workers that are happening across the world as people navigate new realities in cities and countries shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak. The two Denverites happened to make the Facebook group, and if they hadn’t, someone else would have, Ochoa said.
The Howl at 8:00 p.m.
These are tough times and our collective angst is teaching me that we have been connected to each other this whole time, even though I never noticed when I passed a stranger by before all of this started.
— Manuel Lopez del Rio (@mlopezdelrio)
Am I about to howl tonight?
The moon is supposed to be extra bright tonight thanks to the , perfect encouragement to let your inner wolf out. So ask yourself: Am I going to howl at the moon tonight? And don’t be surprised if you discover the answer is yes.
