Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday used to honor loved ones and celebrate their lives. The Sacramento community is offering a multitude of events and inviting everyone to participate in the holiday and learn about its significance within Mexican culture, and Sacramento365 has rounded up the biggest festivities!

Dia de los Muertos Oak Park
Brickhouse Gallery
Nov. 1 | Fri 5pm-9:30pm
Featuring altares (altars) as tributes to deceased loved ones, this annual Oak Park celebration features live traditional Mexican music and dance performances alongside food and art vendors, hands-on crafts for kids, and much more family fun!

ARC Orchestra: Dia de los Muertos Celebration
American River College Theatre
Nov. 1 & 2 | Fri & Sat 7:30pm-9pm
Veteran salsa musicians, Candela, will join forces with American River College’s 70-piece orchestra for a high-energy musical celebration of Dia de los Muertos.

Souls of the City: Dia de los Muertos in Old Sacramento
Sacramento History Museum
Nov. 2 | Sat 3pm-8pm
Sol Collective and the Sacramento History Museum will transform a block of the Old Sacramento Waterfront into a traditional Dia de los Muertos ceremony! Among its many colorful happenings, highlights of the event will be altar building, Aztec dance, and sugar skulls.

El Panteon de Sacramento Dia de los Muertos Celebration
Sacramento Native American Health Center
Nov. 2 & 3 | Sat 11am-10pm & Sun 8am-6pm
A parking lot becomes Panteón de Sacramento (Sacramento’s Cemetery) in this urban re-creation of Día de los Muertos as it is celebrated in small villages throughout Mexico. More than 60 memorials will commemorate loved ones; 40 food and craft vendors will round out the space along with hands-on crafts like sugar skulls and mask making.

Live performances will occur throughout the day, but the big attraction here is the Street Parades (desfiles), which will occur in the evenings — Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 4pm. This huge parade includes two bandas, giant mojigangas (papier-mâché puppets), multiple area ballet folklorica groups, ten charros (horsemen), and additional community members and groups.

Dia de los Muertos Art Exhibition
Sol Collective
Through Nov. 2 | Tues-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm
This group art exhibition not only celebrates Dia de los Muertos but also embraces how other people around the world honor and remember their ancestors and includes a touch of social commentary on current issues as well.

El Arte de las Almas: Día de los Muertos 2019
California Museum
Through Dec. 15 | Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun Noon-5pm
Featuring a community altar for the public to honor their lost loved ones, the “Art of the Souls” exhibit journeys through life, love, and death and celebrates Dia de los Muertos with an exhibit of calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls), altares de muertos (altars of the dead), and ofrendas (offerings).

Looking for even more Dia de los Muertos events to check out? Take a look at Sacramento365’s Holiday Events page!