Nobody throws a Día de los Muertos party like Los Angeles. Celebrate life and honor those who have passed at these Day of the Dead celebrations around Southern California.
SATURDAY, OCT. 27; 7 - 9 p.m.
Noche de Ofrenda
Grand Park -- 200 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.
For the sixth year, the park partners with Self Help Graphics & Art and LORE Media & Arts for a night of altars and offerings to honor the dead. View installations created by local artists and community groups, performances by L.A.-based artists, including Quetzal and Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, and traditional blessings led by the local indigenous community. The night coincides with Grand Park's weekend celebration (Friday through Sunday) of Día de los Muertos, with free guided tours of the artwork, altars and traditions of the holiday.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, OCT. 27; 7 p.m.
Catrinas Unidas
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes -- 501 N. Main St., downtown L.A.
The fundraiser features music by Mariachi Las Colibri, light bites and dessert from Gloria's Restaurant, wine by Puente de Rus and margaritas by Dragos Cantina. The event also features a lifestyle fair with artisanal merchandise, health screenings, healthy lifestyle products and services, and a panel discussion on the importance of women as civically engaged advocates. Proceeds benefit AltaMed's Women's Health Services & Diabetes Prevention Programs.
COST: $125 per ticket; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, OCT. 27; noon - midnight
Día de los Muertos Festival
Hollywood Forever Cemetery -- 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood
This year's celebration honors the divine feminine in Coatlicue, the Mexica-Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, the stars and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. Come dressed in calaca/Day of the Dead apparel and spend the day viewing altars, purchasing arts, crafts and food and enjoying the celebrations. Music by Panteón Rococó, Mexican Institute of Sound, Hello Seahorse!, Y La Bamba and Loli Molina. Children 8 and younger and seniors 65 and older get in for free until 4 p.m. Please plan ahead and carpool or rideshare.
COST: $25; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, OCT. 27 - FRIDAY, NOV. 2
Día de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
Olvera St. -- downtown L.A.
The festival is a celebration of life, and not one of mourning. Community altars will be on view through Nov. 2, with live entertainment, face painting and kid activities taking place both weeknights and weekends. Each night at 7 p.m., a Novenario Procession through the street leads to a ceremony that incorporates pre-Columbian, Aztec, Mayan and Catholic rituals surrounding death.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, OCT. 27; 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Dia de Los Muertos 5K Relay Run or Walk
Recreation Park -- 208 Park Ave., San Fernando
You can form a team, run on your own or volunteer at the Blue Shield booth to share health info with the community at-large. After the race, spend the morning enjoying Aztec dances, ballet folklorico, Mariachi Music, art exhibiions and family altars. There will be face painting for kids.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, OCT. 27; 5 - 8 p.m.
Día de los Muertos Family Festival
Canoga Park Youth Arts Center -- 7222 Remmet Ave., Canoga Park
Honor the dead and celebrate life at this family-friendly festival.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, OCT. 28; 3 - 9 p.m.
San Pedro Día de los Muertos Festival
398 West 6th St., San Pedro
Celebrate the Day of the Dead in the South Bay with authentic Mexican fare, art and musical performances by the Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea, locals Kotolan and Salt Petal. The festival debuts a tequila garden and features an ofrenda installation, honoring unsung heroes from Mexican culture including Jose Cuervo founding lady Ana Gonzalez Rubio y de la Torre, painter Maria Izquierdo, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata and printmaker/illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada.
COST: FREE, but tickets required; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, OCT. 28
Día de los Muertos Celebration
Forest Lawn locations in Glendale, Cypress and Covina Hills
In addition to the arts, crafts, face painting and altars, each of the locations hosts its own programming and events throughout the day.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, OCT. 28; 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Día de los Muertos Art Festival
Downey Theatre -- 8435 Firestone Blvd., Downey
The celebration of Mexican arts and culture features live music and dancing -- including ballet folklorico and Aztec dancers -- on three stages. There are also altar contests, car art, an art show featuring works by local artists, a sculpture alley, food trucks and a beer and wine garden.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, OCT. 28; 1:30 - 5 p.m.
Coco
Warner Grand Theatre -- 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Catch the heartbreaking 2017 animated film. Aspiring musician Miguel, facing his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather. Reservations are required at Eventbrite.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31; 6 - 7 p.m.
Mariachi de Uclatlán
Fowler Museum -- 308 Charles E. Young Drive East, Westwood
This performance by Mariachi de Uclatlán, one of the first academic mariachi groups in the world, features well-loved mariachi standards as well as some new tunes, including Mexican songs of resistance and activism to go along the with the museum's current exhibition, "South of No North: Gato Negro Ediciones."
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
THURSDAY, NOV. 1; 6 p.m.
Coco Under The Stars
Downey Theatre -- 8435 Firestone Blvd., Downey
The pre-party starts at 6 p.m. with specials from local businesses and an information fair. At dusk, watch the award-winning animated film Coco, about Miguel, a boy who yearns to become a musician, like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz, but must fight his family's ban on music. In the process, he finds himself in the Land of the Dead, where he takes an extraordinary journey to unearth his family's history.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
THURSDAY, NOV. 1; 5-8 p.m.
Día De Los Muertos celebration
Sun Valley Youth Arts Center -- 8642 Sunland Blvd., Sun Valley
Expect a family-friendly evening of art workshops, student art exhibits, refreshments and entertainment. You can participate by placing an image of a loved one who has passed on the community altar. The evening concludes with a ritual dance by Danza Temachtia Quetzacoatl.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
FRIDAY, NOV. 2; 5-10 p.m.
45th Annual Día De Los Muertos celebration
Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School -- 1200 Plaza del Sol, Boyle Heights
Come dressed in your best Calaca attire to one of the oldest and most popular Día de los Muertos events in Los Angeles. It includes a traditional ceremonial blessing, food and craft vendors, face-painting, children's workshops and an exhibition, "How We Remember and How We Survive," on view at Self Help from through Dec. 21.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
FRIDAY, NOV. 2; 5 - 11 p.m.
5th Annual Día de los Muertos Art Festival
433 Pine Ave. -- Long Beach
Downtown Long Beach will transform into a grand celebration and street extravaganza with colorful costumes, dance, food, arts, crafts and music from around the Latin community.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
FRIDAY, NOV. 2 - SUNDAY, NOV. 4
Day of the Dead Weekend
Old Pasadena -- 41 Hugus Alley, Pasadena
During the three-day event, dozens of Pasadena businesses will create altars that you can check out on a self-guided Tour of Altars. The weekend also includes a community altar, face painting and a salsa dance party with live music.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
FRIDAY, NOV. 2; 3-6 p.m.
Día de los Muertos Celebration
Forest Lawn -- 51990 Jackson St., Coachella
On Nov. 2, All Souls Day, there'll be arts, crafts, face painting and altars as well as other programming throughout the day.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, NOV. 3; 1-10 p.m.
Noche de Altares
4th and Birch, Santa Ana
Night of the Altars encourages participants to build altars in memory of deceased loved ones or to bring awareness to a social issue. The night includes cultural performances, live music, face-painting and free art workshops for kid and wares from local artists. You can also take photos with La Catrina, the modern-day icon of Día de los Muertos created by Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, NOV. 3; 2 - 11 p.m.
Day of the Dead 2018
Los Angeles State Historic Park -- 847 14th St., Santa Monica
HARD curates a festival featuring French duo Justice, South African avant-garde rap duo Die Antwoord and Australian electro stars Knife Party. Stage Two features emerging and established house music acts like Repopulate Mars frontman Lee Foss back-to-back with Felix Da Housecat, a live set from keyboard wunderkind Rodriguez and DIRTYBIRD's own Shiba San, J.Phlip, Dateless and OMNOM. The festival is 21+.
COST: $70-180; MORE INFO
SATURDAY, NOV. 3 - SUNDAY, NOV. 4
Dia de los Muertos MUsic and Arts Festival
Pacoima City Hall - 13520 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima
The entertainment lineup features a diverse mix of sounds including cumbia, tejano, latin banda, funk, R&B, mariachi and Spanish rock. There will also be a catrina contest, face painting, and arts and crafts activities for attendees of all ages. Festivities happen from noon to 9 p.m. pm Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, NOV. 4; 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
7th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration
Woodlawn Cemetery -- 847 14th St., Santa Monica
The family-friendly event urges visitors to honor the cycle of life and remember their ancestors. It includes altars, musicians, dancers, marigold offerings, a slide show honoring lost loved ones, food trucks and a communal memory wall. Free parking and bike valet.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, NOV. 4; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
18th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration
Downtown Canoga Park -- Sherman Way & Canoga Ave., Canoga Park
Pay tribute to loved ones who have died at a festival with live entertainment, vendors, international foods, calaveras, art exhibits, altar displays, a children's art pavilion and a classic car show.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
SUNDAY, NOV. 4; 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Día de los Muertos Celebration
Bowers Museum -- 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana,
Check out decorated sugar skulls, papel picado (paper cutouts) and calavera puppets and masks. Aztec Dances of the Dead provides live entertainment along with a mariachi band and a folklorico dance troupe. You'll be able to munch on pan de muerto and sip Mexican hot chocolate while viewing a special ofrenda, where you can add your own note of love.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
BONUS: Marigolds are traditionally used to decorate altars for Día de los Muertos. You can find them in the Flower District, located in the L.A. Fashion District in downtown L.A.
California Flower Mall - 825 S. San Pedro St.
Includes over 40 flower vendors. Free to the general public.
Mon. - Sat., 4:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sun. 5 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Southern California Flower Growers & Los Angeles Flower Market of the American Florists Exchange - 754 & 755 Wall St.
More than 500,000 square feet combined of fresh cut flowers, potted plants and floral accessories. Admission fee for the public is $2 on weekdays and $1 on weekends.
Mon., Wed. & Fri. - 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Tue. & Thu. - 6 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Sat. - 6 a.m. - 12 p.m.
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