32nd Annual Día de los Muertos Community Celebration

Buy your ticket for this year’s celebration. $10 for all-inclusive festival and gallery access. Members and children under 12 are free with advance reservations. ASL Interpretation for OMCA Garden and Amphitheater stage will be provided. This fall, OMCA welcomes the community back for its 32nd annual Día de los Muertos Community Celebration, a vibrant day honoring the people, traditions, and stories that connect us across generations. Join the Día de los Muertos Committee for a procession that opens the celebration with music, movement, and a collective act of remembrance. Throughout the day, the Museum comes alive with danza, ceremonia, live music, hands-on activities, and food. Across the campus, discover ofrendas created by community members, each offering a personal reflection on the lives and legacies of loved ones and ancestors. Browse the mercado for handmade goods, altar items, and Día de los Muertos–inspired art from local makers. Bring a picnic, gather with family and friends, and make a day of it in OMCA’s gardens. Garden, Lower Level 11:15 am Procession to the Garden led by OMCA’s Día de los Muertos Committee for the dedication of the central ofrenda 11:30 am-12:00 pm Opening Ceremony with Danza Xitlalli* 12:00–12:05 pm Formal Welcome* *In addition to ASL interpretation, these portions of the program include Spanish and Nahuatl interpretation. Garden Stage **, Lower Level 12:10–12:15 pm Poetry Reading by Sara Borjas 12:15–1:00 pm Live Music by Los Cenzontles 1:10–1:40 pm Performance by Ballet Folklorico de Carlos Moreno 2:00– 2:05 pm Poetry Reading by Josiah Luis Alderete 2:10– 2:40 pm Live Music by La Gran Puchica 3:15-4:00 pm Live Music by Gina Madrid 4:00-4:10 pm Closing Palabras and Four Directions ** If raining, Garden performances will move to the James Moore Theater and Ballet Folklorico will move to the Women’s Board Lecture Hall with two live performance times 12–12:20 pm & 12:30–12:50 pm. Amphitheater **, Lower Level 12:30–1:30 pm Cumbia Wepa Dance Lesson with Mireille Ruiz 2:30–2:50 pm Poetry Readings by Sara Borjas & Josiah Luis Alderete ** If raining, Amphitheater dance lesson will be cancelled and poetry readings will move to the Lecture Hall, Lower Level 1–1:20 pm. Patio 3**, Mid Level 12:30–3:30 pm Receive a limpia, which is a traditional ritual to heal heavy emotions, like loss, and rebalance one’s health and relationships. ** If raining, limpias will be cancelled. Lillie Education Center, Lower Level 11 am–4 pm Visit Sanando Corazones, Healing Hearts, an ofrenda rooted in the symbolism of the heart. Though our ofrendas to our dead traditionally contain items that represent spirituality, love, and life experiences, we chose to add the image of a heart as a symbol to express our heartfelt sadness and support to all East Bay families who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Mid Level Terrace and 12th St Plaza, Mid and Lower Levels 11 am–4 pm Support Bay Area Latinx vendors at our mercado, which is inspired by the mercados in Mexico where people go to buy Día de los Muertos items for their altars and homes. Garden, Lower Level 11 am–4 pm Join artisan Irma Ortiz for a sugar skull demonstration and decorate your own! 12–4 pm Stop by for calavera face painting. 12–4 pm Create your colorful embossed tin images and paper puppets at our hands-on art stations. Garden, Mid Level 12–4 pm Learn how tortillas are made at this demonstration station. Lecture Hall, Lower Level 12:30–3 pm Enjoy interviews from current and past Día de los Muertos Committee members and learn about the legacy of honoring Day of the Dead traditions for 32 years at OMCA. **If raining, screening will run from 1:30–3:30 pm Gallery of California Natural Sciences, Lower Level 1 – 1:45 pm Come sit with Batul True Heart (they/them) as they share their personal experience of practicing traditional medicine in times of mourning. In this 30-minute talk, Batul will speak about what has brought them to the path of earth-based ancestral medicine, and what has been most supportive for them during times of deep emotional pain. You will learn about feelings from an indigenous perspective and gain practical ways to connect with emotions, the earth and all the elements. Honoring the traditions and practices of Día de los Muertos, Batul will also introduce their favorite flower, cempoalxóchitl, and how to work with it when grieving. Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences, All Levels 1–3 pm Gallery Chats Facilitators will be available to engage in conversation. Casa Bonampak Corazón Mestizo Dave Of The Dead Arts Devika’s Palacio Eve’s Jewelry Box Frida’s Ofrenditas Finding Vettey The Designing Chica 10th St, Lower Level 11 am–4 pm Enjoy sweet and savory tamales, atole, and cafe de olla from La Guerrera’s Kitchen, pan de muerto from Bakery El Sol, ice cream from De La Creamery, and tacos, quesadillas, sopes, tostadas, and aguas frescas from Taca-Brona. Mid Level 11 am–4 pm Town Fare by Chef Michele McQueen; OMCA Shop, featuring The Xocolate Bar Alma Latina-Danza Tonatzi Downer Elementary School & Richmond High School Bay Area students from Professor Valdivia’s classes Bret Harte Middle School Madres Oakland High School VAAMP (visual arts) Academy Omnira Institute El Tímpano On view October 7–November 29, 2026 Lower Level, near the entrance to the Gallery of California Natural Sciences Free We, the creators of this ofrenda, or offering altar, are in wholehearted agreement that this year’s ofrenda is best rooted in the symbolism of the heart. Though our beating hearts are our literal life force, the early cultures of our world also considered the human heart the residence of the soul, as well as the source of human spirituality and the passions we adopt in life. Even today, our use of terms such as “soft-hearted” and “broken-hearted” reflects our association of the heart with deep human emotions. Though our ofrendas to our dead traditionally contain items that represent spirituality, love, and life experiences, we chose to add the image of a heart as a symbol to express our heartfelt sadness and support to all East Bay families who have experienced the loss of a loved one. We also dedicate this ofrenda to all who died this year due to the disasters created by nature and warfare. — Bea Carrillo-Hocker, Alicia Díaz, Micaela Mariscal, Juliane Monroe, and Annette Oropeza OMCA Día de los Muertos Ofrenda Installation Subcommittee — This installation was created in conjunction with the Oakland Museum of California’s annual commemoration of the Day of the Dead celebration by members of the Museum’s volunteer Día de los Muertos Committee. Luz Alvarez Martinez, Chrissy Cano, Bea Carrillo-Hocker, Juanita Chavez-Gordon, Alicia Díaz, Sheyla Duarte, Isaac Emrick, Angelita M. Finlayson, Arnoldo García, Judi García, Blanca Estela Gordo-Harry, Carolina Juárez, Lisa Lemus, Micaela Mariscal, Juliane Monroe, Annette Oropeza, Isabela Pérez, Rebecca Recco, aa Valdivia