Day of the Dead is full of life
You wouldn’t think that a day dedicated to honoring our dead could be so much fun.
Yet Joan Harrold, marketing development manager at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center, said Dia de Los Muertos “is really full of life; it’s not a somber or morbid occasion at all.”
“It’s a time to honor and celebrate” those who have died, Harrold said. “The Day of the Dead has very loving feelings, and is an opportunity to bring back loved ones in spirit.” “It’s colorful, active and fun.” Longmont’s celebration is the biggest in Colorado, she said, drawing 3,000 people last year to the family festivities alone.
Dia de los Muertos — which is actually more than one day, Oct. 31-Nov. 2 — originated in Mexico. The tradition of decorating sugar skulls originated with Catholic missionaries who came to Central America “but didn’t have enough money to decorate the churches they built,” said Ann Macca, curator of education at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center.
“They brought sugar art with them, and made angels, lambs and skulls,” the latter in homage to the Aztecs, Macca said.
So put on your best calavera makeup, remember those who have passed with love, and celebrate Dia de los Muertos in Colorado with our handy guide to the unique holiday.
Day of the Dead events in Longmont: Free admission, Longmont Museum and Cultural Center, 400 Quail Road, Longmont, 303-651-8374
Museum Exhibition, Swan Atrium: Through Nov. 7. The Dia de los Muertos exhibit showcases traditional gigantes, giant puppets made by local artists, as
well as altars for the dead created by members of the community. More information at longmontcolorado.gov.
Sugar Skull Making Day: Sunday, Oct. 29, 1-4 p.m., free. Learn how to make the sugar skulls that will be decorated at the Nov. 4 Family Celebration. Children welcome with adult supervision.
Gigantes Procession and Catrina Ball: Nov. 3; procession downtown at 5 p.m., Catrina Ball at 7
p.m. Tickets $5. Firehouse Arts Center hosts its 5th annual Catrina Ball at the Dickens Opera House, 300 Main St. in Longmont, to celebrate the lives of those who have made the journey to the great beyond. Tickets include food, drinks, music and an art auction. More information at visitlongmont.org.
Day of the Dead Family Celebration: Nov. 4, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
free admission. Longmont’s annual celebration features music, dancing, sugar skull decorating, paper flower making, face painting and more. Guests are encouraged to dress in their finest skeleton garb. Day of the Dead party at Pirate Art gallery: Friday, Nov. 3, 5-10 p.m., free. Pirate Art, 7130 W. 16th Ave., Lakewood. 303-9095748, pirateartonline.org. Pirate Art launches its Day of the Dead exhibition of art and handmade altars from local residents, with Aztec dancers, both kids’ and adult piñatas and a candlelight procession to honor the dead. The exhibition runs through Nov. 19. Día de los Muertos Festival at Denver Botanic Gardens: Saturday, Nov. 4. Included with gardens admission, noon to 8 p.m., 1007 York St., Denver. 720865-3500, botanicgardens.org. Activities include kids’ crafts, such as creating calaveras and Posada prints (noon to 4 p.m.); face painting ($15, noon to 4 p.m.); Mariachi and traditional Aztec dance demonstrations (5:10 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.); calavera writing workshops (5:30 and 6:30 p.m.); a sugar skull workshop (5 to 7 p.m.); a community altar project (application deadline Oct. 27); and more. There will be two costume contests, one at 2 p.m. and one at 7. Free shuttle from 10 to 4 p.m. from Manual High School. Dia de los Muertos on Larimer Square: Friday, Oct. 27, 5-9 p.m., larimersquare.com. A colorful, adult celebration awaits in the alley between Market and Larimer Streets near Larimer Square. A 21-and-over crowd is invited to enjoy tequila and spiced rum, live music, sugar skull decorating, face painting, food trucks and more. First Friday: Dia de los Muertos: Friday, Nov. 3, 5-8 p.m., Museo De La Americas, 861 Santa Fe Dr., Denver. First Friday Santa Fe Art walk at Museo will celebrate Dia de los Muertos with pan de muerto, sugar skull decorating, music, food and drinks. A performance of the Aztec Dance of the Dead will conclude the evening. General admission is free; sugar skull decorating is $1-$3, and face painting is $5. Native American Heritage Month & Dia de Los Muertos: Wednesday, Nov. 1, free, noon to 1 p.m. (groups of 10 or more must RSVP). 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora. 303-739-1970. For more information, call 720-329-0869 or go to coloradofolkartscouncil.yolasite.com. Celebrate Native American Heritage Month and Day of the Dead with Native American flutist David Young, storyteller Rita Wallace, and Huitzilopochtli, an Aztech “Mexica” dance group.