Photos are placed on ofrendas: colorful handmade altars that hold the favorite food or drink of a late loved one, alongside carefully detailed sugar skulls and plenty of marigolds.
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Thanks to the Bay Area’s large Latino diaspora, there are multiple community celebrations for Día de los Muertos held across the region that are family-friendly and open to all — including those who are just starting to learn more about this tradition.
Keep in mind that some events are high-energy celebrations with spaces for dancing and socializing, while others are more solemn occasions that include traditional blessings and spoken word.
Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival
Sunday, Nov. 2
In terms of attendance — and sheer scale of production — this is by far the biggest celebration for Día de los Muertos in the Bay Area. On Sunday, Nov. 2, nine blocks along International Boulevard in the city’s Fruitvale neighborhood will fill up with giant ofrendas created by local artists, lowriders, live music stages and dozens of booths from community groups as well as local government agencies.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Oakland’s Día de los Muertos Festival is known to be a place to dance to live banda for hours and reunite with friends you haven’t seen in years — as well as being an event that firmly defends public spaces for immigrant families. This year’s theme is “Aquí Estamos y No Nos Vamos”: “We are here and we are not leaving.”
A map of Oakland’s Día de los Muertos Festival on International Blvd.
Day of the Dead Festival of Altars in San Francisco
Sunday, Nov. 2
For more than 20 years, families have gathered in San Francisco’s Potrero Del Sol Park to install intricately decorated large-scale ofrendas. While honoring loved ones, many of these also address larger political and social questions — like the federal government’s immigration policy or Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
An altar made by the Young Women’s Freedom Center for people lost to police brutality and gender violence, as well as people who passed through the program, at a Dia de los Muertos celebration in San Francisco’s Mission District on Nov. 2, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
Installations will take place from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 2. You can enter the park through any entrance and walk through the space to observe the ofrendas.
At noon, there will be a ceremony, and at 5 p.m., musical performances and poetry readings will begin.
You can also sign up to make your own ofrenda.
Day of the Dead Ritual Procession in San Francisco
Sunday, Nov. 2
Just a block away from the ofrendas in Potrero Del Sol Park, musicians, artists and culture keepers will march down 24th Street, with thousands of families gathering on the sidewalk to watch.
Organized by the community group El Collectivo del Rescate Cultural de La Mission — or Collective to Rescue the Mission’s Culture —ofrendas, cempasúchil and vendors selling handmade crafts fill up almost every block at this event.
Mariah Cativo (left) and Lucy Molina pause for a portrait as they walk along 24th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District during a Dia de los Muertos celebration on Nov. 2, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
And while some parts of the procession are quieter and solemn, there will be live bands, dance groups and lowriders moving through too, with performances all over the Mission District through the night.
The procession begins at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 on the corner of 22nd and Bryant Street, then moves to 24th Street, where marchers will stay until they reach Mission Street. At each main intersection, Aztec dancers leading the procession will pause to perform a ritual dance.
Día de los Muertos at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San José
Saturday, Nov. 1
On Nov. 1, the Children’s Discovery Museum in downtown San José will host a family-friendly Día de los Muertos event from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
There will be storytelling for children, sand painting, performances by giant skeleton puppets and a procession that interacts with museum installations, including its mammoth skeleton.