From art and music to ofrendas and remembrance, thousands will fill downtown Corpus Christi Friday, with extra security keeping the celebration safe.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Thousands are expected to pack downtown Corpus Christi this Friday for the annual Día de los Muertos Festival — a night featuring food, art, music and culture.

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And as the celebration continues to grow, so does the focus on safety.

“We have 22 off-duty CCPD officers and we have 10–12 private security officers, and we have four EMTs on site. And everybody has a radio so they can hear what’s going on. We have a special radio channel,” said Michelle Smythe, executive director at K Space Contemporary and one of the event organizers.

Smythe said with all the fun planned, guests can also count on feeling safe and secure.

“As soon as anybody — our staff, our people who are working staff or who are working for us — see something happen, they can report it immediately,” she said.

That security presence is crucial, especially as the festival continues to grow in popularity. But it’s not just culture that’s booming — Smythe said the festival also promotes more foot traffic downtown. Still, she said organizers try to strike a balance.

“We want downtown to stay open. We want people to benefit from the festival. So, you know, it’s an economic boost to our neighborhood, and we want to keep that going, but we don’t want to fence everyone off,” she said.

Jonathan Winfrey, owner of VNP Downtown, said his store usually sees steady business — but during Día de los Muertos, more people stop by.

“Definitely a few hundred. Usually there’s a stage like right behind us and there’s people performing right throughout the day and stuff, and there’s vendors right throughout our street, too. There’s quite a few things going on around right here,” he said.

Those big crowds, Smythe said, also serve as a powerful reminder that even if loved ones are gone, they’re not forgotten.

“People can bring photos of their deceased loved ones to put on the community ofrenda. And we have other community members who have built ofrendas,” she said.