A Day of the Dead weekend in Southern California

After the spooks and sensations of Halloween night, many will settle down to a more somber place tomorrow, to honor the dearly departed. Celebrated widely in Mexico, Day of the Dead — or Dia de los Muertos — actually covers two days: Nov. 1, to remember children who have passed away, and Nov. 2, to memorialize adults.

While Mexico is far and away the place to participate in this holiday, you’ll find Day of the Dead events all over the world. If you’re staying in Los Angeles, have a look at this list of Dia de los Muertos events in the Guide. Beyond L.A., here are some places in So Cal to celebrate and commemorate:

Ventura
You’ll have the day covered between two events in downtown Ventura on Saturday. The first is the Día de los Muertos Community Celebration at the Albinger Museum, where there will be folk crafts, face painting and mariachi music from noon to 3 p.m.

Across the street in Mission Park, from noon to 5 p.m., will be the Danza Mexica Cuauhtemoc’s Dia de los Muertos Aztec event, which will feature live music, including traditional Aztec dance performances, a Mexican mercado, ceremonial processions and more.

Santa Ana
On Saturday, Noche de Altares (Night of Altars), a community event put on by El Centro Cultural de Mexico, Calacas Inc., will liven the Fiesta Marketplace from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Guests are invited to build an altar in honor of a departed loved one, or an altar to “bring awareness to a social issue.” Along with altar-building and -viewing, the event will offer live music, face painting, art workshops, arts and crafts and food.

Also in Santa Ana, the Bowers Museum will host its Dia de Los Muertos Cultural Festival on Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The festival will offer lots of activities including face painting, sugar-skull decorating, skeleton-puppet-making and viewing of altars. Traditional foods awaiting you: Mexican hot chocolate, tamales and pan de muerto (bread of the dead).

Riverside
On Sunday, Riverside Metropolitan Museum will host its 5th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. An Aztec-dance procession will launch the event on Mission Inn Avenue, which will see altars, marigolds and other decorations, art exhibits, activities for kids, traditional handcrafts and foods, and performances by Ballet Folklórico de Riverside.

Oceanside
Partake in celebrations Sunday near San Diego’s North County coast, at Oceanside’s 8th Annual Dia de los Muertos. At the festival’s Chalk Cemetery, you can create a memorial for your deceased loved ones with candles, flowers and chalk; these altars will stretch across the block at the end of the day for all to appreciate. In addition, the event will feature music, food, arts and crafts for sale and fun activities for kids.

– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: MSOceanside.com]

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 31, 2008 at 3:00 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Family & Kids, Festival, Orange County, Ventura. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.