Day of the Dead altars, also known as ofrendas (offerings), are constructed and adorned to remember, honor and please the dead, are a central symbol of Día de los Muertos.

In the spirit of traditional Día de los Muertos festivities, a community altar will serve as the festival's centerpiece, inviting attendees to leave mementos in honor of their loved ones who have passed. You’re welcome to contribute by bringing photographs, notes, non-perishable items, flowers, and other traditional Día de los Muertos decorations. Items can be left for future use or collected at 5:00 PM on Sunday after the procession if you wish to keep them.

Our 2022 Día de los Muertos Festival altar was created by Artist Luis Estrada.

Elements of the Altar and their Significance 

Arches: Passageways between life and death

Candles: Light, Faith and Hope

Flowers: Remind us that life does not endure

Traditionally: Cempasuchil - Marigolds - Mano de Leon - Cockscomb - Lions Paw

Incense: Cleans the space of negativity

Traditionally: Copal

Ofrendas: General items for the offerings put on the altar

Water: Life and purity, satisfies the thirst of the spirit

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Relaxed Hour at Día de los Muertos

Sun, Oct 20 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Located on the Mesa Arts Center Campus

What to expect:

The hour offers a more comfortable Día de los Muertos Festival experience with reduced sensory stimuli. Guests are welcome to use their own or Mesa Arts Center-provided fidgets, ear protection and other sensory resources (supply limited).

Relaxed Hour has:

• Meet and greet with festival performers
• Face painting
• Fewer people and crowds
• Self-guided tour of altars
• Reduced lighting and less amplified sound
• Access to vendors with minimal lines*
• A chill-out space to relax in
• Food allergy-friendly snacks
• Art exhibits and immersive experience at Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum
• Hands-on art-making activities led by specialist artists experienced in working with youth and adults with disabilities.

*Please note: some vendors may not be open

Volunteer activities include assisting with set-up and clean-up, artist interactives, greeting and directing the public, line monitoring, providing crowd control and assisting with volunteer hospitality.

Volunteers must be 16 years old or older.

Sign up here!

Please email volunteers@mesaartscenter.com with any questions!

• Remarkable artist demos
• Delicious food
• Fun family activities
• Altar Contest with submissions from the community
• Over a DOZEN cultural performances and live music & entertainment
• Incredible Mercado Market Place with arts & crafts, jewelry, furniture, and MORE+
• Participation in the memories of the deceased with the community altar

Copper Enamel Calaveras workshop - $12

In this hands-on activity, participants will have the chance to decorate their own copper enamel skull with colorful beads that will be melted and affixed to the skull with fire by lead Jewelry Instructor, Jenny Vaughn. Have fun mixing patterns and creating designs on the white skull to resemble a traditional calavera from Día de Los Muertos! After which you can keep the skull as a pendant or ornament.

Register here

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Steam Me Visible

Co-Creative Organic Matter Steam Distillation Workshop - Free*

at ASU Mix Center

Register here

Steam Me Visible is a co-creative steam distillation workshop for adults (18+) where we explore how smells influence feelings of belonging—or the absence of it. Together, we’ll learn how to use steam distillation to extract scents from organic materials, and we invite you to share your personal story of belonging or not belonging. We would love for you to join us for this unique experience.

Please bring a small object, or a piece of a larger object, made from organic or natural material (e.g., a plant, food, or 100% cotton sock), no larger than 1 x 3 inches, that carries a smell evoking a sense of belonging—or the absence of it—for you. Together, we will create a unique blend of all participants' objects and stories in the form of a distillate (hydrosol). You’re welcome to take home a sample of the scent we create.

With your consent, we plan to document this workshop for public exhibitions and use the materials for research purposes.
This workshop is presented by Lauryn Mannigel, an artist and doctoral student in Media Arts and Sciences, and Christy Spackman, associate professor of art/science at Arizona State University (ASU). It is part of our larger collaborative project, Atmospheres of Belonging, developed with Byron Lahey, Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Arts, Media and Engineering at ASU. The project will be exhibited from Oct. 30 - Nov. 18 at the MIX Center in Downtown Mesa. Together, we explore how community-identified smellscapes, combined with insights about built environments, craft perceptual experiences that interrogate the visceral sense of belonging among citizens of Mesa, Arizona.

This workshop is funded by a joint grant from the Arizona State University (ASU) Global Futures Laboratory, the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts at ASU, and Leonardo, the International Society for Arts, Sciences and Technology.

 *Workshop is free, but registration is required.

Please be advised: the main parking lots at Mesa Arts Center will be closed to accommodate the Mercado vendors and the food court for the festival, and street parking will be busy. Nearby parking options are available throughout downtown Mesa. Please review the parking map to find parking options. The Light Rail also offers nearby park and ride options. We recommend parking at the park & ride near Main Street and Mesa Drive and riding the Light Rail to the Main and Center Street stop. Find more Light Rail information here. Please note that the Light Rail ride does have an associated fee.  

We are no longer taking vendor inquiries.