Mesa Arts Center is pleased to celebrate Día de los Muertos with an annual event created in collaboration with the community. Día de los Muertos is a celebration of Latin American art and culture related to the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. The annual free event offers a variety of features, performances and more in celebration of the memories of the deceased.  

  

Los espíritus se entrelazarán durante la celebración anual del Día de los Muertos en el Mesa Arts Center. Los visitantes se han deleitado cada año con maravillosos espectáculos en vivo por parte de destacados artistas. 

 

Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities!

 

 

 

Visit our YouTube channel to enjoy the performances, art, demonstrations, family activities and more from our 2020 virtual Día de los Muertos festival. See the Día de los Muertos video playlist.

 

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

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.  

South Lawn Stage

Time

Group

Sat, Oct 19

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Marisa Ronstadt
  12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Grupo Extravagante
  2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Medio Pinto
  4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Las Calakas
     

Sun, Oct 20

10:30 AM - 12:15 PM La Luz de la Luna
  12:45 PM - 2:30 PM Carmela Y Mas
  3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Chicha Dust

The Plaza at Mesa City Center

   

Sat, Oct 19

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Mariachi Estrelas Musicales

 

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Guitarras Latinas

 

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Andres Martinez & Ritmo Latino

 

   
Sun, Oct 20 10:30 AM - 12:15 PM Marcos Crego
  12:45 PM - 2:30 PM Gustavo Angeles
  3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Mariachi Torres

Joannie Flatt Stage

   

Sat, Oct 19

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Ministerio de Danza Azteca

 

10:30 AM - 5:00 PM DJs - Vinyl Vagos, Tranzo, Cervantes

 

   
Sun, Oct 20 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Mariachi Estrella de Cobre
  11:00 AM - 3:00 PM DJs - Vinyl Vagos
  3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Mariachi Pasion

Alliance Pavilion Stage

   

Sat, Oct 19

10:00 AM - 11:45 AM Ballet Folklorico Amistad

 

12:00 PM - 1:45 PM Ballet Folklorico La Llorona

 

2:00 PM - 3:45 PM Chandler High School Los Lobos
  4:00 PM - 4:45 PM Ballet Folklorico Quetzalli - AZ
     
Sun, Oct 20 10:00 AM - 11:45 AM Primavera Folklorico Dance Company
  12:00 PM - 1:45 PM Mariachi Rubor
  2:00 PM - 3:45 PM Instituto De Folklor Mexicano
  4:00 PM - 4:30 PM Ballet Folklorico La Llorona

 

 

We are no longer taking vendor inquiries.

 

 

Booth # Business Name
1 DM Designs
2 Culture Mia
3 Mi Oaxaca Imports
4 Estrellita Designs
5 Scentsationals 
6 Twins Boutique
7 Mexican Arts Imports II
8 Mexican Arts Imports II
9 Sharon Anderson
10 Arte de Mi Tierra
11 Petite Sweets
12 Chaos in Color
13 All Crafts Plus, LLC
14 Funtastic Face Painting 
15 Gina's Original AZ
16 Maria Creations AZ
17 Erendira Orozco Arte y Cultura
18 Superstition Candle Company
19 Amor Fashion Shop
20 Amor Fashion Shop
21 Seniorita Art & Culture
22 Creativo Duro
23 Mystic Creations 
24 CHM of Arizona LLC/Sylvidel Art Creations
25 Luna Rose Shoppe
26 Quintero Ventas / Xicana Vibes
27 Lum Candles
28 Aurora's Flower Creations
29 City of Guaymas
30 Mesa Fire & Medical
31 Laguna Artz LLC
32 T&L Boutique Artesanal
33 T&L Boutique Artesanal
34 T&L Boutique Artesanal
35 Ramona Cisneros
36 Spun Paradise Cotton Candy Co.
37 Camisetas El Monte 
38 Sanddancer Publications
39 La Grilla Negra
40 Jimenez Gifts
41 Jimenez Gifts
42 Estradas Artistry LLC 
43 MYCA
44 Desiree Salas Face Painting
45 FunkyChickenEggRanch
46 Felipe Horta Tera
47 D&G Artesanal
48 D&G Artesanal
49 Hello Mexico Shop
50 Hello Mexico Shop
51 Lina's Macarons 
52 BLCK HILL LLC
53 Laura's Accessories
54 Laura's Accessories
55 Sol Design Studio
56 Urban Art by Melody
58 Face Painters Ink
59 Samira's World Boutique
60 TSIB
61 Oma Maria's Cookies
62 Terrilyn M. Trejo