DÍa de Muertos Celebration
Nov. 1, 2025 | 4–8 p.m.
Nov. 2, 2025 | 12:30–4:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public!
Join us for a special community gathering for Día de Muertos, a celebration of life that demonstrates remembrance, love, and respect for those who have gone before us. Choose to come on either Nov. 1 or Nov. 2, or celebrate with us on both days! This event is free and open to the public.
- Contribute to a community ofrenda
- Watch live music and performances
- Engage with hands-on art activities
- Installation by artist Cal Duran
- Bilingual children’s theatre show, Raquel’s Purple Pineapple Adventures
- See ofrendas created by local school and community groups
- Food and drink available for purchase
- Shop at a mercado with food vendors and artisans
- A children’s costume parade will be held on both days
If you don’t feel comfortable celebrating with us this year, we understand. We will see you next year!
At the Celebration
Performances
Saturday, Nov. 1
- 4:30–5 p.m.: Mariachi Tigre
- 5:15–5:45 p.m.: Children’s Costume Parade
- 6–6:30 p.m.: Ballet Folklorico de Barajas
- 7–7:30 p.m.: Mando Efectivo
Saturday, Nov. 2
- 1–1:30 p.m.: Ritmo y Sabor Hispanidad
- 1:45–2:15 p.m.: Children’s Costume Parade
- 2:30–3 p.m.: Mariachi Tigre
- 3:30–4 p.m.: Mando Efectivo
Food & Drink
Available for purchase.
- Kathia’s Pastry
- Bar provided by Bon Appétit (credit card only)
Activities
- Sugar skull (calaveras) decorating
- Button making
- Mask decorating for the children’s costume parade
- Face-painting (for a fee)
- Bilingual children’s theatre show, Raquel’s Purple Pineapple Adventures (tickets start at $18)
Mercado
Artisan creations available for purchase from:
Community Ofrenda
Participate in the construction of a community ofrenda in Taste throughout both days of Día de Muertos. Ofrendas (or offerings) are altars created to honor those who have died and are traditionally filled with photographs, food, flowers, and candles. All are welcome to bring these elements or others that celebrate someone special in your life who has passed. A digital printer will be available for those who wish to print a photo during the celebration. Please refrain from bringing alcohol, tobacco, or anything flammable and note that we are unable to return any items left on the ofrenda. Contributing to the community ofrenda is free and will be open on Nov. 1 and 2. At the conclusion of Día de Muertos, messages and memories will be placed in a sacred fire with love and care to commit them to the cosmos.
Installation by Artist Cal Duran
Cal Duran is a Queer, Two Spirit, Indigenous, Native, Mixed blood, Latinx, Manito, Mestizo, Chicanx, Indian Artist, and Arts Educator from Colorado. He has roots that bridge India, Mexico, and the natives of this land. He finds himself exploring parallels between his hybrid identities found in myth, religion, and ritual.
He has shown altars, installations and artwork in museums and galleries throughout the Denver Metro area and beyond. He continues to honor his ancestors and recently created a room at Meow Wolf in Denver, honoring the Indigenous tribes of Colorado and the Americas. It was through art that he began to connect to his ancestors. He is guided by these ancestors to create altars as beacons of light for the ones beyond this realm.
As a youth educator, Cal understands how important art is for our next generation in creating safe spaces and helping youth find their voice. He is honored to weave his vision of ancestral knowledge in order to guide others as they seek to reconnect to ancestors, create altars and remember where they came from. He gives gratitude and love to everyone working hard to create a world full of love, joy, and creativity.
In the Museum
Ofrendas
Ofrendas created by local schools and community groups will be on view in the museum.
Gathering Place
Explore the diverse histories, cultures, and artistic voices of the Southwest, and beyond, through works from the FAC’s permanent collection. Learn more
Agents of Care Gallery
Join the museum collections team to explore selections from the museum’s permanent collection.
In the Theatre
Raquel’s Purple Pineapple Adventures
Nov. 1, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Nov. 2, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Tickets start at $18
Enhance your experience at Día de Muertos by attending our bilingual children’s theatre show, Raquel’s Purple Pineapple Adventures! All Raquel wants to do is help her family run their campground in the Colorado mountains, but the worst has happened: summer school! She is having trouble reading but never fear, Pinkie the Purple Pineapple is here to save the day. Is Pinkie imaginary? Is she real? Maybe it doesn’t matter since she teaches Raquel to overcome her fears.
In this bilingual show, you’ll hear a mix of English and Spanish. But don’t worry! No matter which language you speak, you and your kids will easily be able to follow along.
About Día de Muertos
Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a tradition that dates back around 3,000 years in Latin America. Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztec, Toltec, Quechua, Mapuche, and others hold a cyclical view of the universe in which death is an integral part of life. The dead are still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit, and are welcomed back to Earth during el Día de Muertos.
The revival of the observance of Día de Muertos in the United States is part of the Mexican American reclamation of Indigenous identity that began with the Chicano Movement, which spanned from the 1940s to the 1970s. This celebration continues to evolve in different ways in various regions, illustrating the importance of reclaiming cultural heritage and tradition. Within the United States, it has evolved as a mix of Latin American Indigenous practices, Roman Catholic spiritual traditions, and diasporic Hispano/a, and Latinx American cultural expression. Like many holidays, it is celebrated in different ways by individuals, families, and communities. Ofrendas (offerings) are made to honor those who have passed and often make creative or socially engaged statements.
Interested in sponsoring Día de Muertos?
Check out our sponsorship package or contact Cristina Gonzales at cagonzales@coloradocollege.edu.
Help Keep Día de Muertos Free for All!
This celebration honors our ancestors and brings our community together—at no cost to attendees. With your support, we can continue to offer this vibrant cultural experience to everyone, year after year. Donate today
Your contribution ensures that this tradition lives on and grows even brighter!
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College welcomes participants with disabilities. Please contact Frances Huntington, fac@coloradocollege.edu, (719) 477-4360 to request accommodations. Advance notice may be necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
Land Acknowledgement
Colorado College occupies the ancestral homelands and traditional territory of the Ute People, as well as Apache, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee Nations. All were forcibly removed to reservations in Southwest Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma. We affirm that early United States national policy was designed to breakdown Indigenous communities, destroy cultural identities, and outlaw traditional religious practices to clear a path for non-Indigenous settlement. Despite that, Indigenous Peoples are still here today, resilient, thriving, and vibrant citizens or descendants of 574 US federally-recognized sovereign tribal nations plus those from north and south of the US borders and beyond. We encourage all people to learn the names and the complex histories of original people of the land you are on and continuously seek ways to act in solidarity with them today and always.