Get ready for the 13th installment of the ever popular and spirited festival of remembrance and revelry: Florida Day of the Dead Celebration! At this time of the year, it is believed that the gateway between Mictlan, the ancient Aztec land of the dead, and our own opens up so we can dance and sing with our lost loved ones for one special time of the year. By popular demand starting in 2022, we will be hosting our FREE main festival on the first Saturday in November and adding a candlelight ceremony at 7pm on November 2nd at Stache, 109 SW 2nd Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, to celebrate our beloved souls.
The Celebration is a creative spectacle honoring Mexican and Latin American traditions while generating modern interpretations that connect with a broad spectrum of participants. Rooted in community, this event embraces a universe of ideas from a legion of talented skull inspired artists, mariachi musicians, painted performers and enthusiastic skeleton clad revelers. This skeleton-inspired celebration is centered at Riverwalk – Fort Lauderdale and Revolution Live Entertainment Complex in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Participants will begin to gather FRIDAY for CALAVERAS IN THE PLAZA at 4PM in Huizenga Plaza on Las Olas Boulevard. There will be craft activities, including mask and puppet making, along with sugar skull face painting to help the little ones prepare for the event. It will be underscored by traditional live music and dancing on stage.
The main event spectacle begins when the community will converge in traditional skeleton garb at Fort Lauderdale’s Huizenga Plaza for the SKELETON PROCESSIONAL. At 5:30 pm, led by Event Founder Jim Hammond from PUPPET NETWORK and his giant skeleton puppets, almost 30 giant puppets up to 19’ tall and hundreds of skeletons will follow Mariachi Musicians from the Mexican American Council along Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale towards SW 3rd Avenue in a colorful sidewalk parade through the Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk District.
The Processional ends at the FOLKLORICO STAGE at SW 3rd Avenue which will be closed for our MUERTOS STREET FESTIVAL from 5-11PM. On the Stage, experience the best traditional folkloric dance and mariachi in South Florida. There will be original indie art and crafts for sale in the CRAFT CRYPT around Revolution Live and Backyard. Craft projects, face painting and more will be available for children in LOS ANGELITOS VILLAGE. Interspersed throughout, you will find art installations, pop up ofrendas, mask making art tents, Latin American food trucks and interactive street performers. Inside Backyard, New Orleans style brass bands will wake the dead at the BONEYARD BANDSTAND.
All of these free workshops and events are funded by our generous sponsors including Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale, City of Fort Lauderdale, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Consulate General of Mexico in Miami, Mexican American Council, Broward County Cultural Division, National Endowment for the Arts, Damn Good Hospitality, Puppet Network and many more.
To get our details on ALL of our events and to stay current on our updates, visit our website: www.dayofthedeadflorida.com and check out the full list of events on our Facebook pages.
Memory for the Dead, Party for the Living!