Día de los Muertos 5K & Festival

Join us for a 5K spin through the cemetery and vibrant festival celebrating Día de los Muertos - it's a day full of fun, food and culture!
About this Event

Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum hosts the area’s only cemetery-based Dia de los Muertos festival!

Walk/Run

The day kicks off with a 5K run/2K walk through the cemetery. Free Dia de los Muertos festival t-shirt with all registrations. Register now

Festival

Grab lunch at a food truck and enjoy:

• Traditional music featuring Mariachis and a DJ
• Local dance groups
• Vendors at the festival Mercado
• Traditional decorations including cempazuchi, papel picado and hand-made catrinas
• Ofrendas (offerings to the dead) and nicho boxes in the chapel and Halls of History, made by local schools and community groups
• New this year: Tapetes, or carpets, of sawdust and organic material depicting layful images of death
• Procesión de las Almas - a local priest leads a peaceful walk through the cemetery that ends in the chapel
• Free activities including face painting and decorating sugar skulls
• Non-profit community resources

*The 5K fee supports the walk/run experience, and the rest benefits Forest Home Historic Preservation Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to preserve the historic stuctures and arboretum and share the history of the cemetery through educational programs and public outreach.

Agenda

🕑: 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Run/walk check-in
🕑: 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
5K Run/2K Walk
🕑: 07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Food truck setup
🕑: 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Vendors, community resources set up
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Mariachis welcome runners/walkers
🕑: 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Festival open to the public
🕑: 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Student and community ofrendas on display in the chapel
🕑: 10:30 AM
5K awards
🕑: 10:45 AM
Forest Home Avenue gates open to cars
🕑: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Procesión de las Almas to chapel
🕑: 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Mariachis play around the festival