Mesa Arts Center Hosts Dia de los Muertos Festival, 10/27 & 28

Today, Oct. 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 28, from noon to 5 p.m., the Mesa Arts Center campus will host a celebration of the memory of departed loved ones with the Sixth Annual Dia de los Muertos Festival. This festival is a community celebration complete with live entertainment, food, a Mercado featuring traditional and contemporary merchandise, jewelry, Mexican arts & crafts from local artisans and vendors, children's activities, five contemporary altars designed by artist Juan Olalde, and more.

Dia de los Muertos Celebration is presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, Friends of Mexican Art, Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens, and the Mesa Latino Town Hall. Admission and parking to this event are free to the public. In the spirit of traditional Dia de los Muertos festivities, the community altar will be the centerpiece for the festival, where attendees can leave mementos in honor of their loved ones who have passed. Kyllan Maney and Lauren Lee will be creating a custom Dia de Los Muertos Katrina painting as well as the chalk art on the community altar. In addition, Mesa Arts Center is asking the community to create paper flowers and deliver them to be used to embellish the final altar.

This year, Mesa Arts Center is proud to be partnering with Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez with multiple performances, workshops and events. Today, Oct. 27, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the magnificent Ikeda Theater. Sponsored by Wells Fargo, on Sunday, Oct. 28, the Ballet will hold two 60-minute performances at 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m., in the Ikeda Theater, for only $5. On Sunday afternoon, guests will gather at 4 p.m. to participate in a procession at 4:30 p.m., led by Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez. Leading up to the celebration, Mesa Arts Center will conduct Ballet Folklorico de Mexico workshops for local elementary schools.

The Farnsworth Theater will display a group of community-designed altars, as well as a special altar created by noted Mesa artist, Virginia Aguero. Ms. Aguero has had a long and celebrated career in the visual arts, and has been active in the Mesa community for decades. Guests can participate in the Altar contest and create their own traditional or contemporary altar. Ten altars from the contest will be put on display in our Farnsworth Studio.

The celebration will feature special performances by the Mariachi Passion, Radiant Sky-Flute/Guitar Duo, Fiesta Mexicana Dance, Nuance Jazz Trio, Andres Martinez y Ritmo Latino, the Taylor Troupe Stiltwalkers, and many more. There will be a 90-minute workshop on Saturday at 3 p.m. by Mariachi Viva and Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez.

Midfirst Bank and the Rotary Club have teamed up to match donations given to the coin van located on our campus. We encourage our guests to donate any cash or change in their pockets to the coin van, as all proceeds will go towards arts education for children at the Mesa Arts Center.

In addition to the arts and educational activities planned for the festival, there will be multiple food vendors serving a wide variety of traditional Mexican snacks and a multitude of beverages.

Spend the weekend at Mesa Arts Center and experience a celebration of life and Mexican heritage like no other.

Information: Complete details, including instructions on how to make paper flowers for the Dia de los Muertos Celebration and the entire entertainment line-up can be found at www.MesaArtsCenter.com.