Flowers to attract souls of the dead. What to know about Day of the Dead weekend events
El Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, has its roots in the fall-time celebrations of pre-Columbian Mexico and Central America as a way to honor the dead.
Typically celebrated on the first two days of November, Raleigh is hosting Día de Oakwood, a series of free weekend events beginning Friday afternoon to share this special Mexican holiday with the city.
Raleigh’s Historic Oakwood Cemetery will host the weekend’s activities, which are open to families and children.
The celebration will include a major art installation of a community Day of the Dead altar, adorned with sugar skulls and overflowing with the rich golden-orange of marigolds, known as cempasúchil in Mexico.
Cempasúchil flowers are believed to attract the souls of the dead to come and accept the offerings laid out for them and to visit their living family members.
Día de Oakwood is a collaboration between between the organizers of the annual Day of the Dead 5k, Angela Salamanca and Natalia Campbell, the Oakwood Cemetery director Robin Simonton, and Raleigh-based Mexican-American artist Peter Marín.
Marín is the artistic director and creator of the altar showcases, which will feature photos of deceased loved ones from residents around the community.
Here’s a list of the weekend’s events:
Friday altar inauguration
Friday, 5 to 8 p.m.: Día de Oakwood will kick off at 701 Oakwood Ave. with an inauguration of the altar installation, which will open to the public.
An altar ceremony will be followed by folkloric dance presentations by Danza Guerreros Quetzalcoatl, the Baile Folclorico Vicky children’s dance group and Baile Orgullo y Alma Latina.
Claudia Velasco, the Mexican Consul for Raleigh will speak at the inauguration along with the event’s organizers.
Performances of traditional music from Hidalgo in Mexico will follow with Trio Titeres Huastecos and a dance performance by Flor de HIdalgo.
The full schedule can be viewed at this link.
There will be food vendors and free face painting.
Annual Day of the Dead 5k
Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon: The 11th Day of the Dead 5K and Street Festival will be hosted outside Centro restaurant on 106 S. Wilmington Street in downtown Raleigh.
The race begins at 10 a.m. and is followed by a street festival with activities that include face painting, a children’s race dash, a costume contest, children’s arts and crafts and dance performances.
The popular local group Paperhand Puppet Intervention will perform before and after the race.
There will be two Day of the Dead altars set up at Oakwood Cemetery and also on Wilmington Street for the public to place offerings, messages and other gifts in memory of their loved ones.
You can register online for the 5k race at this link.
Sunday events at Oakwood Cemetery
Sunday, from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: The family-friendly events will return to Oakwood Cemetery on Sunday afternoon including dance and poetry performances, altar ceremonies, face painting and a free outdoor screening of the Pixar movie Coco on the lawn.
On Nov. 2, official Día de Muertos ceremonies, performances and closing remarks will be held to close out the holiday.
A Catrina parade featuring the famous Mexican artistic skeleton will be held, and the public is encouraged to dress as the Catrina.
A full schedule for Thursday’s events is available at this link.
