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Best Día de los Muertos and Day of the Dead Celebrations for NYC Kids

Día de los Muertos Week in the Flatiron District kicks off Monday, October 28, with interactive activities and events running all week long. Photo courtesy of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership
Día de los Muertos Week in the Flatiron District kicks off Monday, October 28, with interactive activities and events running all week long. Photo courtesy of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership
10/11/24 - By Drew Kristofik

Día de los Muertos is a vibrant Mexican holiday, and we've rounded up 15 Day of the Dead events in NYC where kids and families can celebrate the holiday and honor the memories of loved ones. Head to the Children's Museum of Manhattan for performances, crafts, and storytimes, create Nicho boxes at Wave Hill, or make a day of it in Green-Wood Cemetery!

When Is Dia de los Muertos?

The Day of the Dead officially takes place on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, 2024, and coincides with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. It is a beloved Mexican tradition celebrated since pre-Hispanic times during which families welcome the souls of their departed loved ones. Holiday festivities include building ofrendas (altars) adorned with marigolds and making pan de muertos bread. Candles, sugar skulls, photos, and mementos are used to honor the deceased.

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Día de los Muertos Events in NYC

Día de los Muertos Community Day at the Morris Jumel Mansion

Washington Heights – FREE
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Celebrate the Latin American tradition of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, by making sugar skull masks, crafting paper marigolds, and creating colorful papel picado. Enjoy music, sweet surprises, and the chance to connect with fellow community members. READ MORE

La MaMa Kids: Mexican Mask Making Workshop

Lower East Side
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Kids learn how to make a traditional alebrije mask, influenced by pre-hispanic cultures. In the Zapotec tradition, fathers assigned an animal protector to every newborn, known as Tona. In the Nahua culture, Tonas are spirited animals that eventually become nahuales (a human with the ability to transform into their Tona-Animal). READ MORE

Día de los Muertos at The Met Cloisters

Inwood
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Celebrate Día de los Muertos, a day of remembrance honoring loved ones who have passed away, with art making, storytime, music, and community storytelling, throughout the grounds and gardens of the beautiful Met Cloisters. READ MORE

Day of the Dead at St. Mark's Church in the Bowery

East Village – FREE
Friday, October 24-Sunday, October 27, 2024
Mano a Mano: Mexican Culture Without Borders hosts the largest Day of the Dead celebration in New York City, with art-making, live music, and more. Bring copies of photos, notes, and letters to honor your ancestors at the beautiful ofrenda. READ MORE

Folk Art: Mexican Day of the Dead at Pelham Art Center

Pelham, the Bronx – FREE
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Renowned artist Zafiro Romero-Acevedo returns to the Pelham Art Center to share the history of one of Mexico’s richest cultural traditions. Festivities include a live performance by Mariachi Artístico, a free children’s workshop, and cultural items made in Mexico for available for purchase. READ MORE

Día de Muertos Week in the Flatiron District

Flatiron District – FREE
Monday, October 28, Wednesday, October 30, and Friday, November 1, 2024
The Flatiron NoMad Partnership expands its annual Día de los Muertos celebration to a full week of happenings, with free food samples at participating businesses (while supplies last), a family-friendly event at Capitol Plaza, and more.  READ MORE

Día de los Muertos Family Celebration in Green-Wood Cemetery – Wait List Only

Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn – FREE
Friday, November 1, 2024
Throughout Mexico, from October 31 to November 2, departed loved ones are commemorated through prayer, offerings, altars, music, dance, and food. Spend the afternoon celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with crafts, storytelling, and snacks. READ MORE

Day of the Dead at Corona Plaza

Corona, Queens – FREE
Friday, November 1, 2024
QEDC hosts its fourth annual Day of the Dead event. This cherished Mexican tradition allows families to honor their departed loved ones through colorful altars, offerings, and joyful festivities. Face painting, an altar, food, and music await. READ MORE

Día de los Muertos Celebration at Queens County Farm Museum

Glen Oaks, Queens
Friday, November 1, 2024
Make custom ofrendas, or offerings, out of shoe boxes, and decorate them colorfully. Learn about the four main elements of nature found in the altars—earth, wind, water, and fire—in the midst of colorful fall-blooming marigolds, known as cempasuchitl, or the "flower of the dead," which aids spirits in wandering back to the world of the living. READ MORE

Super Sabado: Día de los Muertos at El Museo del Barrio

East Harlem – FREE
Saturday, November 2, 2024
El Museo del Barrio celebrates the Day of the Dead with cultural performances, art-making activities, face painting, a communal altar, a Central Park procession, and more. READ MORE

November at CMOM: Día de Muertos,Diwali, Thanksgiving, and More

Upper West Side
Saturday, November 2, 2024
November at CMOM celebrates a variety of cultural holidays, including Diwali and Dia de los Muertos, plus Election Day, the meaning of Thanksgiving, and more. READ MORE

Día de los Muerto at the National Museum of the American Indian

Financial District – FREE
Saturday, November 2, 2024
The National Museum of the American Indian invites families to mark Dia de los Muertos with traditional dances by New York-based Aztec group Cetiliztli Nauhcampa around the community ofrenda (altar) and family-friendly activities that include crafting a paper marigold, making papel picado, and writing a note to a loved one who has passed. READ MORE

Día de los Muertos at King Manor

Jamaica, Queens – FREE
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Artist Sebastian Ramirez-Halfpap leads a workshop to help kids create their own Altar de Muerto and learn more about the traditions used to celebrate this holiday. READ MORE

Sou Sou! Saturdays: Celebrating Fet Gede and Dia de los Muertos at CCCADI

East Harlem – FREE
Saturday, November 2, 2024
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute hosts a free, family-friendly celebration exploring the cultural connections between Haitian Gede and Mexican Día de Los Muertos. Participate in immersive workshops on ancestral remembrance, altar-making and dance, led by culture bearers Yolie Leon, Kriyol Collective, and Kiire Family Wellness.  READ MORE

Day of the Dead 2024 at the Museum of the Moving Image

Astoria, Queens– FREE
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Celebrate a vibrant Day of the Dead at the Museum of the Moving Image with a performance of Aztec Mexica dance, ofrendas honoring loved ones who have died, fun digital media activities for kids and families, and music from Indigenous dance troupe Yayauhki Tezcatlipoka. Face-painting sessions are offered inspired by historical characters from Día de Muertos. READ MORE

Dia de los Muertos at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Brooklyn-based artist Mincho Vega returns as BCM’s guest curator to help families celebrate the traditions and histories of our ancestors from Latin America through art, dance, music, and food.   READ MORE

Family Art Project: Dia de los Muertos at Wave Hill

Riverdale, Bronx
Saturday, November 2-Sunday, November 3, 2024
Celebrate Día de los Muertos with family-friendly activities, including artmaking, storytelling, and more. Learn traditional Mexican folk-art techniques and customs to honor loved ones by making nicho boxes to share on a community ofrenda and papel picado, or punched paper, to design your own colorful banners to bring the celebration home with you.    READ MORE

Sugar Skull! A Día de Muertos Musical Adventure at Queens Theatre

Flushing, Queens
Sunday, November 3, 2024
This bilingual, bicultural musical for families uses traditional regional music and dance from Mexico to tell the story of 12-year-old Vita Flores, who thinks her family has gone loco planning a celebration for deceased loved ones. READ MORE

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