Día de los Muertos - New York Botanical Garden
Please help us keep this calendar up to date! If this activity is sold out, canceled, or otherwise needs alteration, email mindy@kidsoutandabout.com so we can update it immediately. If you have a question about the activity itself, please contact the organization administrator listed below.
Our Ofrenda: Community Altar
Remember and honor loved ones who have passed away by adding a photograph or a written memory to our communal alter. Please note that all items contributed to the altar will become part of the installation and will not be returned. Offerings of food and candles are not permitted.
Hands-On Traditions: The Art of Papel Picado & Silk Flowers
October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, & 25; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
October 31 & November 2; 1 to 5 p.m.
Create vibrant and unique silk flowers to wear and take home, and discover the medicinal plants and botanical traditions that inspire Bronx-based teaching artist Blanka Amezkua. Join the artist in learning the traditional Mexican art of papel picado by creating miniature decorative banners.
Folk Music Performances
October 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, & 25
Sets at 11 a.m., 12, & 1 p.m.
Entrance to Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Enjoy live musical performances by a local band bringing the sounds of Mexico to Día de los Muertos.
Son Pecadores is a collective of jaraneros based in NYC, dedicated to learning and promoting son jarocho music on the East Coast. Son jarocho is a style of Mexican folk music and dance mainly from the state of Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico. It represents a blend of musical and cultural elements of indigenous, Spanish, and African origins.
Fun for Kids
Guided Activities: Tuesday through Friday: 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday, & Monday Holidays: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Special events on select dates
Explore the symbols, colors, and stories associated with this special holiday while learning about the importance of remembrance, family, and cultural traditions. Enjoy a selection of rotating activities with your loved ones, like potting up your own marigold and reading through a new story trail featuring The Ofrenda That We Built, by Jolene and Shaian Gutiérrez.
Procession of Puppets
Select Dates & Times
Throughout the Garden
Internationally known artist Lucrecia Novoa showcases her giant hand-made skeleton, La Catrina, and monarch butterfly puppets created especially for NYBG, inviting visitors to snap a photo and share in the up-close wonder of Mascara Viva’s artistry. Mascara Viva brings her art to life by creating large-scale character puppets using masks, costumes, storytelling, and dance to interpret traditions and stories across cultures.
Mexican Folk Dance Performances by MAZarte
October 31 & November 2
Performances every half-hour from 1 to 5 p.m.
Select locations throughout the grounds
Inspired by traditional dances from several regions of Mexico, MAZarte Dance Company brings folk dance to the Garden. Their choreography embodies the fusion of Mexico’s old and new dances for future generations, and incorporates zapateado (foot stomping) techniques to evoke the sound of joyful celebration to call the spirits back to us.
Sing Along with Bilingual Birdies
October 31 & November 1; 1, 3, & 4 p.m.
Circle Grass Area in Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
Join Bilingual Birdies for a special Día de los Muertos concert celebration in Spanish and English. Families are encouraged to bring photos of lost loved ones. Together we’ll have a joyous afternoon honoring their memories through live music, dance, and puppetry. Little ones will get to learn new words in Spanish and be a part of an epic dance party!
Día de los Muertos Parade
November 1; 1 to 5 p.m.
Select locations
Join us for a parade and celebration of Día de los Muertos featuring larger-than-life puppets and live dance, wearable art-making activities, and a cumbia sonidera class to get you moving!
1 p.m. | Welcome & Crafts
Enjoy a selection of hands-on, wearable art making activities to prepare for the parade.
2 p.m. | Día de los Muertos Parade
Join the parade and celebrate Día de los Muertos with us! Led by Son Pecadores musicians and dancers as well as Mascara Viva’s larger-than-life puppets—La Catrina, skeletons, and monarch butterflies—you can follow the music together in this joyful procession.
2:30 p.m. | Performance by MAZarte
Daffodil Hill Main Stage
After the parade, take a seat and enjoy a lively performance by MAZarte Dance Company, featuring traditional Mexican music and dance from Veracruz.
3:15 p.m. | Cumbia Sonidera Dance Class with CoolMarx
Daffodil Hill Main Stage
Learn basic cumbia sonidera steps with dance instructor CoolMarx and dancers Kacia and Cinthya. Though cumbia originated in Colombia, it has found a home in Mexico as well, where local musicians adapted the genre and created the distinctive rhythms and sounds of Mexican cumbia and its DJs, known as sonideros. Born and raised in Queens and now based in Brooklyn, Mark Saldana, a.k.a. CoolMarx, embraces all regional variations of cumbia in his community-based dance lessons—from cumbia sonidera and colombiana to ecuatoriana, peruana, and mexicana.
3:30 to 5 p.m. | Dance Party & Activities
Daffodil Hill
Dance to live musical performances and join in on fandango community-led dance and musical moments with Son Pecadores. Take photos with Lucrecia’s puppets; enjoy food selections and craft making; and participate in sharing joyful, happy memories of loved ones who have passed.
Featured Partners:
- Crochet Workshop
Join Carmen Paulino for a workshop offering a welcoming, safe space where beginners and experienced makers can learn, create, and connect. Participants can explore new techniques for crocheting Día de los Muertos designs, learn new stitches, and find inspiration for future projects while keeping their hands busy and their creativity flowing. Carmen Paulino is a New York City-based community fiber artist and crochet instructor known for transforming public spaces through vibrant yarn installations and community-centered art. -
Mask MakingCreate a one-of-a-kind skull mask with Blanka Amezkua to take home, display, or wear during our Día de los Muertos celebration as we honor memory, heritage, and the enduring connection between generations! Rooted in the belief that the afterlife holds a profound importance alongside life on Earth, the skull serves as a powerful symbol connecting worlds, the living, and those who came before us.
*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.