Día de los Muertos at Civic Center || Día de los Muertos en Civic Center

Beautifully decorated altars created by local non-profits and community-centered organizations honoring deceased loved ones, adorned with marigolds, candles, photographs, and offerings of food and drink.

Organizations represented:

• BIPOC Witches of Denver
• The Blue Bench
• Casa de Paz
• The Center on Colfax
• Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
• Corazon Azteca
• Creative Strategies for Change
• Denver Children’s Advocacy Center
• Denver Public Schools Multilingual Education
• Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe
• MIEL Organization
• Organización Papagayo
• Radian in partnership with Sasaki, Downtown Denver Partnership, and Denver Community Planning and Development
• WellPower

• Encounter larger-than-life sculptures and other artworks by Cal Duran depicting Mesoamerican imagery located throughout the park.
• Thanks to the Denver Botanic Gardens, a selection of sculptures from their Calacas y Catrinas exhibition by several artists will be displayed around the Greek Theatre.

Live performances of traditional Mexican music and folkloric dance, poetry and storytelling embodying the rich cultural heritage of Día de los Muertos, curated by Jon Romero of Dragonfly Endeavors.

Schedule
All performances will take place at the Seal Pond (North end of the Promenade) unless otherwise noted.

• 11am – 12pm Azteca Danza Grupo Huitzilopochtli (Greek Theatre)
• 12 – 12:30pm ArtistiCO Dance Academy
• 12:30 – 1:30pm Melissa Ivey and The Future Ancestors 
• 2:00 – 2:30pm Poetry reading by Elena Guerrero Townsend
• 2:30 – 3:00pm Storytelling by Jerry Lawson
• 3:30 – 4:15pm Fiesta Colorado
• 4:30 – 5:30pm Catrina and Catrín costume contest (see contest details below)
• 6:00 – 6:45pm Procession led by Cal Duran and the Colorado Youth Mariachi Program (begins at the Welcome Arch, Broadway Terrace)
• 6:45 – 7:00pm Azteca Danza Grupo Huitzilopochtli  (Greek Theatre)

Local artisan vendors present unique, hand-made crafts, art, and jewelry in El Mercadito (“little market”).

Participating Vendors:

• Abuelita’s Tiendita
• Ana Marina Studio
• Arte Juyai
• Cempaxochilt Arts 
• Cultura Chocolate
• Eastlosarte
• Elsa’s Designs
• Emy’s Parties
• Finessed Media 
• HiJinx House Collective
• Kay Carre’ Creations
• Larkstone & Moon
• Luna Rosa Designs
• Mad Hare Press
• midnightscreeningart
• ML Ramirez Art
• Old Soul Henna
• Refried Rockabilly
• YAMZ: World of Color

Local Indigenous and other non-Western healers will offer cleanses, tinctures, and spiritual rituals in the Cúrate Corner (“heal yourself”).

Participating Practitioners:

• Curios Nature
• Magia Botanica
• Ollin Scared Energy 444
• Slow Integration Coaching
• Urtica Candles
• Witch Wellness
• Brown Healing Marketplace

On-site food trucks offering a range of delicious traditional Mexican and Latin-American cuisine. There will be a selection of both savory and sweet dishes plus traditional Mexican hot and iced beverages.

Participating Vendors:

• Cachai Chilean Food
• D’Toque Salvadoran Food
• Flavor of Tabasco
• La Reyna del Sur
• Mama’s Empanadas
• Marquez Food Truck
• The MooVment

We are pleased to partner with the Center on Colfax and Denver Public Library to present a program of youth programming taking place inside the McNichols Building (located at the Northwest corner of Civic Center Park).

Storytime with the Denver Public Library: 12pm (Spanish), 2pm (Bilingual), 4pm (Bilingual)

• Join the Denver Public Library throughout the day for three Día de Muertos story times in English and Spanish. Afterward, head over to the Nook to pick a book from our free library to take home and sign up for a library card. 

Calavera Keychain Craft with the Center on Colfax: 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm

• Join The Center on Colfax on decorating calavera (skull) keychains to evoke the tradition of decorating sugar skulls. Sugar skulls represent the sweetness of life. They are a way to remember and celebrate the loved ones who have already passed.

All are invited to bring a photocopy of a departed loved one as an ofrendato add to a community altar (ofrenda) within the Greek Theater.

We encourage you to bring the following items:

• Photocopy of loved ones
• Sealed food products
• Flowers
• Messages to loved ones
• Images of saints

Please do not bring the following items:

• Glass
• Incense or other materials that will be lit on fire
• Alcohol
• Unsealed food products
•  

All are invited to dress up as a Calavera Catrina and enter our contest, taking place at 4:30 pm in front of the Seal Pond.

How to Participate

• Sign-up sheets will be available starting at 11am at the Civic Center Conservancy Info Tent, located just off the main promenade. Sign-up will close at 4PM.
• Contestants will be asked to gather at the performance area near the Seal Pond (North side of the promenade at 4:15pm.
• Three categories, each with a $100 prize.
  • Kids Costume: ages 6-14
  • Adult Individual Costume: ages 15 and up
  • Couples Costume: ages 6 and up
• Rules
  • Costumes must embody the traditional Catrina character, but creative adaptations are encouraged.
  • They must be made with good taste and respect the spirit of the occasion.
  • No objectionable elements: Costumes may not include nudity, gore, graphic violence, swearing, or other objectionable elements.
  • Unique design: Contestants are encouraged to be unique and authentic in their design.

All are welcome to join in for the Procession, led by Cal Duran and the Colorado Youth Mariachi Program!

• • Starts at 6PM at the Welcome Arch, located on Broadway Terrace (east side of the park)
  • We encourage you to bring candles (pillar candles in containers only, please) as well as your own instruments.
  • The procession will go through Civic Center Park as conclude at 6:45pm at the Greek Theatre in front of the Earth Mother Mandala and Community Ofrenda.