Diá de los Muertos

Corazón Healdsburg in partnership with the City of Healdsburg are thrilled to announce the return of the annual Día De Los Muertos celebration on October 27th. Join the community to honor those that have passed in a festive celebration featuring live music, traditional dance performances, children’s art activities, an ofrenda altar, and much more.

Día de los Muertos is a Latino cultural holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and by people of Latino heritage. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. This event has gained incredible momentum since its founding. Starting in 2016 with 1,000 attendees, our event grew to 2,500 participants in 2017 then to 5,000 attendees in 2018. Taking place in the center of the Healdsburg Plaza and surrounding streets, Healdsburg is transformed into a colorful and majestic scene filled with marigolds, costumes, and live music. The event attracts a diverse audience by selecting top-tier musicians and dance groups that have a following from around the region and state. Visit our website as the event gets closer for the full line-up of music, dancers and entertainment. 

Healdsburg's Día de los Muertos festival is gaining a strong reputation as a tangible, inclusive effort to bring traditionally separated subsets of our community together in an accessible, non-threatening manner. We carefully design the event to remove barriers to attendance, including cost, language barriers, or unfamiliarity with content. Instead, we celebrate a deeply meaningful holiday from the largest non-Anglo segment of our town so that we can demonstrate appreciation and respect for this significant part of our community.

Healdsburg is aware of its own cultural divide and wants to eliminate the feeling of separation in our community--the exponential growth in attendance as well as Corazón Healdsburg's success and growth are proof. As a neutral, trusted nonprofit convener with strong relationships with all community segments, we feel a deep sense of responsibility and a strong sense of purpose as the producers of this event. Locals can participate by setting up altars in their business or home windows, hanging an event poster and displaying marigolds. Local schools and community groups can decorate an altar to have on display in the plaza. Over $40,000 of the event budget is spent locally to produce this event. In 2018, a record 5,000 attendees enjoyed our event, and we are expecting 5,500 in 2019. We are grateful to the City of Healdsburg, PG&E, and the Hotel Tourism Improvement District for their sponsorship of this year’s Día de los Muertos. For more information on Día de los Muertos or for sponsorship opportunities, contact Ariel Kelley, Chief Executive Officer, at ariel@corazonhealdsburg.org or 707-385-1282.