Día de los Muertos: This elegant and ethereal gathering has become beloved for its elaborate altars, its line-up of performers, and the beautiful costumes of those in attendance. The theme in 2019 is the Monarch Butterfly, with more inspiration drawn from the Mexican state of Michoacán, where the winged icon is often seen fluttering. On the stage? Lido Pimenta, the Delirians, and several more artists who will connect with this meaningful occasion. The date? It's Saturday, Nov. 2, and, once again, the reveling will last a full 12 hours, beginning at noon. Tickets? Flutter, butterflies, by this site.
Day of the Dead: Other calacas-focused festivities will flower throughout the region this weekend, like so many marigold blooms. Canoga Park's long-running celebration will take place on Sherman Way on Nov. 3, while incredible altars remain on view at Grand Park through Nov. 3 (there's a screening of "Coco" at Music Center Plaza on that day, too). And at Olvera Street? The nightly Novenario processions continue through Saturday, Nov. 2, adding more joy, reflection, and memory to the moving holiday.
Grand Ave. Arts: All Access: If you're thinking of calling upon Grand Park on Nov. 2, and you do so between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., you'll find a host of art-amazing workshops, and dance performances, and DJs, and a beer garden, too. It's a celebration of the thoroughfare's cultural bounty, one that has a special place for kids and families looking to create little piñatas and make other crafts of the season. Entry is free, but if you're planning on enjoying a brew, or eating in the area, you'll want to have money on hand.
Dapper Day: It's been a costume-driven week, there's no doubt about it, but the opportunities to don a few extra feathers and fripperies is not over. For that vintage-loving, get-fancy, wear-your-best bash known as Dapper Day is returning to Disneyland Resort on Sunday, Nov. 3. If you want to enter the parks, you'll need a ticket, but you can visit Downtown Disney District for free. There's also the ticketed Dapper Day Expo, at the Disneyland Hotel, where clothing purveyors, jewelry sellers, and live music will take the stylish spotlight.
Drama After Dark: Halloween may be ending, but we're still in the mood for some ghostly tales of yore, the sorts of yarns that fit these earlier nights and our November moods. Look to Porticos Art Space, in Pasadena, for "an evening of chilling drama" featuring Edgar Allan Poe and Edgar Gorey, those masters of the macabre and mirthful, respectively. Should you swan inside while decked out in your Victorian finery to the Nov. 2 affair? Absolutely, if that suits you. The spookiest season is coming to a close, but our fascination with the frightful doesn't have to end.
