Weekend

Things to Do This Weekend: Día de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever

Gather at the storied cemetery for a day-into-night revelry, one that remembers those who've gone beyond through art, altars, dress, and dance.

AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP via Getty Images

What to Know

  • Día de los Muertos and Noche de los Muertos
  • Saturday, Oct. 29 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
  • $55 and up

Día de los Muertos and Noche de los Muertos: One of the West Coast's most colossal conventions of incredible calacas will dance into its 23rd year at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Over 100 elaborate altars will dot the grounds, performances by Aztec ritual dancers are beautiful centerpieces, and costumed guests bring an air of sweetness, solemnity, and the ethereal to the Oct. 29 festivity. It's a powerful and poignant observance of the Day of the Dead, the world beyond, and the in-between place we find ourselves respectfully occupying as October concludes. Eager for more mysterious Muertos merriment? Find other SoCal events now.

Halloween's Big Weekend: If you've been planning on visiting one of our region's wickedly entertaining scare-stravaganzas, the moment to do so, at least for this year, is very much here. Because once the clock strikes midnight, or thereabouts, on Oct. 31? The ghosts do have a way of dematerializing. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott's Scary Farm in Buena Park, Six Flags Fright Fest, and other major monster-packed parties are now roaring into their final days. But you say that you're seeking a family-fun version of theme park eeks? Knott's Spooky Farm and Halloween Time at Disneyland are still delivering the playful pumpkin-a-tude.

More Not-Too-Frightful Family Fun: Over 20 large-scale inflatables are delighting tots at the first-ever Happy Hauntings OC in Irvine. Boonion Station will offer free fun, and trick-or-treating, at Union Station on both Oct. 29 and 30. LA Zoo also has weekend trick-or-treat stations, as well as a host of eeked-out educational activities (so cool). And other happy haunted happenings are dotting the map, with nighttime events, pumpkin patches, science museum frolics, and more coming up (just confirm times, dates, and reservation policies before you go).

Día de los Muertos in Perris: Dance performances, beautiful music, and more ethereal activities will weave through this Oct. 30 celebration presented by Bordando Nuestra Raíces. A Catrines and Catrina Contest, an altar competition for students, a host of foods and vendors, and more sweetness will bring tradition, meaning, and more to the free festival. The place? The Railway Museum. The time? It's an afternoon-into-evening affair, beginning at 2 o'clock.

Danny Elfman at the Hollywood Bowl: Mischief, movie magic, heartfelt ballads, high-energy ska, and perfect pop ditties weave through the music of this maestro, an artist famed for his work fronting Oingo Boingo, his forever-iconic turn singing for Jack Skellington in "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas," and all of his many mirthful film scores. Now he's under the big shell, in Tinseltown, for one of his popular Halloweentime shows, a SoCal tradition. Make that two shows: He's revisiting his "Nightmare" work, "Simpsons" songs, and other gems on Oct. 28 and 29.

Anaheim Halloween Parade and Fall Festival: As far as venerable and vivacious and float-acious and fun-acious free fiestas go, this decades-old party is one of the awesomely Anaheim-iest. It's just a giant and joyful community celebration, with creative outfits, floats, a doggie costume contest, a home-decorating contest, a big Halloween Tree in the center of downtown, and all sorts of sights that pay tribute to the most imaginative stretch of the calendar. Oh yes: And Andy Anaheim, the vintage mascot, will make a cute cameo at the Oct. 29 event, signaling that Halloween in Southern California is well and truly here.

Universal Studios and NBC-owned TV stations operate under the same parent company NBCUniversal.

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