The best Día de los Muertos events in Los Angeles in 2026 are free, outdoors and run by people who have been doing this for decades. One is a Boyle Heights block party on Nov. 7. One is a set of altars in the middle of downtown that stay up through Nov. 2. The third is a walk through the oldest cemetery in the city.
This is the week after Halloween, and it’s a different holiday. Día de los Muertos is a remembrance of the dead, with food, flowers and photos of people who were loved. If you’re coming from our free Halloween list, leave the costume at home and bring some patience.
Grand Park: free altars in the middle of downtown
If you want free things to do in downtown LA this week, go to Gloria Molina Grand Park at 200 N Grand Ave. The park’s Downtown Día de los Muertos altars are on view every day from Oct. 24 through Nov. 2, with City Hall right behind them.
The central altar installations are curated by Consuelo G. Flores, an East L.A.-born artist and master altarista who came up through Self Help Graphics & Art. According to LAist’s event page, she has designed the park’s altars since 2021. Wednesday’s guided tour and paper flower workshop has already happened, so the altars themselves are the plan now.
The page includes one request worth repeating. Visitors can leave a remembrance on the community altar, but contributions aren’t returned when the installation comes down. Don’t bring an original photo or anything you can’t part with.
Self Help Graphics: the Boyle Heights block party on Nov. 7
This is the anchor. Self Help Graphics & Art’s 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration is Saturday, Nov. 7, and it’s free and all ages. A procession led by Danza Azteca Chicomecoatl walks from Mariachi Plaza in the early afternoon. The celebration runs from 3 to 10 p.m. outdoors on Anderson Street, outside SHG’s building at 1300 E. 1st St.
The organization says the day includes live music and dance, community altars of remembrance and resistance built by local people, a Muertos Market of local artists and artisans, SHG prints for sale, food vendors, face painting and art activities. It calls this one of the longest-running public Día de los Muertos celebrations in the country, and this year is billed as a homecoming: SHG says it reopens its own doors in 2027.
SHG’s page asks you to get free tickets on Eventbrite. Do that, and take the Metro L Line to Mariachi Plaza if you want to catch the procession.
Want something earlier? SHG’s free Saturday art workshops at the East Los Angeles Library run noon to 3 p.m., and the last one is Oct. 31. They make papel picado and paper marigolds, and materials are provided.
Evergreen Cemetery, with a guide
If you’d rather learn the history than watch the party, Esotouric leads a three-hour walk through Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights on Saturday, Oct. 31, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Check-in is at 10 a.m. just inside the main gate. Tickets are $50, and they were still on sale on Oct. 26, so check before you plan around it.
Esotouric calls Evergreen the oldest cemetery in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1877 and covers 67 acres, with 300,000 people buried there. The route includes the Chinese Shrine and the site of the lost Crystal Lake. It’s an active cemetery, so the tone is respectful. Esotouric says still cameras and sketchbooks are fine, but don’t record long stretches of the hosts’ talk.
How to show up without being the tourist
These are our rules, not the organizers’.
- An ofrenda is an offering. It isn’t a backdrop. Ask before photographing people at an altar.
- Don’t touch what’s on an altar.
- Buy from the artists at the market. That’s the point of the market.
- Skip the skull face paint if it’s a costume. This isn’t that kind of night.
- Keep your voice down near the altars, and don’t film ceremonies.
The marigold you’ll see everywhere is cempasúchil. Wikipedia notes that the Nahuatl name means “twenty flowers” and that the bright petals and strong scent are said to guide souls from cemeteries back to their family homes. Hollywood Forever’s large, ticketed celebration was Oct. 24, so it’s already over.
Looking for more history that gets skipped? We have a Sunday piece on LA’s Underground Railroad, built on a new LAist story.
FAQ
Where can I see Día de los Muertos altars in Los Angeles in 2026?
Gloria Molina Grand Park at 200 N Grand Ave has Downtown Día de los Muertos altars on view daily from Oct. 24 through Nov. 2, 2026, and the park is free. Self Help Graphics & Art’s community altars are part of its Boyle Heights celebration on Nov. 7.
When is Self Help Graphics’ Día de los Muertos celebration in 2026?
It’s Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. A procession starts at Mariachi Plaza in the early afternoon, and the celebration runs from 3 to 10 p.m. on Anderson Street outside 1300 E. 1st St. in Boyle Heights. It’s free and all ages.
Is Día de los Muertos the same as Halloween?
No. Día de los Muertos is a remembrance of people who have died, with altars, marigolds, food and music. Halloween is a separate holiday, and the two share a date range only because they fall at the same time of year.
Can I take photos at Día de los Muertos events?
Ask before photographing people at an altar, and don’t film ceremonies. At Evergreen Cemetery, Esotouric allows still cameras and sketchbooks but asks you not to record long portions of the tour talk.
How much does the Evergreen Cemetery tour cost?
Esotouric’s Evergreen Cemetery, 1877 walk on Oct. 31 costs $50 per ticket. It runs about three hours, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and check-in starts at 10 a.m.