Noche de Ofrenda

Suspended last year due to the pandemic, the traditional Noche de Ofrenda ceremony honoring the dead returns to Grand Park as a live event and performance. A co-presentation by Grand Park and Self Help Graphics, the joint event of reflection and remembrance will feature a communal circle and blessing led by the indigenous community and also include poetry and dance.

In a continued partnership with Grand Park, LACMA will host two family-friendly arts-based workshops dedicated to making personalized calavera—one of the most recognizable cultural and artistic elements of the Day of the Dead festivities. Each 20-minute workshop held throughout Noche de Ofrenda will engage kids to create their own calavera using air-dry clay, paper plates and other craft items as LACMA teaching artists show park-goers how to sculpt, shape and transform ordinary materials into colorful Día de los Muertos artworks. LACMA will also host a “Tree of Life” in Grand Park encouraging park-goers to write the name of a passed loved one on a colorful ribbon; the name and ribbon will remain placed on the tree in remembrance for the duration of Grand Park's Downtown Día de los Muertos.