Day of the Dead Festival

Festival Dia de Muertos 2025

The Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC) proudly presents the 2025 Día de Muertos Official Celebration in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in Boston, the City of Boston, the City of Chelsea, and the ICA Watershed. This event is New England’s largest multi-day, multi-site Day of the Dead celebration, featuring a month-long series of activities leading up to the official observance on November 1st and 2nd. This year marks VROCC’s 13th year honoring this rich tradition as an established nonprofit organization.

The celebration includes a variety of immersive activities honoring ancestors and deceased loved ones:

  • Art-making workshops
  • Lectures and the Night of the Catrinas, featuring a costume contest
  • Altar exhibitions at the ICA Watershed, with guided experiences honoring organ donors in partnership with New England Donor Services (NEDS)
  • A community altar at Chelsea City Hall Plaza, installed by community members on October 25th and on display until November 2nd
Become a Volunteer
Dia de muertos celebration 2024

The full celebration schedule is here:

papel picado workshop

October 6 through October 15

Mexican Papel Picado Decoration and Flower Making Workshop

Free and open to all

📍 Location: Williams Building, 180 Walnut Street, Chelsea, MA

  • 📅 Monday, October 6 | ⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 PM
  • 📅 Wednesday, October 8 | ⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 PM
  • 📅 Wednesday, October 15 | ⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 PM

📍 Location: Veronica Robles Cultural Center, 282 Meridian Street, East Boston, MA

  • 📅 Monday, October 13 | ⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Register here
Cardboard Sculpture making

October 14 to October 23

Cardboard Sculpture making

Free and open to all

📍 Location: Chelsea Public Library, 500 Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150

  • 📅 Tuesdays: October 14 & 21
    ⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 PM

📍 Location: La Colaborativa, 63 Sixth St., Chelsea, MA

  • 📅 Thursdays: October 9, 16 & 23
    ⏰ 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Register here

Saturday, October 18

Sugar Skull Making Workshop

Let’s celebrate Día de los Muertos together by creating beautiful Sugar Skulls in a unique experience filled with tradition, art, and community!

Bring your family and friends to learn about this beautiful Mexican tradition while decorating your own sugar skulls. It’ll be an evening full of creativity, culture, and sweetness!

  • 📍 Location: Kmk Cakes Bakery & Cafe
    173 Washington Ave, Chelsea, MA

    📅 Date: Tuesday, October 14
    ⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

    💵 Cost: $5 per person
    👥 Capacity: 15 participants

Tickets here

Saturday, October 18

Noche de Catrinas - 21 + celebration

Celebrate life, music, and the vibrant Día de Muertos spirit — where elegance meets rock energy!

Featuring Spanish Rock bands Los VROCKeros and The Lobsters, plus a Calaveritas Literarias session (rhymes), Catrina Costume Contest, and face painting on site (additional cost).

  • 📍 Location: Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC)
    282 Meridian St., East Boston
    📅 Saturday, October 18
    ⏰ 5:30–11:00 PM
  • 🎟️ Ages 21+ | Cover: $20
    ✨ Come dressed as your favorite Catrina and rock the night away!

Program Highlights:

  • 5:30–8:30 PM: Face Painting
  •  6:00 PM: Calaveritas Literarias Workshop
  • 7:00 PM: The Lobsters
  • 8:00 PM: Catrina Contest
  • 8:30 PM: Los VROCKeros
  • 9:30 PM: Contest Winner Announcement
  • 10:00 PM: DJ & Closing Celebration
Tickets here

Exhibition: Sunday, October 26th to Sunday, November 2nd

Ofrenda (Altar) – Chelsea

Free and open to all community members

📍 Location: Chelsea City Hall Plaza, 500 Broadway, Chelsea, MA

  • 🎨 Installation:
    📅 Saturday, October 25
    ⏰ 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
  • 🖼️ Exhibition Dates:
    📅 Sunday, October 26 – Sunday, November 2
  • 🛠️ Breakdown:
    📅 Sunday, November 2
    ⏰ 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Register here

Tuesday, October 28

Lecture about the Day of the Dead

Free and open to all

  • 👩‍🏫 Presenter: Dr. Raquel Urroz, Master in History and PhD in Anthropology from the prestigious UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico)
  • 📍 Location: Chelsea Public Library
    569 Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150
  • 📅 Date: Tuesday, October 28
    ⏰ Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Register here

Thursday, October 30

Pan de Muerto Baking Workshop

Enjoy a flavorful evening of culture, creativity, and connection!
Take home not only your own freshly baked Pan de Muerto, but also the joy of supporting a vibrant local cause. 
No baking experience needed—just bring your curiosity and be ready to roll up your sleeves!

📍 Location: VROCC Kitchen, 389 Maverick St
📅 Date: Thursday, October 30
⏰ Time: 6:00 – 10:00 PM

💵 Cost: $75
👥 Capacity: 10 participants
👶 Age Group: 8+ years old

Tickets here

October 31

Installation - Ofrenda – East Boston

  • Calling all volunteers and artists! 

    • Join us for the Ofrenda/Altar Installation in honor of Día de Muertos — a space for community, creativity, and tradition, where together we bring this symbol of memory and culture to life.

     📅Installation: Friday, October 31
    ⏰ 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
    📍 ICA Watershed, 256 Marginal St., East Boston

Register here

Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd

Exhibition: Ofrenda – East Boston

FREE & Open to All

Experience the beauty of tradition, memory, and community at the Ofrenda/Altar Exhibition.
Visit, reflect, and honor this powerful cultural celebration with us.

📍 Location: ICA Watershed, 256 Marginal St., East Boston, MA 02128

🗓️ Two Days:

  • 📅 Saturday, November 1st
  • 📅 Sunday, November 2nd

⏰ 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m

Friday, November 1

Día de Muertos Concert: A Tribute to El Divo de Juárez with the Boston Symphony Orchestra featuring Veronica Robles

Celebrate the life and legacy of Juan Gabriel with a powerful evening of music featuring the Boston Symphony Orchestra and special guest Veronica Robles. An unforgettable tribute blending tradition, culture, and the timeless voice of Mexico.

📅 Friday, November 1st
⏰ 7:00 p.m.
📍 Boston Symphony Hall
💵 Tickets: $40 – $70

Tickets here

Sunday, November 2nd

Activity #1

Ofrenda and Exhibition - East Boston

Discover the beauty of tradition and remembrance at the ICA Watershed. Visit the community Ofrenda/Altar installation, a space to honor loved ones and celebrate culture through art and memory.

  • 📅 Friday, November 1st & Saturday, November 2nd
  • ⏰ 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  • 📍 ICA Watershed, 256 Marginal St., East Boston
  • 💵 FREE & Open to the Public

Activity #2

Día de Muertos Festival– Chelsea ✨💀🌼

FREE & Open to All Join us for a vibrant community celebration filled with tradition, art, and culture! The festival begins with a colorful procession that brings the spirit of Día de Muertos to life.

  • 📍Location: Winnisimmet Sq. Park, Chelsea 
  • 📅 Saturday, November 2nd
    🕐 Procession starts at 1:00 p.m.
    🎉 Festival: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. 

Dia de muertos celebration 2024

VENDOR & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

  • 🎪 Pre-Register Your Business: Join our community marketplace
  • What We’re Looking For: Food vendors, artisans, cultural crafts, traditional music performers
  • Vendor Benefits: Access to engaged community, prime event location, cultural celebration atmosphere
Pre Register here

About the celebration

Cultural Context

VROCC encourages community action for social justice by offering a safe place where individuals, families, and students of all backgrounds interested in fostering, sharing, and celebrating Latino cultures can come together. Through its cultural programming, VROCC helps to elevate the image of immigrant communities in Boston and, since 2013, has served over 400,000 people.

Pilars

Origins:

The Day of the Dead tradition predates the arrival of the Spanish conquerors to the American continent. In different cultures, particularly among the Mexican, it was believed that there was a process to be born and another to die. When the soul leaves the physical body, it must go through a series of tests or dimensions to reach the desired rest. 

Ofrenda

Families and community members commemorate this holiday by creating Ofrendas, (Day of the Dead altars), to honor the lives of their ancestors and deceased loved ones. These altars include photos of loved ones, candles, water, cempasúchil flower or marigold, sweets, salt, food, and more. Each component represents a part of an ancestral journey and cultural celebration to honor life and death. 

La Catrina

This character is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Dia de los Muertos in the modern days. It was created by José Guadalupe Posada, an exceptional painter, caricaturist, engraver, and illustrator born in Aguascalientes in 1852. Posada was famous for his lithographs featuring scenes of death, popular prints, and social caricatures inspired by folklore.

Testimonial

“Participating in one of Veronica Robles Cultural Center’s Día de Los Muertos events in 2024 was an extraordinary experience! We displayed our first Done Vida altar at the altar exhibition, honoring, celebrating, and remembering donor heroes who gave life after passing through organ donation. 

This was impactful not only for our donor families but also for our New England Donor Services staff, transplant recipients, volunteers, and the community at large.

It was a perfect opportunity to intertwine our mission of healing and saving lives through organ and tissue donation with one of the most beautiful Hispanic traditions of remembrance, Día de Los Muertos, a celebration where VROCC does exceptional work every year.“

Ingrid Palacios Multicultural Outreach Program Manager New England Donor Services

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