Day of the Dead Festival
Festival Dia de Muertos 2026
Three Days, Two Locations: ONE Celebration
The Veronica Robles Cultural Center (VROCC) proudly presents the 2026 Annual Día de Muertos Celebration in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in Boston, the Cities of Boston and Chelsea, the ICA Watershed, and the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra.
Now in its fourteenth consecutive year, New England’s largest multi-day, multi-site Day of the Dead celebration will feature four days of activities taking place between Thursday, October 29, and Monday, November 2, bringing communities together to honor loved ones through art, music, and cultural traditions. The festivities will take place in Boston, East Boston, and Chelsea.
Activities in East Boston and Chelsea will include live music, folkloric dance, food vendors, face painting, Catrina parades, and community ofrendas (altars), Admission is free and open to the public.
This year marks VROCC’s 14th year honoring this rich tradition as an established nonprofit organization.
Three days of exhibitions in Boston,
and an outdoor festival in Chelsea.
Saturday, October 31 through Monday, November 2nd
Exhibition: Ofrenda – East Boston
FREE & Open to All
This year, our Día de Muertos exhibition will be open to the public for three days.
- Saturday, October 31
Open to the public, 10:00 am–5:00 pm · Concert 2:30–4:00 pm - Sunday, November 1
Open to the public, 10:00 am–5:00 pm - Monday, November 2
Guided tours for groups, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
ICA Watershed, 256 Marginal St, Boston
Un Concierto para Nuestros Muertos
A concert for our dead
Saturday, October 31
- 3:00–4:00 PM: Concert
- 4:00–4:30 PM: Reception
Join us for an evening of music and remembrance as the Verónica Robles Music Collective presents Un Concierto para Nuestros Muertos. Each artist will honor a loved one who has passed, sharing a song in their memory.
Featuring:
Verónica Robles Music Collective with Zishi Liu, Julie and Lucy Cholley, Alejandro Castellano, Chris Hernandez, Gerardo Rivas, and Christofer Montejo, alongside special guests.
Saturday, October 31
10:00 a.m. | Dance Performance: Corazón Chileno
10:30 a.m. | Healing Workshop: “Cempasúchil de gratitud” with Mindful Connections
11:00 a.m. | Ceremony: New England Donors Association
12:00 p.m. | Healing Workshop, Second Session: “Cempasúchil de gratitud” with Mindful Connections
12:30–1:30 p.m. | Ballet Folklórico Latinoamericano Infantil y Ensemble Caribe
1:30 p.m. | Storytelling: “Ahí vienen las monarcas” with Spanish Fun Program
2:15 p.m. | Live Music: Singer Memo Rubio
3:00 p.m. | Concierto para nuestros muertos, followed by a reception.
Featuring the Verónica Robles Music Collective with Julie and Lucy Cholley, Alejandro Castellano, Chris Hernandez, Gerardo Rivas, and Christofer Montejo, alongside special guests.
Artists, Catrinas, and Catrines are encouraged to attend this portion of the celebration.
Sunday, November 1
10:00 a.m. | [Programming to be confirmed]
10:30 a.m. | Folkloric dance performances by VROCC Ballet Folklórico Latinoamericano Infantil, followed by Ensemble Caribe dancers and a drummer.
11:30 a.m. | Musical procession led by Veronica Robles and the Hot Tamale New Orleans Style Brass Band, joined by dancers, Catrinas, and community members in costume. The band will lead a couple of rounds outside the ICA Watershed.
1:00 p.m. | VROCC Music Students Showcase
Ensemble Caribe VROCC youth
2:30 p.m. | Memo Rubio
3:00 p.m. | Duet Indigo
3:30 p.m. | Open Mic (open to additional acts)
4:00 p.m. | Open Mic (open to additional acts)
Sunday, November 1
Festival at Chelsea Sq. Park
Free and open to all community members
Enjoy the festival with your family, friends, and pets. Everyone is welcome — especially those who come dressed as a Catrina!
- Sunday, November 1
- 1:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 Location: Chelsea Square Park, 179 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea
Schedule
1:00 p.m. | Parade begins and concludes at the stage
1:30 p.m. | Hot Tamale Band
1:40 p.m. | Grooversity Brazilian Band
1:50 p.m. | Cultural Performances: Cultura Latina, Grupo Torogos, and Caporales San Simon
2:30 p.m. | Veronica Robles Mariachi and Ballet Folklórico Latinoamericano VROCC
3:00 p.m. | Live Music: Geminis Norteño Band
4:00 p.m. | Lobster Illegal, Spanish Rock Band
Win a trip to Mexico for Two!
Celebrate culture, honor loved ones, and enter for a chance to fly to Mexico! ✈️🇲🇽
Thanks to the generosity of Volaris Airlines, two lucky winners will each receive one ticket on the airline’s new Boston–Guadalajara route!
We are deeply grateful to Volaris for supporting our community celebration and helping strengthen our connection with Mexico, our traditions, and our loved ones.
Two ways to enter:
Option 1: Make a Contribution (No attendance required)
Support VROCC’s cultural programming with a donation and receive one entry for every $25 donated. You do not need to attend the celebration to participate through this option.
Option 2: Celebrate as a Catrina or Catrín (Free registration required - Must attend any of the events on Saturday or Sunday)
Bring this beloved tradition to life! Register to receive one free entry, then complete the following participation requirements:
- Dress as a Catrina or Catrín following the attire guidelines below.
- Visit an ofrenda (altar) at the ICA Watershed in East Boston or at Chelsea Square, Chelsea
- Take a photo in your Catrina or Catrín attire in front of either altar.
- Share your photo on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook! Follow and tag @vroccboston and include #DiaDeMuertosNE in your post.
- Participate in one of these celebration options:
- East Boston: Attend Conciertito para Nuestros Muertos with the Veronica Robles Music Collective at the ICA Watershed on Saturday, October 31, from 3:00 to 4:30 PM.
- Chelsea: Join the Chelsea Catrinas Parade on Chelsea Square on Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 PM and the runway presentation at approximately 2:30 PM.
Catrina & Catrín Attire
- ✨ Wear elegant, vintage-inspired or Mexican traditional clothing with skull-style face paint and a floral crown or flower-adorned hat.
- ✨ Outfit ideas include suits, wedding dresses, quinceañera gowns, and other formal attire. Unleash your creativity and bring your Catrina or Catrín look to life—stand out in the parade and catch the eye of influencers!
- Please, no Halloween masks, Halloween costumes, or temporary tattoos.
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.
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.
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
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
Create your own Ofrenda
We warmly invite your team, organization, or group to participate by creating your own Ofrenda (Offering Altar) as part of our Día de Muertos celebration — a beautiful way to honor your community’s memories while supporting a culturally rich, intergenerational program.
This is a beautiful way to honor your community’s memories while supporting a culturally rich, intergenerational program.
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