Día de Muertos Celebration

media release: Driftless Curiosity and the Mexican Folk Art Collective will co-host the third annual "Driftless Region's Día de Muertos Celebration: A Mexican Cultural and Educational Event" at Keewaydin Farms (15270 Haucke Ln, Viola, WI) on Saturday, October 7, 2023 from 1:00 - 7:00 pm.

Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is one of the most important traditions in Mexico. The festivity commemorates deceased loved ones by honoring and remembering them through ofrendas or altars decorated with traditional elements and items that represent those who have passed on to welcome them and guide their souls on their journey back home.

The Driftless Region's Día de Muertos Celebration is a free, one-day outdoor event offering modalities to celebrate and learn including engagement in Mexican folk art, traditions, food and community. A collective Día de Muertos ofrenda is constructed during the event. And his year, the ofrenda will honor women activists and victims of femicide and we will remember and celebrate women we have lost. We invite attendees to honor the beloved women in their lives who have passed away by bringing a photo or other meaningful item to place on the community ofrenda.   

Hands-on learning opportunities include: creating corn husk flowers, painting a community mural, bilingual storytime, and tortilla making with nixtamalized corn dough. The Ometochtli Mexican Folk Dance group will perform dances representing both pre-hispanic and Mexican traditions. Artist Julieta Zavala will present a fashion show featuring her exhibition of Catrina dresses in collaboration with professional make-up and body paint artist Julian Correa. The celebration will feature a collaborative exhibit of 3 life-sized paper mache Catrinas and other works from the Mexican Folk Art Collective, which will also be on display at the Pump House Regional Arts Center Gallery in La Crosse, WI from November 1 - 4. New to the festival this year, will be a children’s bilingual cultural immersion workshop and puppet show by Semillitas as well as live music by the Braided Janes, a three-piece Latin alternative band from Chicago and lead singer Jessica Rodriguez will perform wearing a collaborative folk art fashion design by Julieta Zavala and Jaqui Almaguer. The Consulate of Mexico in Milwaukee, representing the Mexican government, recognizes this event as one of the more authentic and unique celebrations they have been involved in and consulate representatives will be in attendance to celebrate with us.     

For more information and event schedule visit driftlesscuriosity.org/day-of-the-dead And follow Driftless Curiosity and Mexican Folk Art Collective social media for updates and news!

Facebook @DriftlessCuriosity, Instagram @driftlesscuriosity 

Facebook @FolkArtC, Instagram @folkartcollective

Become part of the volunteer team! Fill the Día de Muertos Volunteer Form here: https://form.jotform.com/230967593695172 or contact joy@driftlesscuriosity.org for volunteer opportunities.

Food vendors accept cash and serve all day. Artists accept cash for art purchases. No credit transactions. No ATM available. No pets allowed. Camping available, contact joy@driftlesscuriosity.org to register for a camp site.

This event is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Support and collaboration to host this free community event also comes from The Pump House Regional Arts Center, The McIntosh Memorial Library, the Consulate of Mexico in Milwaukee, the Driftless Café, the Owl Farm, Semillitas -Spanish in Nature, Youth Initiative High School, Tortillería Zepeda, Ometochtli Mexican Folk Dance Group, Thorson-Popp Funeral and Cremation Services, Community Hunger Solutions, the Viroqua Food Co-op, Peter Cozad Photography, Optical Illusions, and many artists, donors, and volunteers. 

*A note about the date: While we would love to celebrate Día de Muertos during the traditional dates, the Driftless Region’s Día de Muertos Celebration is held in early October because we grow a crop of 7,000 cempasúchiles, or marigolds (the ceremonial flower of the celebration), and other flowers. Due to the high risk of frost in November, we elect to hold the event before the likelihood of the first hard frost.

Driftless Curiosity is a non-profit organization deepening connections between people and the land through curiosity, experiential education, farming, social justice, and the arts.

The Mexican Folk Art Collective is a group of Mexican artists living in different towns in Mexico and the United States. The artists use different techniques and materials such as ceramics (clay), cartonería (a traditional technique stronger and softer than papier-mâché), textiles and natural dyes, dance, music, and corn husk to celebrate and share Mexican culture and traditions.