The holidays are coming fast and furious from now until the end of the year, and the Healdsburg Plaza will once again get a full workout as the city’s living room, rec room and backyard, starting next Sunday, Oct. 25.
Returning for its 10th year is Dia de Muertos, the Mexican folk holiday that has found a new home north of the border since 2016. Sponsored by the City of Healdsburg’s Community Services and the local nonprofit Corazón Healdsburg, Dia de Muertos was first recognized locally to mark Corazón’s inaugural community event, where it introduced the newly established organization to Healdsburg.
The organization’s mission was then as it is now to advocate for families, offer bilingual resource services and celebrate community diversity across Northern Sonoma County. Local residents with roots in Mexico knew how the “holiday”—more a tradition than a ceremony—was recognized: with ofrenda (offerings, or home altars) recognizing departed family members with candies and candles, including alcoholic beverages and sweets preferred by the dead during their lifetimes, as well as photographs keeping their memories alive for the living.
The philosophy behind the holiday was well expressed in the 2017 Disney movie Coco, in which a young boy is transported to the Land of the Dead in search of his deceased great-great-grandfather, a notable musician in his time. One key theme in the story is that once a spirit is forgotten, it fades from existence altogether. The photographs and other mementos in the ofrenda are means of keeping that spirit remembered, and alive.
The tradition of an ofrenda at the Plaza’s Gazebo dates from the first Dia de Muertos in Healdsburg, 10 years ago. “As we opened our family resource center that same month, we heard time and again from our Latine community members that they felt invisible here in Healdsburg,” said Councilmember Ariel Kelley, at the time the board chair of Corazón Healdsburg.
“Thus it seemed essential that for Corazón to succeed in achieving its mission, we needed to make these vibrant traditions and rich cultural heritage ceremonies front and center in our town’s Plaza.”
It will be “resurrected” this year with colorful displays lined with marigolds to add color and fragrance. Residents are sure to see familiar faces in this year’s ofrenda as in the past, as those who have departed are remembered once again.
Ten years later, the event has grown into one of Healdsburg’s most cherished annual traditions, not only with an ofrenda that grows larger and more heart-felt every year, but with live music, dancing, a classic car show lining Matheson Street, and local food and beverage vendors.
Crowds at Dia de Muertos can easily number into the thousands. It’s a multi-ethnic gathering full of color and customs that some attendees can barely grasp, but which evokes powerful traditions and stimulates a strong sense of community.
The tradition is strongest in Southern Mexico, and Healdsburg’s can almost compete with holiday observances in Oaxaca, Guanajuato, Michoacan and Mexico City. It’s one of the largest and most authentic Dia de Muertos celebrations in California, if not north of the Mexican border.
“Some of my favorite moments each year aren’t on the stage. They’re watching families pause at the community altar, seeing neighbors share a meal or hearing children ask their grandparents about the traditions they grew up with,” said Erica Gutierrez, Corazón’s manager of community engagement.
“Ten years ago, we hoped Día de Muertos would help bring people together,” she added. “Today, it’s become a Healdsburg tradition that belongs to all of us, and that’s something truly special.”
Dia de Muertos will be held at the Healdsburg Plaza on Sunday, Oct. 25, from noon to 6pm. There is no admission fee or age limit, and no passport is necessary.
The next city event to be held in the Plaza comes on Friday, Dec. 4, when Merry Healdsburg celebrates the seasonal tree lighting with presentations, music and dance.
Other Plaza-area events over the year include an early morning St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 17, the Twilight Parade the Thursday evening of Memorial Day weekend, a traditional Juneteenth music performance, the Fourth of July celebration and musical Tuesdays in the Plaza from late May to late August.
For information on Plaza events and other city-sponsored activity, see the Master Calendar events at healdsburg.gov/901/Special-Events.
