Día de los Muertos at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NYC, Through Nov. 2

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is holding its first Día de los Muertos, running October 3 through November 2, 2026. Marigold blooms and a colorful community ofrenda anchor the celebration, which the Garden frames as a time for memory, life, and renewal. Visitors will meet artfully arranged calaveras and a larger-than-life Catrina adorned with flowers, all set among fall foliage and festive pumpkins.

The ofrenda is open to contributions. Visitors can add a photograph or a written memory of someone who has died. Anything left becomes part of the installation and will not be returned, and offerings of food and candles are not permitted.

Weekend programming fills out the month. On October 24 and 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., teaching artist Blanka Amezkua, who is based in the Bronx, leads hands-on workshops in papel picado, making miniature decorative banners, and in silk flowers that participants can wear and take home. Sessions on October 31 and November 2 run from 1 to 5 p.m. Folk music comes from Son Pecadores, an NYC collective of jaraneros devoted to son jarocho, a style of Mexican folk music and dance from Veracruz. They play sets at 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. on October 24 and 25 at the entrance to the Everett Children's Adventure Garden.

For children, the Everett Children's Adventure Garden offers Mariposas and Marigolds, with rotating activities such as potting up a marigold and a story trail based on The Ofrenda That We Built. On October 31 from 2 to 3 p.m., the Bronx Children's Museum leads a reading of An Ofrenda for Perro, followed by making clay alebrijes; it is recommended for ages 4 to 10. Artist Lucrecia Novoa's giant handmade skeleton figures appear in a Procession of Puppets on select dates.

The Día de los Muertos parade is set for Sunday, November 1 at 2 p.m. On November 1 and 2, the Día de los Muertos trail and the Children's Adventure Garden close at 5 p.m. Tickets are sold through the Garden's website.