Bowers Museum to mark Dia de los Muertos with a festival

The Bowers Museum will host its annual Day of the Dead festival to honor and remember lives of the departed with performances, arts and crafts, food and song.

The Santa Ana museum will transform its courtyard into a colorful observance of the ancient celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 5.

Performances will feature mariachi and classical Mexican guitar, traditional ballet folklorico and an Aztec underworld dance routine.

Guests can create sugar skulls, decorate calavera masks, sip Mexican hot chocolate and eat pan de muerto, or “bread of the dead.”

Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday honoring family and friends who have died. The ritual, typically celebrated Nov. 1 or 2, celebrates death as a transition, not an ending. Families build altars or small shrines and visit cemeteries.

Bowers will provide an ofrenda, or ritual altar, for those who wish to leave sentimental notes for deceased loved ones.

Santa Ana residents and Bowers members will receive free general admission to the event. Adult admission is $15 to the Bowers and children are free.

In addition to the Day of the Dead festival, Bowers Kidseum will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kidseum admission is $10 for ages 2 and older.

Bowers Museum is at 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. For more information, call (714) 567-3600 or visit bowers.org.

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Twitter: @KathleenLuppi

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