Coachella Valley Days of Los Muertos

Join us and our community partners for Coachella Valley Days of Los Muertos in the Sunnylands gardens, November 4-8.

In celebration of Día de los Muertos, the gardens will be decorated Wednesday–Sunday from 8:30 am to 4 pm with colorful papel picado (decorative cut paper), nichos (shadow boxes), and ofrendas (altars).

Take-home arts and crafts can be found attached to display boards throughout the gardens.

• Pop-up craft boards throughout the garden will feature skull masks for guests to wear as they explore.
• Guests can participate in a community display by completing the sentence “Before I die…” on colorful butterflies and flowers, expressing wishes for the future.

Daily lineup of additional activities below:

Friday, November 6: *Center & Gardens will be open until 9 pm for special evening programming*

• 8:45-9:45 am: Join an expert birder for a bird walk through the gardens in Spanish (for more information, click here)
• 9 am-2 pm: Drop-In Craft: Decorate your own candle piñatas at the West Gardens Performance Circle.
• 5:30–9:00 pm: Ofrendas and nichos will be lighted.
• 6:30 pm: Pixar’s Coco (2017) will be screened in the West Gardens. Rated PG. Runtime 1 hour 45 minutes (for more information, click here)

Saturday, November 7:

• 12-1:30 pm: Free Art Workshop: Seed Mosaics (registration required, click here)

Sunday, November 8:

• 10 am-3 pm: Art Flying Aerial will be performing a 15-minute Day of the Dead-themed aerial performance every hour (for more information, click here)

This year’s altars were created by the following organizations:

• Raices Cultura
• Animal Samaritans
• Circulo Azteca Citlaltonac
• Coachella Valley Arts Project
• The S.C.R.A.P. Gallery
• Safe Schools Desert Cities
• Shay’s Warriors
• Shelter from the Storm

Community Altar:

• To honor the intention of the community altar, Raices Cultura will only accept submissions of images of an individual’s family members. Submissions of a political or offensive nature will be omitted or removed.  
• Submissions must be dropped off at the Raices Cultura altar at Sunnylands (located in the Performance Circle) between Sunday November 1st, through Sunday November 8th, from 8:30 am to 4 pm.
• Images in 5×7 and smaller frames are encouraged. Photos will be displayed as submitted.
• Participants understand that the photos may be moved around to make space for other submissions.
• Sunnylands is not responsible for returning the photos to their owners. If you wish to pick up your submission, the last day to do so will be Sunday, November 2, from 9 am to 9 pm.

Free parking and admission. Reservations not required.

Sunnylands Center & Gardens
37977 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

Program changes may require the cancellation or rescheduling of some events. Outdoor programs may be canceled or modified due to weather conditions, including rain, lightning, or strong winds.

For information, please call 760-202-2255 or email education@sunnylands.org.