A Celebration of Community and Cultural Heritage

The Downey Día de los Muertos Art Festival brings together artists, families, and cultural organizations to celebrate one of Mexico's most significant traditions. Hosted in partnership with the Downey Theatre, the festival transforms the community into a vibrant showcase of visual arts, traditional crafts, and cultural expression throughout a single day each November.

Multiple Stages and Diverse Programming

The festival operates across three distinct performance venues: the Main Stage, Community Stage, and Zocalo Stage, ensuring diverse programming throughout the 11 AM to 8 PM event day. The Main Stage features traditional folklorico dances, a cornerstone of the festival's cultural programming. Featured artists showcase a range of practices—Aurora Chavez demonstrates papel picado, the traditional craft of layered tissue paper cutting designs, a practice she learned through study at Plaza de La Raza Cultural Center for the Arts. Multimedia artist Matthew Luther presents his mobile printmaking bike, a silkscreen and woodcut printing studio mounted on a refurbished 1973 bicycle, engaging the public in live printmaking demonstrations.

Community-Led Artistic Vision

Beyond performances, the festival includes a dedicated Día de los Muertos Art Gallery featuring work by local and regional artists, including sculptor Jorge Del Toro whose pieces reflect abstracts and celebrations of nature. The Veteranos Car Club S.G.V presents classic car altars, while Stay Gallery—a downtown Downey creative space operated by Stay Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit—provides exhibition opportunities for local artists, youth, and families. The festival actively invites community participation through opportunities to become volunteers, set up vendor booths, create community altars, and serve as food vendors, making it a participatory cultural event rather than a passive viewing experience.