A community celebration of Dia de los Muertos in Dalton, Georgia, will include live music, food vendors, kids' activities, costume contests and a traditional altar contest when Creative Arts Guild celebrates Day of the Dead.
The event will be held Saturday, Oct. 27, from 5 to 10:30 p.m. at the guild, 520 W. Waugh Street in Dalton. Guests may catch a shuttle to the guild from First Baptist Church, 311 N. Thornton Ave.
"We are so thrilled to help present this Dalton Dia de los Muertos celebration, and so proud to help host an event that celebrates ancestry, incorporates art and ritual, and celebrates a culture so rich and vibrant in our community," says Guild Director Amanda Brown.
Dia de los Muertos is all about family. The celebration shows reverence toward loved ones who have passed on and whose lives are remembered. Dia de los Muertos is sometimes mistakenly thought to be either a Mexican version of Halloween or a dark and evil fascination. Neither is true.
Dia de los Muertos honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations, a Latin American custom that combines Aztec ritual with Catholicism brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
Believing ancestors would not wish mourning or sadness, Dia de los Muertos instead celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties and activities that the dead enjoyed in life. Beginning Nov. 1, deceased relatives are said to "return to the mortal world" to visit their loved ones as honored guests at a party prepared for their arrival.
To welcome the departed spirits, elaborate altars (ofrenda) are prepared on which offerings are placed such as food, drinks, candles, photos of the deceased and incense.
Dia de los Muertos at the Creative Arts Guild will include music and dance performances by Tamborazo Adixion, Traditional Aztec Dancers, singer Jennifer Arana, Xochipilli, dancers Chinelos de Morelos and DJ Sonido Monarca.
An iconic image of Dia de los Muertos is a tall, female skeleton wearing a large-brimmed hat known as La Catrina. Adults may enter the Catrina/Catrin Costume Contest to vie for cash prizes. There will be face-painting, arts and crafts, and a kids' Halloween costume contest with prizes.
For more information: www.creativeartsguild.org/events or 706-217-6677.