Highland Park's Día de los Muertos Weekend Starts Just Past Avenue 43

Highland Park's Día de los Muertos mostly happens away from York Boulevard and North Figueroa Street. This Sunday, Nov. 1, the largest Northeast LA festival is organized by a Highland Park gallery and held on a cul-de-sac off Avenue 43. The marionettes from the theater on York are booked in Glendale that afternoon. The week's biggest block party is the following Saturday in Boyle Heights.

That spread works in your favor. The start times are staggered from morning to evening, so Sunday works as a single route that begins and ends at home.

Avenue 50 Studio Takes Its Festival Down the Hill

Avenue 50 Studio's 13th Annual North East Los Angeles Día de los Muertos Festival runs Sunday, Nov. 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer Street. The studio says it has been putting on this community event since the early 2000s. The studio's event listing promises altars, face painting, mariachi performances, Aztec dancers, and food and craft vendors. The flyer on that page is labeled AI-generated, so go by the written details.

The festival is free, and the Eastsider's 2026 Halloween and Día guide lists it under Montecito Heights. That label is technically correct. For anyone living off Figueroa, though, it's a short trip south.

Parking at the museum is limited, though it is free. The museum's own directions give two ways in:

1. By car. Take the 110 south and exit at Avenue 43. Turn left at the end of the ramp, cross the bridge over the freeway, and turn right on Homer Street at the first stop sign. Don't take the freeway on-ramp there. The lot entrance is on the right at the end of the cul-de-sac.
2. By Metro rail. Get off at Heritage Square/The Arroyo station at Pasadena and French avenues. Cross Pasadena Avenue to Carlota Boulevard and follow it eight blocks to Avenue 43, then turn right, and right again on Homer Street. The museum puts the walk at about 25 minutes and warns that parts of the Carlota sidewalk are unpaved. It also lists the Southwest Museum stop as another option.

With strollers or older relatives, the walk is the part to plan for. The ride itself is easy.

Bob Baker's Marionettes Leave York for the Afternoon

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater has a Día de los Muertos scene in its current show. On Sunday, it also brings marionettes to an event across the county line. Forest Lawn's Glendale park, at 1712 S. Glendale Ave., hosts a free Día de los Muertos gathering from noon to 3 p.m. The Eastsider's guide lists handcrafted artwork, community ofrendas, folklórico and mariachi performances, face painting, and a performance by the Bob Baker Marionettes. Colorado Boulevard's listing says no reservations are needed and adds Catrina and alebrije art, crafts, refreshments and food trucks.

Back home, the theater's 2026 Hallowe'en Spooktacular is an hour-long family revue with more than 100 puppets. The theater's own page describes its Día de los Muertos sequence this way:

"a celebratory scene" honoring the holiday and community

So on Sunday, one Highland Park institution is putting on the area's largest festival a mile or two south, and another is performing in Glendale. Neither event is on York Boulevard.

Sunday, Hour by Hour

The schedules line up well. The Heritage Square festival starts first, the Glendale and Eagle Rock events fill the middle of the day, and the Lincoln Heights festival runs after dark.

The Frogtown event is the easiest to fit in because it runs 12 hours. Frogtown Arts' page lists a community altar, food and craft vendors, Aztec dance and face painting, and says the celebration continues through Nov. 2. The page has a Register button, so check it before you go.

The Eagle Rock workshop takes the most planning. The Center for the Arts Eagle Rock class is taught by Valerie Castanon and is for ages 6 and up. Children must come with an adult, and the adult pays the class fee too, so a parent and one child cost at least $90. Running 2 to 4 p.m., it fits right after a late morning at Heritage Square.

For the evening, Plaza de la Raza has posted its 2026 Día de los Muertos announcement. The Eastsider lists the festival from 5 to 9:30 p.m. with ofrendas by local artists, live performances and workshops. Check the organizer's post for parking and the final program before you leave.

Saturday, Nov. 7, the Biggest Block Party Is in Boyle Heights

The week's largest gathering comes six days later. Self Help Graphics & Art holds its 53rd Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration on Saturday, Nov. 7, from 3 to 10 p.m. It takes place outdoors on the Anderson Street block outside 1300 1st St. Tickets are free but you have to register. Danza Azteca Chicomecoatl leads a procession from Mariachi Plaza. The event page gives a 2 p.m. start, and the organization's seasonal page gives a 1:45 to 3 p.m. window, so plan to arrive by 1:45 if you want to walk with it.

Quetzal Flores curates the main stage. The Muertos Market has local artists and artisans, and its named vendors include:

• Michi's Artistry
• ex-voto design
• Nubeá
• Jimmy Saldivar
• Mextica

There will also be community altars, food vendors, face painting and art activities. If you only make one of the two weekends, Sunday the 1st gives you a whole day of smaller events with no registration at the main festival. The 7th is one large evening event.

On York, the Season Ends Nov. 8

The Spooktacular closes Sunday, Nov. 8, the day after the Self Help Graphics celebration. The run started Sept. 5, and the theater's page currently shows every remaining show as sold out. Since October, every show has included a costume parade. For anyone in Highland Park, Sunday at Forest Lawn may be the easiest way to see these marionettes this year. Checking the theater's ticket page for returned seats is worth a few minutes.

If you do get tickets, the theater's visitor page asks guests to use metered parking on York Boulevard or the nearby public lots, including one at Avenue 51. The DASH Highland Park/Eagle Rock bus stops at York and Avenue 52, and the theater is about a 30-minute walk from Highland Park Station. Bike parking is on York in front of Cafe de Leche, and there's a playground across the street for kids who need to burn off energy before or after the show.

Over the course of the week, the neighborhood's own institutions host their events off York and Figueroa, and on Nov. 8 the last one on York wraps up.

We've worked in Northeast LA long enough to know that the community calendar is a big part of why people stay. If you're thinking about what your Highland Park home is worth, Trevino Properties can walk you through it whenever it suits you. Start with a Free Home Valuation.