Celebrate Día de los Muertos in Butte County: 2026 Schedule, Altars, and Event Details

Com­mu­ni­ties across Butte Coun­ty invite locals and vis­i­tors alike to gath­er, hon­or ances­try, and expe­ri­ence authen­tic music, tra­di­tion­al dance, and arti­san crafts.

Chico Day of the Dead Festival

Cel­e­brate at the 4^th Annu­al Chico Day of the Dead Fes­ti­val, the biggest Dia de Muer­tos cel­e­bra­tion north of Sacramento.

This packed, live­ly cel­e­bra­tion brings togeth­er cul­tur­al edu­ca­tion and dynam­ic com­mu­ni­ty ener­gy at the Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair­grounds. It’s an incred­i­ble gath­er­ing for all ages to hon­or loved ones, explore authen­tic tra­di­tions, and enjoy a full day of festivities. 

Event Details:

• Date: Sun­day, Novem­ber 1, 2026
• Admis­sion: Free
• Time: 11am-5pm
• Loca­tion: Sil­ver Dol­lar Fair­grounds, 2357 Fair Street, Chico, CA

Event High­lights:

• Lowrid­er Car Show: The Chico Impalas Car Club show of their best cus­tomized rides.
• Col­ores de Unidad Artist Project: Watch local artists bring col­or­ful Día de Muer­tos and death cen­tered art­work to life right before your eyes. This project is fund­ed by the City of Chico Arts and Cul­ture 2026 – 27 Grant.
• Edu­ca­tion­al Scav­enger Hunt: Get ready for a fam­i­ly-friend­ly inter­ac­tive hunt designed to teach you about the rich sym­bol­ism behind Dia de Muertos.
• Ven­dors & Food Court: Dig into local eats from over 20 food trucks and stalls, and shop hand­made gifts from more than 100 region­al makers.
• Free Pho­to Booth: Cap­ture unfor­get­table mem­o­ries with fam­i­ly and friends at the Fer­n­weh Photobus.
• Main Stage & Bar: Enjoy live enter­tain­ment through­out the day with ful­ly stocked bar ser­vice locat­ed next to the main stage. Find the full enter­tain­ment line­up at Divine Sun­days.
• Face Paint­ing & Pet-Friend­ly Fun: Get tra­di­tion­al sug­ar skull face paint­ing done on-site. Well-behaved pets are wel­come (please keep pets leashed or in your arms).

Día de Muer­tos in Down­town Oroville

Gath­er the fam­i­ly to hon­or passed loved ones and enjoy vibrant Mex­i­can cul­ture in His­toric Down­town Oroville. This free neigh­bor­hood event pro­vides a full day of tra­di­tion­al enter­tain­ment, edu­ca­tion­al dis­plays, and local food.

Event Details:

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 31, 2026
• Admis­sion: Free
• Time: 11am-5pm
• Loca­tion: His­toric Down­town Oroville

Event High­lights:

• Open­ing Cer­e­mo­ny & Bless­ing: Com­mences at 11am with a tra­di­tion­al blessing
• Tra­di­tion­al Ofren­das: Walk through dis­play altars with pho­tos and offerings.
• Live Music & Dance: Live Mari­achi bands per­form along­side Bal­let Folk­lóri­co dancers through­out the day, com­plete with free dance lessons for attendees.
• Free Kids’ Cor­ner: Inter­ac­tive games, face paint­ing, col­or­ing tables, piñatas, and a cos­tume con­test with pets, chil­dren, and adults categories.
• Free Movie Screen­ing: Enjoy Disney-Pixar’s Coco at the his­toric Oroville State The­ater. Pick up your free tick­ets at By Grace Ate­lier (while sup­plies last).
• Authen­tic Eats & Drinks: Taste tra­di­tion­al tacos, pozole, chur­ros, pan de muer­to (sweet bread), and hot cocoa, along­side aguas fres­cas, a local beer gar­den, and spe­cial­ty cocktails.

Chico Ceme­tery Día de Muer­tos Celebration

Cel­e­brate at the Chico Ceme­tery, where local fam­i­lies gath­er to remem­ber lost loved ones through tra­di­tion­al music, col­or­ful dis­plays, and live cul­tur­al performances.

While vis­i­tors nat­u­ral­ly hon­or clas­sic ceme­tery tra­di­tions — plac­ing bright marigolds (cem­pasúchil), leav­ing favorite foods, and dec­o­rat­ing rest­ing places — the ceme­tery hosts a com­mu­ni­ty gath­er­ing open to everyone. 

Event Details:

• Date: Sun­day, Novem­ber 1, 2026
• Time: 1pm-6pm
• Admis­sion: Free
• Loca­tion: Chico Ceme­tery, Chico

Event High­lights:

• Com­mu­ni­ty Ofren­da: Pay your respects at the cen­tral dis­play altar spon­sored by the North Coun­ty AIDS Coali­tion (NCAC).
• Live Dance: Watch tra­di­tion­al Aztec dancers per­form along­side Bal­let Folk­lóri­co groups.
• Youth Mari­achi Band: Lis­ten to region­al music per­formed by local youth Mari­achi musicians.
• Sug­ar Skulls & Pho­tos: Get tra­di­tion­al face paint­ing done on-site and cap­ture mem­o­ries at the pho­to booth.
• Cos­tume Con­test & Food Stalls: Browse local craft ven­dors, sam­ple food options, and enter the com­mu­ni­ty cos­tume contest.

6^th Annu­al Día de los Muer­tos Cel­e­bra­tion at Dad­dow Plaza

Gri­d­ley hon­ors passed fam­i­ly mem­bers with trib­utes, vibrant dance rou­tines, local food stalls, and inter­ac­tive activ­i­ties for all ages. 

Event Details:

• Date: Sun­day, Novem­ber 1, 2026
• Time: 3pm-8pm
• Admis­sion: Free
• Loca­tion: Dad­dow Plaza Gaze­bo, Gridley

Event High­lights:

• Cen­tral Ofren­da: The gaze­bo fea­tures a glow­ing com­mu­nal altar adorned with mas­sive, hand­made ale­bri­jes (spir­it ani­mal guides) cre­at­ed by local artist Lucia Chavez. Com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers are encour­aged to bring pho­tos of lost loved ones to place on the memorial.
• Artis­tic Sculp­tures: Giant sug­ar skulls and Monarch but­ter­fly instal­la­tions greet guests at the entrance, offer­ing mem­o­rable pho­to opportunities.
• Live Dance: Gridley’s Bare­foot Dance Com­pa­ny per­forms a mod­ern rou­tine and a group per­for­mance to ​“La Llorona”.
• Com­mu­ni­ty Vil­lage: Local food stands and out­reach tables host­ed by orga­ni­za­tions like North Val­ley Catholic Social Ser­vices, Ampla Health, First 5 Cal­i­for­nia, and CAL FIRE/​Gridley Fire Department.
• Las Catri­nas Con­test: The evening con­cludes with the annu­al con­test cel­e­brat­ing icon­ic Cat­ri­na costumes.

Butte Coun­ty Ofren­da Crawl

Explore com­mu­ni­ty altars through­out Butte Coun­ty in Octo­ber and ear­ly Novem­ber. From inti­mate dis­plays to grand col­lec­tions, you’ll find ofren­das of all sizes at events and shops across Butte County.

Fes­ti­val Altars

• Oct. 31: Día de Muer­tos in Down­town Oroville
• Nov. 1:
  • Chico Day of the Dead
  • Chico Ceme­tery Día de Muer­tos Celebration
  • Día de los Muer­tos Cel­e­bra­tion at Dad­dow Plaza

Com­mu­ni­ty Altars

• Oct. 1 – 31: 
  • Café Maria, 642 W 5^th St, Chico
  • Valene L. Smith Muse­um of Anthro­pol­o­gy, Chico
  • Meri­am Library at Chico State
• Oct. 30-Nov. 2: Ani­ka Burke, 211 Main St, Chico
  
• Nov. 5 – 15: Muse­um of North­ern Cal­i­for­nia Arts (mon­ca), Chico

Take part in hands-on tra­di­tions, inti­mate sto­ry­telling, and a fam­i­ly-friend­ly movie designed to con­nect you deep­er to the spir­it of the season.

Día de Muer­tos Marigold Gar­land Workshop

Craft your own tra­di­tion­al altar dec­o­ra­tions at the Chico Chai House. The hands-on work­shop teach­es you how to assem­ble a 4‑foot marigold (cem­pasúchil) gar­land while explor­ing the rich cul­tur­al his­to­ry and spir­i­tu­al sym­bol­ism of the vibrant orange flowers.

Event Details:

• Date: Sun­day, Octo­ber 11, 2026
• Time: 2pm-4pm
• Cost: $40 per tick­et (Includes all sup­plies for one 4‑foot garland)
• Loca­tion: Chico Chai House, 1441 Park Ave, Chico

Event High­lights:

• Guid­ed Craft­ing: Assem­ble a 4‑foot marigold gar­land using fresh blooms with step-by-step guid­ance from Pine Creek Flowers.
• Cul­tur­al His­to­ry: Learn the tra­di­tion­al sig­nif­i­cance of cem­pasúchil and how its bright col­or and scent guide spir­its home.
• Bonus Décor Add-On: Dou­ble your altar dec­o­ra­tions with an option­al sec­ond gar­land add-on avail­able dur­ing the event.
• Local Tast­ings: Sip local­ly brewed Chico Chai while you craft.

Noche de Cuen­tos: Day of the Dead Storytelling

Noche de Cuen­tos cre­ates a sup­port­ive space to share and lis­ten to per­son­al mem­o­ries of ances­tors and fam­i­ly who came before us in an inti­mate evening ded­i­cat­ed to com­mu­ni­ty mem­o­ry and spo­ken narrative. 

Event Details:

• Date: Mon­day, Octo­ber 26, 2026
• Time: 6pm-8pm
• Cost: $10 per ticket
• Loca­tion: Chico Chai House, Chico
• Capac­i­ty: Lim­it­ed to 40 tickets

Event High­lights:

• Com­mu­ni­ty Sto­ry­telling: Share a per­son­al mem­o­ry on stage or sim­ply lis­ten to oth­ers hon­or their loved ones.
• Cozy Atmos­phere: Savor hand­craft­ed chai dur­ing the event

Dis­ney-Pixar’s ​“Coco” at the Oroville State Theater

Take a mid­day break dur­ing the Down­town Oroville Día de Muer­tos cel­e­bra­tion with a spe­cial mat­inée screen­ing of Dis­ney-Pixar’s Coco. Step inside the his­toric Oroville State The­ater to expe­ri­ence this fam­i­ly favorite on the big screen.

Event Details:

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 31, 2026
• Time: Noon
• Cost: $5 per tick­et (or pick up free advance tick­ets at By Grace Ate­lier at 1365 Myers St. while sup­plies last)
• Loca­tion: Oroville State The­ater, Oroville

Event High­lights:

• Fes­ti­val Addi­tion: Sched­uled right at noon so fam­i­lies can break up their down­town altar tours and food truck stops with a movie.
• Fam­i­ly-Friend­ly Sto­ry: Fol­low young Miguel as he jour­neys into the Land of the Dead to unlock his fam­i­ly’s his­to­ry and music legacy.

Día de Muer­tos tra­di­tions extend beyond Butte Coun­ty into our neigh­bor­ing North State com­mu­ni­ties. Expand your week­end itin­er­ary by explor­ing these region­al fes­tiv­i­ties hap­pen­ing just a short dri­ve away.

Día de los Muer­tos Cel­e­bra­tion at Glenn Coun­ty Fairgrounds

Head west to Orland for a live­ly mul­ti-gen­er­a­tional gath­er­ing that brings togeth­er clas­sic cars, tra­di­tion­al dance, local food, and com­mu­ni­ty altars.

Event Details:

• Date: Sat­ur­day, Octo­ber 25, 2026
• Cost: Free admis­sion
• Loca­tion: Glenn Coun­ty Fair­grounds, 221 E Yolo St, Orland

Event High­lights:

• Tra­di­tion­al Per­for­mances & Music: Watch young dancers per­form baile folk­lóri­co rou­tines along­side live region­al music.
• Car Show & Ofren­da Com­pe­ti­tion: Check out cus­tom rides at the clas­sic car show and view cre­ative dis­plays entered in the altar contest.
• Inter­ac­tive Altar & Kid Activ­i­ties: Add pho­tos of loved ones to the large com­mu­ni­ty ofren­da, or let chil­dren dec­o­rate their own mini altars and get their faces painted.
• Arti­san Ven­dors & Char­ac­ter Pho­tos: Walk the grounds to shop local crafts and take pho­tos with dressed Catrines and Catrinas.

Día de los Muer­tos at Tehama Arts Gallery

Cel­e­brate the sea­son through fine art and com­mu­ni­ty cre­ativ­i­ty in his­toric down­town Red Bluff.

Event Details:

• Cost: Free admis­sion
• Date: Octo­ber 2026 (TBA)
• Loca­tion: Tehama Arts Gallery, 328 Oak Street, Red Bluff

Event High­lights:

• Best Dressed Cos­tume Con­test: Put on your finest La Cat­ri­na or El Catrín attire to com­pete for prizes in the evening cos­tume contest.
• Gallery Dis­plays: Expe­ri­ence local art­work, col­or­ful altar instal­la­tions, and live music inside the gallery space.