The Kruizenga Art Museum and the Latino Student Organization (LSO) at Hope College will once again host a Dia de los Muertos Community Day, on Saturday, Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
This year the museum and LSO will be joined by students from the Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP) ¡Adelante! and ¡Más Adelante! programs. The LAUP students will assist with preparations for and activities during the community day.
The collaborative event will feature an array of family friendly crafts and activities, including skull masks, tissue paper marigolds, papel picado, face painting and, weather permitting, sidewalk chalk sugar skulls. Refreshments including pan de muertos, a traditional sweet bread baked for Dia de los Muertos, will be served. An ofrenda, or altar, constructed by LSO members will be on display, and there will be a presentation about the altar at 11:30 a.m.
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a national holiday in Mexico but is also observed in communities throughout the world. It is part of a three-day celebration that is sometimes referred to as “days of the dead,” and celebrations often include festivals and parades. It is a time for family and friends to gather to remember and honor deceased loved ones. Ofrendas, such as the one being assembled for the Nov. 2 event, are altars that are designed to commemorate a deceased individual and are built using items such as candles, flowers, photographs and personal mementos of the deceased.
This year’s ofrenda will pay special tribute to the victims of the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. The ofrenda will remain on display at the museum during the week following the community day, until Friday, Nov. 8.
For more than 40 years, the Hope College Latino Student Organization works to promote the richness and diversity of Latino cultures through activities and events within the Hope College and Holland communities.
Since 1964, Latin Americans United for Progress in Holland has been empowering Latinos to participate in creating a better community for all.
The Kruizenga Art Museum, opened in September 2015, functions as an educational resource for Hope College, Holland and the greater West Michigan community. The museum features two public galleries as well as a classroom and climate-controlled storage space for the approximately 4,500-object permanent collection. It is named in honor of a leadership gift from Dr. Richard and the late Margaret Kruizenga of Holland, each of whom graduated from Hope in 1952.
Admission to the Kruizenga Art Museum is always free. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information about this year’s Dia de los Muertos Community Day, as well as about exhibitions and other events at the museum, is available at the museum’s website or social media.
The Kruizenga Art Museum is located at 271 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.