This October brings out the spooky, spiritual and supernatural in Sacramento’s art scene, with exhibits focused on topics from the artistic aspects of death to celebrations of history and culture. The month is also packed with fun activities to celebrate the season, and plenty of local art to admire in between. Dive into the macabre and mysterious while finding your fall inspiration!
Culture, creativity and the afterlife
Get ready to celebrate the multicultural pride of West Sacramento at Arts in the Heart, a free family-friendly event featuring music, dance, visual art and hands-on activities at the West Sacramento Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 11. The event highlights cultural traditions, including Día de los Muertos, an annual Mexican holiday honoring loved ones and ancestors who have passed on.
Visitors can decorate a ceramic Calavera (sugar skull) and enter a Calavera contest to be voted on by the city’s art commissioners. Attendees can also create sidewalk chalk art and commemorate their own loved ones by contributing to a community altar. Highlighting the diversity of the West Sacramento community and honoring lives lost, the altar will remain on display through Nov. 6 at the community center.
Experience a look into Sacramento’s cultural history at the Sacramento History Museum’s new exhibit, “RCAF in Mictlán: 50th Anniversary of Día de los Muertos.” The exhibit is a collaboration with the community arts group La Raza Galeria Posada, highlighting the history of Día de los Muertos observance in the city as well as the enduring legacy of the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) collective. The exhibition opened Sept. 26 and will be on display through April 5, 2026 in the R. Burnett and Mimi Glide Miller Gallery at the museum in the Old Sacramento Waterfront. Posters, photos, video and other ephemera transport viewers through the decades of Chicano art activism in Sacramento and beyond.
Curator, art historian, and educator Terezita Romo described the exhibit as offering viewers “an overview of a unique regional observance that continues to maintain its relevance and to inspire future generations.”
An annual community favorite, the California Museum is hosting its Día de los Muertos Fiesta on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 6-10 p.m. A brand new exhibit, “Recuerdos Ilustrados: Día de los Muertos 2025,” on view from Oct. 11 to Nov. 16, will feature original artwork and altars by California-based printmaking artists Stephanie Mercado, Daniel Villa and Álvaro D. Márquez, exploring themes of life, love and death. These altares de muertos (altars of the dead) and ofrendas (offerings) bridge creativity with tradition, a merging of art and culture that is deeply meaningful.
Live music, dance, food and craft activities, including sugar skull workshops, round out the evening. A community altar will also provide an opportunity to participate in honoring the dead, and will be on display at the museum throughout the exhibition. The exhibit opens at 6 p.m. on Oct. 11 during the Fiesta, and will be open to general admission beginning Sunday, Oct.12 at 12 p.m.
Excursion-worthy
While not in Sacramento, Vacaville Museum’s “The Art of Death” exhibit, sponsored by Bryan-Braker Funeral Home, might be worth an excursion this spooky season! This unique exhibit combines history, culture and the macabre in a fascinating deep dive into how humanity has depicted, honored and confronted death throughout history. Delving into a range of topics from Victorian mourning practices and death doula advocacy to insect taxidermy and paranormal investigations, the exhibit brings you “face to face with the most universal experience in human history.”
The Beyond the Veil Death Faire at Vacaville Museum on Saturday, Oct.11 will bring local creators, speakers and vendors together for an immersive, spine-tingling experience in all things related to death. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., enjoy live dance, workshops, art and education tinged with the threat and beauty of mortality. Admission is $12 for the general public and $10 for members.
Pair your trip to Vacaville with a visit to Pence Gallery in Davis for another off-the-gallery-wall art experience. “A New Spin on Vinyl: Group Show” opens on Oct. 7, showcasing unique art from Sacramento and regional artists throughout Northern California incorporating vinyl records as medium and/or materials.
This annual traveling exhibit began in 2018 after the passing of Tower Records owner Russ Solomon, and has continued in various iterations and locations since. Co-curator and Sacramento artist Dwight Head sparked the idea for the first show because he wanted to do something to commemorate Solomon and Tower Records.
“Since it was such an iconic part of the art community, because he collected art from a lot of artists … I just thought it would be cool,” Head said. Not expecting it to turn into the popular event it is today, Head simply wanted to encourage artists to try something different.
“The artists that I get involved in, it takes them out of their own medium … so it makes them think … So that’s one thing I do like about the show,” Head said. “It’s something totally different that it brings to Sacramento.”
The exhibit, curated by Head alongside Barbetta Lockart and Cynthia Lou, includes over 35 new and returning artists, as well as local college students, all incorporating vinyl records into both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work. “A New Spin on Vinyl” runs through Nov. 5, with a reception on Friday, Oct. 10, from 6-9 p.m.
📌 This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics and protocols, the city had no editorial influence over this story and no city official reviewed this story before it was published. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, CapRadio, Hmong Daily News, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.
By Marie-Elena Schembri
