This November, Sacramento’s visual arts and cultural landscape brightens the darkening days with cherished ancestral traditions, exciting new exhibitions and community events. Dive into what the city has to offer art lovers and those looking for creative ways to celebrate the changing seasons.
Día de los Muertos celebrations
The centuries-old tradition of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is at the helm of November’s cultural calendar, with multiple opportunities to honor, celebrate and reconnect with those who have departed.
The Latino Center of Art and Culture is hosting its 16th Annual El Panteón de Sacramento celebration from Friday Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 2. This culturally rich event is a vibrant tribute steeped with Latin American traditions featuring live dance and music, and an artfully created “panteón,” or cemetery, adorned with dozens of traditional ofrendas (altars) honoring the dead. Community volunteers create the altars and cemetery tombs that are layered with traditional sugar skulls, food and drink, memorials and keepsakes to call departed loved ones back for a short, but colorful, visit.
“Bathed in the light of the moon during evening hours and filled with drifting fragrances of copal and cempasuchil, the bright marigolds considered the flowers of the dead, El Panteón is not only a place of remembrance, but a joyous celebration of our loved ones,” reads the event website, where information on admission and parking can be found.
Head across the Sacramento River to VFW Post 8762 on Sunday, Nov. 2 for West Sacramento’s 5th Annual Day of the Dead. This free community event will include a community ofrenda, cultural crafts, Aztec dancers, a makers market and a lowrider car show presented by the Sacramento Lowrider Commission. Or learn more about the history of the Day of the Dead in Sacramento and beyond by visiting a local museum.
The Sacramento History Museum’s current exhibition, “RCAF in Mictlán: 50th Anniversary of Dia de los Muertos,” is up through April 5, and highlights the enduring impact of the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), who initiated the city’s first Día de los Muertos observance in 1975. This multimedia exhibit documents and explores the Mesoamerican origins and evolution of the tradition right here in Sacramento, through the work of artists and activists within the RCAF over the last 50 years.
Curator, historian, educator and RCAF member Terezita Romo said the exhibit offers viewers “an overview of a unique regional observance that continues to maintain its relevance and to inspire future generations.” For hands-on fun, an all-ages mini ofrenda workshop at the museum on Saturday, Nov. 1 gives attendees a chance to create their own shoebox-sized altar to honor their loved ones in an intimate, creative way. Registration and ticket information can be found at SacHistoryMuseum.org.
Families can stop by the Sacramento Children’s Museum on Saturday, Nov. 1 from 5-7 p.m. for an all-ages Día de los Muertos celebration, including calaveras de azúcar (sugar skull) workshops, a community ofrenda, pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and agua fresca tasting. Face painting, hands-on activities and live music by Son Bugambilia will round out the evening. Register in advance..
The California Museum is also hosting its annual Día de los Muertos exhibition, “Recuerdos Ilustrados: Día de los Muertos 2025,” through Sunday, Nov. 16. This year’s exhibition features the work of contemporary California printmaking artists Álvaro D. Márquez, Stephanie Mercado and Daniel Villa, whose altars will be centered around the topic of immigration. A community altar will allow museum visitors to make their own contributions in memory of their loved ones.
Local art offerings
For fans of sculpture, two exhibits this month may catch your eye. At Axis Gallery through Nov. 30, a new ceramic sculpture show is turning heads. “Ecdysis” is a solo exhibition by artist Adero Willard, whose red clay coil-built ceramic sculptures act “as a vessel for the complexity of Black, queer, and gender-fluid experience,” according to a press release. Using her medium as both metaphor and material, the artist reflects on deeply personal themes through the use of texture, pattern, color and shape.
“Through a process that involves multiple firings, using of slips, underglaze, glaze, Egyptian paste and luster, I develop textures and hues that reveal intricate patterns deeper and deeper into the surface,” reads a statement by the artist. An artist’s reception will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 5-8 p.m. at Axis Gallery.
Louise McGowan Bezark’s “Thresholds” at ARTHOUSE on R Gallery also showcases sculpted vessels, and the artist’s hand-painted, gilded and altered gourds invite quiet contemplation about life’s transitions. Opening on Thursday, Nov. 6, the exhibit showcases McGowan Bezark’s unique talent to transform the ordinary into something that inspires deep contemplation. “I believe we are all vessels — shaped by what we carry, and what we release,” McGowan Bezark said. An opening reception will take place from 5-8 p.m. during Second Saturday on Nov. 8, with an artist talk at 6 p.m.
For those looking to bring home local art or start preparing for gift-giving season, check out Verge Center for the Arts’ fundraising auction. Showcasing local art, the auction is an annual tradition that benefits the local scene by bringing art into the homes of collectors while supporting the nonprofit art center’s programming, exhibits and studio spaces. Kicking off with a free preview reception on Thursday, Nov. 6 from 5-8 p.m., attendees can get a first look at all the biddable artworks while enjoying snacks and beverages. The main event takes place on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 5-8 p.m., with both silent and live auctions, catered food, craft beverages and a live DJ. For more information visit vergecontemporary.org.
Whether exploring the art-infused traditional practices of a cultural celebration, enjoying art that explores transformation or supporting local artists by bidding on your favorite pieces, there are ample opportunities to connect with the arts in Sacramento this November.
This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. 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, the city had no editorial influence over this story. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Outword, 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
