decorative ceramic skull on woven fabric with framed photos, dried corn, flowers, and candles
Concert / Performance

Fowler Festival: Día de los Muertos

November 1, 2026 | 1:00PM - 4:30PM

IN PERSON

RSVP

Celebrate the Fowler Museum’s annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration with artist Maria Elena Cruz and honor loved ones who have passed away through hands-on artmaking, music, and community gathering. Create your own mini ofrendas (shrines/offerings) and colorful sugar skull piñatas, discover the exhibitions on view, enjoy light refreshments, and close the afternoon with a live performance by Mariachi Alta California.


Maria Elena Cruz is a professional artist, curator, art educator, and community builder. She is the founder-director of Dial Art: “A Call to enrich, empower, and serve communities through art.” She has been designing curricula and teaching art for over 20 years. She exhibits her fine art and curates group exhibitions at various galleries throughout California and abroad.

Mariachi Alta California was started in 2006 by members of the student group, Mariachi de Uclatlán. A few years later, after graduation, they decided to take the band off campus and landed a residency in Santa Monica. The rest is history. Over the years, group members have ventured into various professions but they always gather for what brought them together as young college students: la música del mariachi.

Upcoming Programs

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Fowler Open House

Kick off the new academic year with an evening of art, discovery, and connection at the Fowler Museum. ...
Wed Oct 21, 2026
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
In Person
Two wooden tribal statues displayed in a glass case inside a dimly lit museum with teal walls

Global Cuisine: Stirring the Pot and the Past—Southeast Asian Food Stories

Inspired by Mountain Spirits: Rice and Indigeneity in the Northern Luzon Highlands, Philippines and the forthcoming cookbook Stirring the Pot and the Past: Food Stories and Philippine History by Stephen Acabado and John Sherwin Felix, this program will focus on Indigenous Filipino culinary traditions, community knowledge, and the enduring role of food in preserving memory, strengthening community, and fostering cultural exchange. ...
Thu Oct 22, 2026
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
In Person
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