Sunnylands Open Call
:)
Sunnylands Open Call :)
dia de los muertos
Our community is front and center with people from all over the Coachella Valley coming together to celebrate cultural traditions! The event features a procession and 5k race, ofrendas by community members & organizations, oversized calaveras and puppets by local artists, interactive art installations, a community gallery exhibition, mercadito de arte, along with live music, food vendors, and a beer & wine garden. We stage culture bearer workshops leading up to the event and are a proud member of the CV Days of Los Muertos - a partnership of organizations celebrating Dia de Los Muertos across the Coachella Valley
Raices Cultura is one of the lead organizations representing Day of the Dead in the Coachella Valley. Through our strong community ties, we have created a celebration of culture and the preservation of tradition & heritage that continues to grow year after year. The inaugural event took place in 2004 at the Centro Martin Ortiz Church on 1st Street. It was the first of its kind and drew people from all corners of the Valley. Thematic art and traditional ofrendas filled the space for the one-night event and Azteca dancers opened the gathering with a performance and blessing - it was an instant hit. Year after year, as attendance and participation grew, the church with a 300-person capacity could no longer accommodate the event.
In 2012, Raices Cultura partnered with Run with Los Muertos, a 5k race produced by local event production company Eventscape, Int., and moved Dia de Los Muertos onto the streets of downtown Coachella with a block party format on 6th Street. In 2015, Raices migrated to a new headquarters on 7th Street and expanded the footprint of the block party to both 6th and 7th Street. Eventscape, Int. doubled the musical stages and created a new route for the runners. Surpassing 3,000 attendees, our Block Party is a unique cross-section of locals and visitors alike, welcoming folks who are life-long participants in this tradition and those who are new to the practice and celebration. The annual event features a traditional blessing, formal procession, large scale art installations, live music, 5k race, food vendors & beer garden, community art gallery, mercadito de arte, and more.
Raices Cultura is a proud member of the Coachella Valley Days of Los Muertos Collective, a consortium of local partners that celebrate Dia de Los Muertos valley-wide. Our CV Days partners are: Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs Cemetery District, Run with Los Muertos, Sunnylands Center & Gardens, and Coachella Valley History Museum.
PARTICIPATE
ARTISTS
Participate by painting a large-scale calavera, creating a unique multi-media ofrenda, or submitting work for our community gallery exhibition. Maybe you want to create a special project installation? Or perform in our theater group? Contact us today!
FAMILIES and LOCAL ORGs
Take your family dynamic or organizational teamwork to the next level and get creative! Commemorate a loved one or propose an issue-focused ofrenda that impacts community and share it at our event. Your efforts are two-fold:
Create and Educate!
VOLUNTEERS
Since the beginning, Raices has only been able to do what it does because of our dedicated core volunteers. We are looking for folks who want to do something fun, learn something new, and give back to the community. Join our efforts now!
