Día de Muertos Returns to the Center
Sonoma Community Center to host an altar lighting and celebration
Sonoma, California. The Sonoma Community Center will hold its annual Día de Muertos Altar Lighting and Celebration on Sunday, November 1, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. The free event is centered around the lighting of a 12-foot public altar at the front of the Center at 6:30 p.m., followed by traditional folk dances by Grupo Folklórico Quetzalén, food, and cultural activities for all ages on the back patio.
Día de Muertos is a time when families and friends come together to honor and remember loved ones who have passed. Altars are decorated with photographs, calaveras (skulls), pan de muerto, and cempazúchitl (marigold flowers), symbols of both life and remembrance. The Center’s public altar, created by local sculptor Jim Callahan, stands on the west side of the front garden. At the lighting, flames rise at the heart of the 12-foot structure.
“The Center’s Día de Muertos celebration brings our community together in remembrance and celebration,” said Sonoma Community Center’s Executive Director, Vanessa Glamore Rognlien. “We have multiple altars on campus where community members can place tributes to their loved ones.”
The altar belongs to the whole community. Beginning Sunday, October 25, Valley residents are invited to bring photographs of their departed loved ones to place on the altar. Because the altar stands outdoors, photos should be weather-resistant. Volunteers are needed to help decorate the altar and can sign up on the event page at SonomaCommunityCenter.org.
“It is a beautiful and connective time at the Center,” Rognlien continued. “We are honored to be a part of such meaningful tradition.”
In the weeks before the celebration, three themed workshops offer a hands-on way to explore the traditions of Día de Muertos. Each class is taught bilingually in English and Spanish and is open to all ages. Two of the workshops are free; Paper Flowers is $25.
On Tuesday, October 20, from 5:30-8:00 p.m., Gerardo Diaz, a culinary enthusiast born and raised in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, leads Pan de Muerto in the Center’s Rotary Kitchen. Participants learn to make the traditional sweet bread that symbolizes the cycle of life and death, shape its bone-like dough decorations, and learn its place on the altar. The class is free.
On Saturday, October 24, from 2:00-3:00 p.m., Ana Rios, a Guadalajara, Jalisco, native who has lived in the Valley for two decades, teaches Paper Flowers. Participants will make colorful, eco-friendly paper flowers to bring home for their own altars and celebrations. The class is $25.
On Tuesday, October 27, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., Sonia Mendoza, a program coordinator at La Luz Center, leads Sugar Skulls in the Rotary Kitchen. Participants decorate their own calaveras de azúcar while learning about their meaning in Día de Muertos traditions. The class is free.
The annual Día de Muertos Altar Lighting and Celebration is scheduled for Sunday, November 1, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the Sonoma Community Center, 276 East Napa Street. The altar lighting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the front garden, followed by the celebration on the back patio. The event is free and open to the public, and donations to the Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, are welcome. Event information and class registration are available at SonomaCommunityCenter.org or by calling the Center at 707-938-4626.
About Sonoma Community Center
The Sonoma Community Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1953 to serve the communities of Sonoma Valley with the mission of cultivating a vibrant community through extraordinary creative, cultural, and learning experiences. Originally built as the Sonoma Grammar School, which opened in 1916, the Center is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Community – Innovation – Creativity – Inclusion – Leadership
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Media Contact:
Vanessa Glamore Rognlien
Executive Director, Sonoma Community Center
[email protected]
707-931-4166
SonomaCommunityCenter.org
