The New York Botanical Garden is preparing to celebrate Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, with a season of seasonal colors and vibrant displays spread across its Bronx grounds. CBS News New York correspondent Tony Aiello got a sneak peek at the Garden's Day of the Dead celebrations, capturing marigolds, skeleton figures and community altar pieces coming together ahead of the holiday.
According to CBS News New York, the Garden sits in the Bronx and is gearing up to mark the holiday with its signature blend of horticulture and celebration. The centerpiece, per the Garden's own event listing on nybg.org, features vibrant marigold blooms alongside a colorful community ofrenda, calaveras, and a towering hand-crafted Catrina figure. That skeleton figure and a set of monarch butterfly puppets were created for the Garden by artist Lucrecia Novoa, the site notes.
A First-Ever Trail Rooted in Tradition
This marks the debut of the Garden's first-ever Día de los Muertos trail, according to iloveny.com, which describes the installation as combining vibrant floral displays with sculpted iconography drawn from the Mexican celebration of life and family reunion. The Garden itself sits at 2900 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, the same source notes.
Weekend programming will lean into the season further, with holiday music, crafts, and quiet moments for reflection set among fall foliage and festive pumpkins, per the same account. Visitors will also be invited to take part directly in the memorial tradition: the Garden's site says guests can contribute a photograph or written memory of a loved one who has passed to the communal altar, though it cautions that anything added becomes a permanent part of the installation and will not be returned.
Music, Dance and a November Parade
Performances threaded throughout the celebration draw on Mexican folk traditions. MAZarte Dance Company will present folk dance every half-hour between 1 and 5 p.m., according to the Garden's listing, while Son Pecadores, a New York City-based collective of jaraneros, will perform son jarocho music on-site. The festivities build toward a Día de los Muertos parade scheduled for Sunday, November 1, at 2 p.m., the Garden says.
Hands-On Workshops for Families
Families with young children have several ways to get involved beyond watching from the sidelines. The Everett Children's Adventure Garden will host guided activities including marigold planting and a story trail, while a Cempasúchil natural-dye workshop for kids and caregivers is set for October 18 from 1 to 3 p.m., according to the Garden's page.
A Mini Clay Alebrijes workshop, recommended for children ages 4 to 10 and their families, is planned for October 31 from 2 to 3 p.m. Hands-on sessions covering papel picado and silk flowers are also scheduled across multiple October dates, plus October 31 and November 2, rounding out a program built around craft, music and remembrance in equal measure.
