Milpitas families can honor loved ones this month as the city’s Día de Muertos Health and Wellness Fair and Sugar Skull 5K return to Gill Memorial Park on Saturday, Oct. 24, running from 9 to 11 a.m., according to The Mercury News. The free fair pairs traditional crafts and music with a paid 5K race, while a separate youth art and design contest invites students to create artwork for a plush toy or another comforting item for abused children.
What's Planned at Gill Memorial Park
The wellness fair will feature traditional crafts, face painting for children ages 3 to 12, dances, music and food, according to The Mercury News. Visitors are also invited to bring a photo of a loved one to add to a community ofrenda, the traditional altar used during the holiday to remember the deceased. Admission to the wellness fair itself is free, while the Sugar Skull 5K carries a $42 registration fee for adults and $32 for youth ages 17 and younger.
This year’s event pairs a Día de Muertos run or walk with a wellness fair at Gill Memorial Park. The city’s Día de los Muertos celebration was held at Cardoza Park in 2022.
Art Contest Benefits Abused Children
Beyond the fair and the race, Santa Clara County high school students are being invited to create an original design that will be transformed into a plush toy or another comforting item for abused children, as noted by The Mercury News. The finished toys will go to children at the soon-to-open South County Children’s Advocacy Center in Morgan Hill and the existing San Jose Children’s Advocacy Center, The Mercury News reported.
Santa Clara County opened its first Children’s Advocacy Center in San Jose in 2021, and it had served more than 4,200 children and youth by February 2026. About 3% of those served came from South County, where distance has been a barrier for families seeking the center. A second site at Valley Health Center Morgan Hill is intended to improve local access, with the county expecting it to open in early 2027. The county’s announcement of the South County center describes its planned services and the access gap it is meant to address.
The effort is organized through the Justice for All Awards Art and Design Contest, which carries a $1,500 first-place prize, a $1,000 second-place prize and a $500 third-place award. The first-place winner’s artwork will be featured on the Santa Clara County district attorney’s website and used in a campaign to raise awareness about the advocacy centers, and the top three winners will be honored at an awards ceremony, per a report from The Mercury News.
The centers are designed to coordinate the response around a child rather than send families from agency to agency. Children’s Advocacy Centers can provide forensic interviews, mental-health services and victim advocacy.
