Día de los Muertos 2026 in Santa Clarita: Ways to Celebrate and Remember

The Headliner: Santa Clarita's Fourth Annual Día de los Muertos

On Saturday, October 24, from 3 to 5 p.m., the City of Santa Clarita hosts its fourth annual Día de los Muertos celebration at the Canyon Country Community Center, 18410 Sierra Highway. The afternoon brings mariachi music, folklórico dancing, traditional crafts, face painting, games, and trick-or-treating, plus the Youth Sports Zombie Run. It is free, family-friendly, and built to be welcoming to every generation, exactly the spirit of the holiday.

If you have young kids, this is the gentlest way to start the Halloween weekend: marigolds in the afternoon, costumes by dusk, no pressure to stay up late.

More Ways to Spend the Weekend

The same Saturday evening, the Halloween Community Hike runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Whitney Canyon, a guided, family-friendly evening walk through one of the valley's favorite trails. It is a different kind of spooky: stars, autumn air, and good company.

Day-of-Dead traditions carry straight into Sunday: the Santa Clarita Valley Quilt Guild presents its quilt show, "Where Quilts and Friendships Bloom," on Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center. Handmade craft and community memory belong together this time of year.

Music, Theatre, and Remembrance

On Friday, October 30 at 8 p.m., the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons presents "Eternamente: A Día de los Muertos Spectacular," an evening of music and dance honoring the holiday's traditions. Earlier that day, "Whispers from the Past" at the Newhall Mansion (5 p.m.) offers a historical haunt experience in one of Old Town Newhall's most storied houses.

The remembrance continues into November: "Día de los Muertos: A Celebration of Life," a bilingual musical theatre performance, takes the stage at the Newhall Family Theatre on Friday, November 6 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. These events turn the holiday's central idea into something you can hear: the people we remember stay close when we tell their stories.

Halloween Night and the Harvest Season

The holiday week closes with plenty of family fun. The Valencia Town Center Pumpkin Patch runs daily through October 31, ending with a big trick-or-treat finale that evening. Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain continues select nights through November 1, and Gilchrist Farm's Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Patch in Castaic runs through November 1 with farm train rides, pig races, and a straw maze, open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

From marigolds in Canyon Country to a hayride in Castaic, the valley knows how to honor a holiday that is about love and memory, not fear.

From Remembrance to Service: Veterans Day Is Next

Día de los Muertos reminds us who we have loved, and Veterans Day two weeks later reminds us who we owe. Santa Clarita's Veterans Day Ceremony returns Wednesday, November 11 at 11 a.m. at Veterans Historical Plaza, 24275 N. Walnut Street in Old Town Newhall. As a U.S. Army veteran, I will be there, and I hope you will too. It is the same community spirit, honoring the people who served.

Learn more in how to honor our veterans this November, and if you know a veteran or first-responder family thinking about home, my door is always open. Service Before Self means showing up, season after season.

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