Hollywood Forever Cemetery claims to host the largest Day of the Dead celebration in California, and we wouldn’t doubt it: The cemetery grounds are covered with art exhibitions, dance rituals, musical performances, arts and crafts projects and food vendors (and crowds) aplenty. You’ll see altars to the dead created by community artists, and can either watch or participate in the calaca (skeleton) costume contest.
This year’s theme honors the tradition and symbolism of masks in Mexico and Latin America, and it’s sure to be a spectacular display, as always. But if you’ve missed the past two years of the event, there’s a pretty major change you should know about: It’s been split into two timed events.
Here’s how it works: Día de los Muertos will open at 9am and start shooing away attendees at 3pm. Then at 5pm, the grounds will open back up for Noche de los Muertos until midnight. The daytime event’s programming leans slightly more kid-friendly, and it’s also a fraction of the price. If budget isn’t an issue, the real choice comes down to whether you want to see the altars in the daytime, which you can expect to be slightly less crowded, or in the evening, when you can see them glow and flicker but traditionally through pretty thick crowds.