Dia de Los Muertos Art & Music Festival

Whittier makes not being near a freeway up by having this festival every year. Last year I happened to be eating breakfast at Mimo’s and realized that this event was happening. This year, I made it a point to put it on the calendar and go. I used to be able to walk from my old house but now that I gotta drive there. First of all, parking SUCKS since this event is very much a «thing» for Whittier and surrounding communities and they still have services at the million churches in the area. Remember to consider that if you are driving!
They close down Greenleaf, parts of Bailey and Philadelphia so it makes for a decent walking area. This year I didn’t see many alters but they have so many little shops with the cutest Dia de Los Muertos curios: bags, air freshers, nail decals… name it, you find it here. I am going to go as far to say that they sell better stuff then they do at Hollywood Forever’s DDLM event (yup I went there!)
They also have a decent size «food court» where the Farmers Market sets up on Fridays (Philadelphia and Bright? Don’t quote me but around there) with enough choices to satisfy your sweet or sour tooth. They also have entertainment throughout the event from the opening dance to kids dancing tap and such. They also have a Catrina contest where women go all out and done their finest corsets and do their awesome makeup. I really like watching the artistry behind this, since I myself am a makeup lover.
Overall, this is one of my favorite Day of the Dead festivals and trust me when I tell you I go to a shit ton of them. It is hot out so make sure to wear proper attire and bring a parasol!

I came to this festival to watch a friend perform and it was about 105degrees out, with NO shade. I would probably have enjoyed this festival a LOT more if it wasn’t so hot, but that wasn’t the festivals fault.
I want to give this festival a 1 star due to the horrible experience I had with the food vendors, but that was only a part of the problem.
I wish the «food stand» had a name so that I could put the review on their website myself.
We waited in line for some «street tacos» and noticed that people were ordering big plates of tacos. We were unable to eat any breakfast, and it seemed like it would have been a great idea to grab a quick bite before we went to watch my friend perform.
We waited in line and as soon as we got to the front a girl who barely spoke any english took our order. So we asked for 3 tacos and I asked how much they were. Her response to me was «$ 3». GREAT! I expected them to be about $ 1.50 bc we were at a festival but she won me over. I wanted to make sure and asked, $ 3 for 3 tacos or $ 3 EACH? She looked around, gave me a smirk and said $ 3 EACH taco. This location was also the only one that didn’t post any prices either. I would have still purchased it, but i knew that the people in front of me who ordered about 15 tacos did NOT pay $ 45.why you ask? BC i saw them only hand her a $ 20 and get $ 5 back in change. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Spanish and there was no point in arguing with her about prices. So we cancelled our order and went to get a hot dog instead which cost $ 3 but was worth it bc it came with a lot of veggie toppings and grilled onions.
If you come to this event though, make sure you eat BEFORE you come, it isn’t worth buying any food here.

How could I forget to review this wonderful little festival, that comes once a year in October? That is why I’m catching up in reviewing before it comes back this year.
Anything that goes on in Uptown during any season is usually cool and fun. Something for the whole family, as they have a pretty decent amount of vendors there selling all kinds of Dia de los Muertos items, such as arts & crafts, gift ideas, clothing-​t-​shirts, food, etc. There’s also face painting for the kids, as well as adults & I believe some activities for the kids too. They have tables from vendors in the community (such as Vape, etc)
Live band and performances by rain dancers & other dance groups, etc. Also have some vendors that are local city businesses participating. Towards the end of it, you’ll see classic cars (other spots like Philadelphia too).
They even had a marching band performing and going throughout the area, dressed like the Dia de los Muertos, it was cool.
Always something good to look forward to! Check around September to see what date it will be and add to the list of many Dia de los Muertos events that will ongoing from October thru beginning of November.