Nonprofits partner for community celebration of Dia de los Muertos
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — One22 Resource Center has partnered with 10 local social service and arts organizations for a community-wide Día de Los Muertos celebration.
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a festive multi-day holiday, originating in Mexico, during which family and friends gather to joyfully remember friends and family members who have died. One favorite Día de los Muertos tradition is the creation of ofrendas (home altars) with the favorite food and beverages of the departed.
On Tuesday, November 2, each partnering nonprofit will install a unique ofrenda at their offices around Jackson, and the community is invited to join in the celebration by downloading this map and BINGO card or picking one up at Teton Literacy Center (1715 High School Road, #260).
Visitors will stamp their BINGO cards at each ofrenda site, returning completed cards to One22’s Jackson Cupboard (245 North Glenwood Street) on November 2. All completed BINGO cards will be entered in a raffle, and everyone who stops by the Cupboard between 3:30 and 6:30pm will take home some pozole, a delicious traditional Mexican soup.
“This collaboration is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an important Latin-American holiday from the unique perspectives of our local arts, faith, education, and social service organizations,” said Sharel Lund, One22’s executive director. “I can’t wait to see the different interpretations of this beloved tradition.”
Dia de los Muertos is mostly observed in Mexico but also celebrated in other places in South and Central America, as well as in the United States. Traditions include honoring the deceased using calaveras (skulls) and Aztec marigold flowers known as cempazúchitl, building ofrendas with the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, visiting graves with these items as gifts for the deceased, giving gifts such as candy sugar skulls, and sharing traditional pan de muerto with family and friends.
Day of the Dead is considered a holiday of joyful celebration rather than mourning, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.
Ofrenda Sites:
- Teton Literacy Center, 1715 High School Road, #260 (Flat Creek Business Center)
- Teton County Library, 125 Virginian Lane (in the lobby)
- National Museum of Wildlife Art, 2820 Rungius Road
- Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum, 225 North Cache Street
- Coombs Outdoors, 335 South Milward
- Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, 201 South Jackson Street
- Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, 245 East Simpson Avenue
- John’s Episcopal Church, 170 North Glenwood Street (in the main Sanctuary)
- Children’s Learning Center, 145 Mercill Avenue
- One22 Resource Center, Voices JH, & Jackson Cupboard, 245 North Glenwood
