Altares y Muertos Public Art Exhibition

Part of the Milagro Central Eastside Muertos Celebration, this exhibition gathers Día de Muertos altar installations hosted by artists, businesses, and community organizations across the Central Eastside. Altars may be viewed during each location’s regular business hours, October 24 through November 6, at Bar Botellón, Cargo, Cumbia Corazón, El Zócalo at El Centro Milagro, New Deal Distillery, Nossa Familia Coffee, Point West Credit Union, and River City Bicycles.

One of the most beloved parts of the celebration, the guided tour on Saturday, October 31 at 11:30 is open to all with no admission charge or pay-what-you-wish. Participants gather El Zócalo, the community space at El Centro Milagro, where each guest is given a garland of silk marigolds to wear or wind around a bicycle. Sometimes called zempachule or Flor de Muerto, the marigold is believed to guide the souls of the dead back to the world of the living. At noon, the first group rolls out on a route through Portland’s Central Eastside, stopping at partner businesses hosting altars, with volunteers from The Street Trust keeping riders safe along the way. The route includes a brief stop at the second annual Blumenauer Bridge Witching Hour. A map of tour locations posts on Milagro’s event page beginning Friday, October 23.