Long Beach Día de los Muertos Grand Festival Returns to Rainbow Lagoon on November 1: Free, 1 to 7 p.m., City-Run With No Parade
In Long Beach, a city in Los Angeles County, California, the annual Día de los Muertos Grand Festival will take place on Sunday, November 1, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Rainbow Lagoon (400 E. Shoreline Dr.) in downtown Long Beach, with free admission. Hosted by the City of Long Beach and the Office of First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, the festival will feature live performances, food trucks and a resource fair, inviting the community to gather in memory of loved ones who have died.
The celebration returns after a one-year absence. According to the Long Beach Post, the city canceled all of last year's Día de los Muertos festivities, including the parade, out of an abundance of caution after officials heard genuine fears in the community about federal immigration enforcement. This year's event returns at a smaller scale and without a parade. The festival began in 2014 and added a parade in 2022, when floats, classic cars, dancing horses and ballet folklórico drew tens of thousands from across the region. From 2022 through 2024, the festival was organized by the private group Grand Parade Día De Los Muertos Inc. while the city ran the parade; after the company chose not to organize the festival this year, the city took over the celebration in full. City spokesperson Laath Martin said the City Council approved diverting unspent funds from last year's parade toward this year's celebration, giving it a budget of $100,000; specific vendors have not yet been announced.
Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition observed on November 1 and 2, when families honor the dead with altars (ofrendas) decorated with photographs, candles, marigolds and food, and it is one of the most important cultural celebrations of the year for Latino communities across Southern California.
Event information
Time: Sunday, November 1, 2026, 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Rainbow Lagoon, 400 E. Shoreline Dr., downtown Long Beach
Admission: Free
Hosted by: City of Long Beach and the Office of First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas; details on the City of Long Beach website
Source: GSM·USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：亡灵节传统花卉万寿菊（cempasúchil）资料图，非本次活动现场。图片：Mario Hdez Hdez，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons（裁切并加 GSM 角标）。Photo: Marigold (cempasúchil), the traditional Day of the Dead flower; file photo, not this event. Image: Mario Hdez Hdez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped, GSM mark added).
