This year Fullerton marks Día de los Muertos at three venues on three different dates. The Fullerton Public Library's community ofrenda is effectively done by the night of Saturday, Oct. 31. The Muckenthaler Cultural Center holds its free festival on Sunday, Nov. 1. The Fullerton Museum Center closes things out with Noche de Muertos on Saturday, Nov. 7. If you show up only on Nov. 1, you've missed the first stop and are still a week early for the last one.
Halloween week falls on top of all this. Between Oct. 24 and Nov. 8, the same downtown blocks, Malvern Avenue and the Cal State Fullerton side of town fill up with walking tours, a one-night return of the night market, campus theater and a native plant sale. Below, the calendar is laid out in the order things close, because that's the order that decides your weekends.
The ofrenda's real last day is Oct. 31
The library's Día de los Muertos Community Ofrenda is officially on display from Oct. 1 through Nov. 2. The same page also says the library is closed Sunday, Nov. 1 and Monday, Nov. 2. That means the last day you can actually stand in front of it is Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Main Library, 353 W. Commonwealth Ave.
The ofrenda only works if people add to it. To include a photo of someone you're remembering, fill out a submission card and drop it off at the Cards & Accounts desk just inside the main entrance. Cards are available in the building, and the library posts a printable version for 2026. If you want a photo up for more than a day or two before the display comes down, bring it in before Halloween weekend.
A trip to the library on Saturday, Oct. 24 can do double duty. That afternoon, the Main Library hosts Town & Gown: Mummies!, an all-ages, in-person program from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Osborne Auditorium, Room B. You can drop off a photo card and stay for the program in one visit.
Sunday, Nov. 1 belongs to Malvern Avenue
The day after the library's last open day, the celebration moves to the Muck at 1201 W. Malvern Ave. The Muckenthaler's Día de los Muertos Festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. with free admission, live music, food, family art activities, local artisans and kids' crafts.
That Sunday is also the second day of the Muck's Artistic License Fair, which runs Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 with work from more than 50 regional artisans. You can browse the fair and catch the festival in a single afternoon. Or split them up: fair on Saturday, after your last stop at the library, and festival on Sunday. Nov. 1 is also opening day for the Muck's run of The Servant of Two Masters, which continues through Nov. 17.
Dinner afterward can stay on the same street. Haruka Sake & Sushi is now open at 1925 W. Malvern Ave. and held its ribbon-cutting yesterday, Friday, Oct. 9. This will be the first Día de los Muertos Sunday with Haruka open on Malvern.
Saturday, Nov. 7 closes it out downtown
Six days after the Muck festival, the Fullerton Museum Center at 301 N. Pomona Ave. hosts Noche de Muertos from 4 to 8 p.m. The museum lists community altars, live music, a beer garden, face painting, arts and crafts, and local vendors. The listing doesn't give an admission price, so check with the museum before you go.
Each venue does something different. The library offers one shared ofrenda and quiet daytime visiting. The Muck offers a free afternoon of family art and music. The museum moves the community altars into an evening setting with a beer garden. Each covers ground the others don't, which makes a strong case for visiting all three instead of choosing one.
Nov. 7 also falls in the middle of another event. The Fullerton Arboretum holds its Native Plant Sale Nov. 6 through 8 at 1900 Associated Road. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. On that Saturday, you could shop the plant sale in the morning, get your plants home, and be downtown when Noche de Muertos opens at 4. The weekend ends on campus. A violin and piano recital with Ernest Salem and Alison Edwards is set for Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. in Meng Concert Hall.
Halloween week gets there first
Halloween week sits right before the Día de los Muertos stops, so the two overlap. It runs on the same downtown blocks the museum will use on Nov. 7.
The Fullerton Museum Center runs Haunted Fullerton Walking Tours Oct. 28 through 30. Guests meet at the museum at 5:30 p.m. and head out at 6:30. Tickets are listed at $40 to $50 and include one drink coupon and gallery access. There's also an Oct. 31 Halloween special with the same 5:30 p.m. meeting time, plus light bites and a tarot reader. The museum's Special Halloween Edition listing says that tour ends at 8:30 p.m. and isn't recommended for children under 13. The ticket page said prices were scheduled to rise Oct. 1, so check the current price before you buy.
Thursday, Oct. 29 brings back something that was missing all fall. Fullerton's Thursday night market ran from April 2 through Sept. 3 this year at Downtown Plaza. The city calls OktoBOOfest a "Fullerton Night Market with a spooky twist." It runs Oct. 29 at Downtown Fullerton Plaza, 125 E. Wilshire Ave., with vendors, food, a kids' corner, trick-or-treating, entertainment and contests. The city page doesn't list hours. Our research also didn't turn up any separate city trick-or-treat event at a park this year, which makes OktoBOOfest the city's listed trick-or-treat night.
That same Thursday, Jarabe Mexicano plays the Muck at 7:30 p.m. So on Oct. 29 you'll be choosing between downtown and Malvern Avenue, not picking up a second event.
On the CSUF side, In the Heights runs Oct. 22 through 31 at the Little Theatre. Performances include Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. and a Halloween matinee on Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. Tickets are listed at $24 general and $22 for Titans, plus a $4 processing fee. The Fullerton Jazz Orchestra and Fullerton Jazz Chamber Ensemble play Meng Concert Hall on Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m.
Halloween Saturday is the busiest day of the stretch. You can visit the library ofrenda on its last open day, browse the Artistic License Fair at the Muck, catch the 2 p.m. In the Heights matinee, and join the museum's evening Halloween tour. Some of those overlap in time, so you'll need to pick.
The Saturday before all of it
The stretch really begins on Saturday, Oct. 24, and that day is just as full:
- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city's free Health & Wellness Fair at the Fullerton Community Center, 340 W. Commonwealth Ave., with wellness booths, fitness demonstrations and raffles.
- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pumpkin Bouquets at the Fullerton Arboretum, a DIY dried-flower bouquet and pumpkin-pot activity. Admission is $5 at the main entrance and free for members.
- 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. In the Heights at CSUF's Little Theatre.
- 3 to 5 p.m. Town & Gown: Mummies! at the Main Library.
- Hours not listed Toontown Market at Downtown Plaza, followed by Soul Real Market at the same plaza on Sunday, Oct. 25.
Oct. 24 is also a good day to drop off your ofrenda photo card, since you'll already be at the library for the afternoon program.
The full stretch, in order
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Health & Wellness Fair, Pumpkin Bouquets, Mummies!, Toontown Market, In the Heights | Community Center, Arboretum, Main Library, Downtown Plaza, CSUF Little Theatre |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Soul Real Market | Downtown Plaza |
| Wed., Oct. 28 to Fri., Oct. 30 | Haunted Fullerton Walking Tours, 5:30 p.m. meet | Fullerton Museum Center |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | OktoBOOfest; Jarabe Mexicano at 7:30 p.m. | Downtown Plaza; the Muck |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Fullerton Jazz Orchestra, 8 p.m. | Meng Concert Hall |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Last open day for the library ofrenda; Artistic License Fair; Halloween tour | Main Library; the Muck; Fullerton Museum Center |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Día de los Muertos Festival, noon to 4 p.m., free; Artistic License Fair | The Muck |
| Wed., Nov. 4 | Brightwork newmusic, 8 p.m. | Meng Concert Hall |
| Fri., Nov. 6 to Sun., Nov. 8 | Native Plant Sale | Fullerton Arboretum |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Noche de Muertos, 4 to 8 p.m. | Fullerton Museum Center |
| Sun., Nov. 8 | Ernest Salem and Alison Edwards recital, 3 p.m. | Meng Concert Hall |
Brad Kerr and Barbara Ann Kerr have built BK Platinum Properties in Fullerton over more than 40 years. The library, the Muck and the Museum Center are part of the city we know as neighbors, not just as a market. If this season has you wondering what your own Fullerton home is worth, request a complimentary home valuation. We'll put the same local attention into the answer.
