📅 Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025
🕓 5-9 p.m.
📍 Seattle Art Museum, Brotman Forum: 1300 1st Ave., Seattle
💰 Free
If you’ve never been to the Seattle Art Museum’s Día de los Muertos Community Celebration, this is the year to go all in. Now in its 31st year, SAM’s annual tribute to life, memory and community transforms the Brotman Forum into a whirlwind of color, sound and movement — part party, part reflection, but all heart.
Start with the “tapete” — an intricate sand painting created by Oaxacan artist Fulgencio Lazo and his team. The piece radiates with vibrant patterns and symbolic flourishes that celebrate the beauty of life and the acceptance of death. This year’s design features new sculptural elements honoring Seattle organizations that uplift the community. Stick around to hear Lazo himself speak about the piece at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
The evening hums with activity. DJ sets by Sazón Seattle turn the South Hall into a Latin club for the night, while La Banda Gozona, Grupo Cultural Oaxaqueño and Buena Vibra fill the museum with irresistible rhythms that will keep you dancing. Get hands-on at art stations where you can make screenprint posters, tissue paper flowers or tiny “nichos” (shadow boxes) to honor someone you love.
Free food from Sazón Oaxaqueño keeps everyone fueled (at least while supplies last), and community partner Northwest Immigrant Rights Project will be on hand to share resources and connect with visitors. The galleries stay open late — perfect for a quieter moment between songs or crafts. Sixty-minute tours meet at the top of the 3rd floor escalators at 11:30, 1:30 and 6 p.m., while a Spanish-language tour of the permanent collection leaves at 7 p.m.
It’s a night that reminds us how art, memory and movement can keep a community’s spirit alive — and keep us all dancing together.
