WHAT:
20th Anniversary El Día de los Muertos at Cheekwood
WHERE:
Cheekwood
1200 Forrest Park Drive
Nashville, TN 37205
WHEN:
Saturday, November 2, 9am – 5pm
Parades: 10:30am | 2:30pm
Cheekwood will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its El Día de los Muertos event, a popular Latin American family celebration with traditional music and dance performances, an international marketplace with authentic cuisine, and interactive art activities designed to appeal to all ages.
The celebration is a premier community event for Nashville’s Hispanic population and families throughout the area. The event is free to children under the age of 17 and Cheekwood members. Regular gate fees apply to adults who are not-yet-members.
“We’re thrilled to welcome families to this special 20th-anniversary celebration of El Día de los Muertos,” said Nathalie Lavine, V. P. of Education and Outreach at Cheekwood. “This event has become a community favorite and we look forward to seeing new and familiar faces as we honor this significant cultural tradition.”
In recognition of the festival’s 20th year, new parades are planned for 10:30 am and 2:30 pm. Community members are welcome to dress for the occasion and join the parade, which will be led by the Aztec dancers, who are festival mainstays and crowd favorites.
Offsite parking will be available at Valor Academy with a FREE shuttle service running at various times throughout the day. See the event website page for shuttle times: https://cheekwood.org/calendar/el-dia-de-los-muertos/.
Other elements of the festival include:
The Tapete Display and Competition, a 15-year tradition at the festival, will occur with 14 participating area schools.
Local groups and organizations will create their own unique Ofrendas which will be displayed at this year’s festival. Across Mexico and beyond, families honor their ancestors by creating these altars decorated with items that the deceased enjoyed in life.
Live Performances including Serenatta, Luna Morena, Duo Sudeste, Groupo de Baile Folclorico, San Rafael Band, Glencliff Ballet Folklorico, Rachel Rodriguez, La Mision ConArte, and Aztec Dancers.
Art projects and activities including decorating calaveras masks and sugar skulls, creating papel picado paper cut-outs, decorating barriletes and making monarch butterflies.
An open-air International Marketplace featuring food from various restaurants, including La Hacienda Bakery and Las Fajitas Restaurant, as well as food truck vendors Yayo’s O.M.G. and Two Peruvians in a Truck, among others. A group of local artists will also be on-site as marketplace vendors, including Stacy Leigh Booktique, Vera’s Innovations, Cindy David Designs and many more.
The festival will offer History, including community altars or ‘ofrendas’ created by groups such as Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies, Catholic Charities, Equal Chance for Education as well as many others and displayed in Massey Auditorium. There will also be bilingual host at the Museum of Art Galleries in the Cheekwood Mansion.
For more information, visit https://cheekwood.org/calendar/el-dia-de-los-muertos/.
El Día de los Muertos is sponsored by Comcast and Dell Technologies.
About Cheekwood
Cheekwood is a 55-acre American Country Place Era estate in Nashville, Tennessee. Built in 1929 by the Cheek family who amassed their fortune in part through the Maxwell House Coffee business, the estate was gifted and opened as a public institution in 1960. Today, it features 12 distinct gardens, a woodland sculpture trail, a 7,000-piece permanent art collection, and Georgian-style Mansion with historically furnished rooms and galleries.
Over 225,000 visitors come to Cheekwood annually for year-round seasonal festivals, world-class art exhibitions, breathtaking gardens, and educational and public programs for all ages. A member of the American Public Gardens Association, Cheekwood is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its mission is to preserve Cheekwood as a historical landmark where beauty and excellence in art and horticulture stimulate the mind and nurture the spirit.
For more information about Cheekwood, visit www.cheekwood.org.
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Contact
Caroline Jeronimus
615.353.6982 (o)
615.480.0500 (m)
cjeronimus@cheekwood.org