New York 42 Día de los Muertos at NYBG 2026
New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York · Organized by New York Botanical Garden
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- Dates
- Oct 3, 2026 – Nov 2, 2026
- Time
- 10:00 – 18:00
- Format
- In person
- Where
- New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York
- Tickets
- $15 – $39
- Organizer
- New York Botanical Garden
The Botanical Garden's Día de los Muertos lasts a month rather than a weekend, and it lives in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden: a community ofrenda, workshops and music from 3 October to 2 November 2026, all of it included with the All-Garden Pass.
The ofrenda
Anyone can add to the community altar: a photograph, or a few written lines about someone they have lost. The Garden asks for no food and no candles.
The days with the most on
Lucrecia Novoa's giant La Catrina and skeleton puppets walk the garden on 31 October and 1 and 2 November, from 1 to 5pm; her monarch butterfly puppets come out a week earlier, on 24 and 25 October, from 11 to 3. The dancers of MAZarte perform every half hour from 1 to 5pm on 31 October and 2 November, and Bilingual Birdies sing on 31 October and 1 November. On the October weekends before that, the folk band Son Pecadores plays sets at 11, 12 and 1.
The parade, Sunday 1 November
From 1pm, wearable-art crafts to make for it. At 2pm the procession sets off behind Son Pecadores and the Mascara Viva puppets; MAZarte dance on the Daffodil Hill Main Stage at 2.30, CoolMarx teaches cumbia sonidera at 3.15, and a dance party runs from 3.30 to 5. If the weather is bad the procession is cancelled and everything else goes ahead.
Workshops
Papel picado and silk-flower making through the month. On 31 October, from 2 to 3pm, children aged 4 to 10 can model small clay alebrijes.
Tickets
The festival comes with the All-Garden Pass: adults $35 on weekdays and $39 at weekends, seniors and students $31 and $35, children $15 and $17, under-2s free. The Garden is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
Across Fordham Road
The Bronx Zoo is just the other side of Fordham Road, and its Boo at the Zoo runs on the same weekends until 1 November: pumpkins on one side of the road, marigolds and skeletons on the other.
If you can go only once, go on the 31st or the 1st. The month-long part, the ofrenda and the workshops, is pleasant on any weekend; the puppets, the dancers and the parade are packed into the last three days. The parade is an outdoor procession the Garden will cancel in the rain, so on 1 November look at the sky before setting out, and come for the 1pm crafts rather than the 2pm start: the costume you make is the one you walk in.
New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx on the map
Día de los Muertos at NYBG 2026: questions
When is Día de los Muertos at NYBG in 2026?
From 3 October to 2 November 2026. The parade is on Sunday 1 November, from 1 to 5pm.
Does it cost extra?
No. It is included in the All-Garden Pass: $35 for adults on weekdays, $39 at weekends, $15 and $17 for children.
What can I bring for the ofrenda?
A photograph or a written memory. No food and no candles.
Source: New York Botanical Garden checked against the source
