Atlantic City, N.J. ­— The Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University will celebrate one of Mexico’s most beautiful and meaningful cultural traditions on Nov. 1 with its second annual Día de los Muertos Celebration. 

The Arts Garage, in partnership with several community groups, will hold the free event from 6 to 9 p.m. The celebration will feature traditional live music, cultural performances by the Mexican dance group Yaretzi, an artisan market, interactive art workshops, Mexican food and face painting for children. 

The event will also feature competitions honoring the cultural traditions of creating ofrenda and dressing as Catrin and Catrinas. La catrina and ofrendas are two Mexican traditions during Día de los Muertos that honor the memories of loved ones who have passed. 

In the ofrenda competition, individuals and organizations will create beautifully decorated altars to honor the lives of departed loved ones. Cash prizes of $500 will be awarded to the ofrendas that are ranked by judges as the most traditional and most creative. A third cash prize of $500 will go toward the “community favorite.” The altars will be set up before the celebration and be on display in the Arts Garage from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1. Members of the community can stop by the Arts Garage to vote for their favorite.  

In the Catrin and Catrina contests, competitors will dress as the iconic symbol of Day of the Dead, which often features a painted skeleton face, flowers, hats with feathers and formal attire. Competitors will be evaluated on creativity, originality, authenticity, makeup, outfit craftmanship and presentation. The general public at the Nov. 1 event will vote for their favorites with $500 prizes for the winners. 

“It's been a pleasure to partner with El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City to plan this celebration for the second year at the Arts Garage,” said Sarah Lacy, the liaison for Event Planning and Promotion at the Noyes Museum of Art of Stockton University. “I’m personally excited to see the expansion of the community-driven competitions to include catrinas this year, as well as the pop-up art exhibition showing recent artwork by Oaxan artist Noé Jacinto.” 

The celebration is presented in partnership with Organizacion Azteca, El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City, Hispanic Association of Atlantic County, Atlantic Cape Community College, Ducktown CDC, the Noyes Arts Garage, and the City of Atlantic City’s Multicultural Office. The celebration is a Prudential North to shore official selection event, sponsored by Prudential and produced by NJPAC. This is the third year that the Noyes Arts Garage has participated in the statewide arts festival, and the first year that Día de los Muertos was named as a North to Shore official selection event. 

The Noyes Arts Garage is located at 2200 Fairmount Ave., in Atlantic City. For more information, call 609-626-3805.