Palmetto Luna Presents Day of the Dead Festival

Join Palmetto Luna on Boyd Plaza during Soda City Market to celebrate the Day of the Dead. This free event includes a Day of the Dead altar, art, and cultural activities. The altar has become a tradition where members of the community can share a prayer, light a candle, or bring a memento to place as an offering for their lost loved ones.  

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican tradition to honor those who have departed. Within Mexican culture’s complex fusion of customs including Aztec, Mayan, and Spanish traditions, death is merely one part in the wider cycle of existence. The Day of the Dead celebration is the result of the ancient ritual venerations and offerings to the goddess Mictecacihuatl ("Lady of the Dead") for the deceased and the Spaniards' desire to accommodate these festivities within the Catholic celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. 

The Day of the Dead Festival is organized by Palmetto Luna Arts in collaboration with the Columbia Museum of Art, Norsan Media, and the SC Commission for Minority Affairs. This initiative is funded by Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.