Fullerton's Day of the Dead Runs Five Weeks and Moves Across Town

Fullerton's Día de los Muertos this year is a sequence of events. It starts at the public library's ofrenda in early October, reaches the Muckenthaler on Malvern Avenue on Sunday, November 1, and ends downtown at the Fullerton Museum Center a week later on Saturday, November 7. A few printed dates along the way don't mean what they seem to. The library's display officially runs through November 2, but the building is closed on its last two days. The Thursday market's season ended September 3, but it comes back for one night in late October. And the Muck has two free events on its grounds on the same Sunday afternoon.

Most of what's left falls in the ten days from Thursday, October 29 to Saturday, November 7. Here it is in order.

The ofrenda that closes before its listed end date

The Fullerton Public Library's community ofrenda is on display from October 1 through November 2. Those dates look like they cover Día de los Muertos itself. The library's own page adds that it is closed on Sunday, November 1 and Monday, November 2. So the last day you can actually see the display falls on or before Saturday, October 31.

The deadline matters more for anyone who wants to add a photo. Submissions are taken at the Cards & Accounts desk, which is the circulation desk just inside the main entrance. Submission cards are available inside the library, and you can also download and print one from the library's site. If you plan to add a photo of someone you're remembering, bring it in during October.

The library also runs one Halloween-season evening. The HAUNT at the HUNT is on Friday, October 16, from 6 to 9 p.m., with a haunted Fullerton tale, a scary movie, treats, crafts, a costume contest and free face painting.

A Thursday that comes back for one night

Downtown regulars know the Thursday market as a spring and summer event. The city's market page lists the 2026 season as Thursdays from April 2 to September 3, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

OktoBOOfest falls on Thursday, October 29, at Downtown Plaza, 125 E. Wilshire Ave. It runs the same hours as the regular market, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., and the city's calendar entry lists a farmers market, trick-or-treating, live entertainment, a food market and a kids' corner. It's free. The event page also mentions vendors and contests. It doesn't give a trick-or-treat route or any street closures. Check back closer to the date if you're planning around parking or a stroller.

The same week has another evening option. The Fullerton Museum Center's Haunted Fullerton Walking Tours run on nine dates, from October 14 to 16, October 21 to 23, and October 28 to 30, plus a Special Halloween Edition on Saturday, October 31. One of the tour dates is October 29, the same day as OktoBOOfest. The listing doesn't give a meeting point, so check with the museum before you plan both for one night.

One address, two events, one Sunday

The weekend after OktoBOOfest moves to the Muckenthaler Cultural Center at 1201 W. Malvern Ave., where two free events overlap.

The first is the Artistic License Fair, now in its 32nd year. The Muck describes it as a fine crafts show with work by more than 50 artisans from Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. It runs Saturday, October 31 and Sunday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, with no entry fee and free parking. The listing mentions handcrafted clothes, jewelry and art.

The second is the Muck's Día de los Muertos Festival on Sunday, November 1, from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The Muck's 2026 page promises live music, local artisans, family activities and arts and crafts for kids.

From noon to 4 on Sunday, both events are on the grounds at once. Come Sunday afternoon if you want both. Come Saturday or Sunday morning if you'd rather browse the craft booths with fewer people around. The outdoor Sculpture Garden, Sunset Garden and grounds are free and open every day, with no tickets or reservations required. The Muck also asks visitors to call for the latest information, at 714-738-6595.

The Muck's 2026 festival page doesn't mention a community altar or invite ofrenda submissions. In Fullerton this year, the altar-building tradition is at the library and at the downtown event the following Saturday.

Downtown gets its night a week later

The Fullerton Museum Center holds Noche de Muertos on Saturday, November 7, from 4 to 8 p.m. The listing includes community altars to remember loved ones, live music, a beer garden, face painting, arts and crafts, and local vendors. The Museum Center is also still taking vendor applications and requests to build a community altar through the event page. That makes it the one 2026 Día event in town where you can contribute a full altar.

The museum is at 301 N. Pomona Ave. The event page doesn't list an admission price. The museum's general visit page lists standard admission at $10 for adults, $5 for ages 5 to 17, and free for children under 5 and members. Don't assume either way whether that applies on November 7. Check with the museum.

The evening is timed well for parking. The museum's parking information mentions street parking on Pomona Avenue and says the Wilshire Avenue garage is free except Thursday through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Noche ends at 8, an hour before those restrictions start.

The Fullerton Arboretum holds its Native Plant Sale the same weekend, at 1900 Associated Rd. Hours are Friday, November 6 from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, November 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, November 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you go Saturday, you can shop for California natives in the morning and still make it downtown for Noche at 4. The Arboretum's visitor page lists parking at the Arboretum and in adjacent Lot G through ParkMobile, plus a $5 suggested donation per person. The 2026 sale listing doesn't mention a member preview day. An older sale page that describes member access is labeled 2020, so don't plan around those details this year.

If you want something hands-on at the Arboretum earlier, Pumpkin Bouquets is on Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. You make mini dried-flower bouquets and pumpkin pots. It's $5 per person and free for Arboretum members.

Where the stretch ends

Four days after Noche, the city's Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony is on Wednesday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hillcrest Park, 1200 N. Harbor Blvd. The parade route runs along Harbor Boulevard to Berkeley Avenue. Plan on traffic changes on Harbor that morning if you usually drive it.

The calendar then goes back to the Muck. As the Fullerton Observer reported, the exhibition A Celebration of Young Shin Kim opens there on November 15 and runs through January 2, 2027. After that, the next big dates on the Muck's grounds are its free Holiday Festival on December 13, with live music, food and drinks, kids' art workshops and an arts and crafts sale. Downtown has the Fullerton Museum Center's Winter Market on December 5, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Downtown Fullerton Plaza.

Several of these organizer pages don't show when they were last updated, so check with each venue before you head out. The order is set either way. Get your library ofrenda photo in by Saturday, October 31, go to the Muck on Sunday afternoon for both events, and save Saturday, November 7 for the Arboretum in the morning and Noche downtown in the evening.

Zach Mickelson follows Fullerton's calendar and its market closely. If you're thinking about when to list, or whether to stay in the neighborhood you'd miss, book an appointment and we'll work through the timing together.