Forest Home Cemetery Draws Crowds for Day of the Dead Festival
The Milwaukee event paired a 5K/2K run with school-built ofrendas and dance performances on October 24.
By Talia Bennett ·
Twenty-three photographs documented the celebration at Forest Home Cemetery, a gallery shot by Erol Reyal that captures ofrendas, vendors and costumed dancers across the grounds. Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum and Mercadera Market organized the gathering, which took place on Saturday, October 24, 2026.
The program opened with a 5K/2K run and continued as a free festival with community ofrendas, food, local vendors and live performances. Organizers framed the day around remembrance: Day of the Dead traditions bring families together to honor friends and relatives who have died.
The Forest Home Cemetery Chapel held ofrendas built by several Milwaukee schools, among them South Division High School, Notre Dame School of Milwaukee and Nativity Jesuit Academy. The Nichols family placed an ofrenda for Virginia Nichols and Luis. Children painted ceramics at an activity area, and vendors included Laura González of Unforgettable Moments Flower Shop, working alongside florist Helio Hernadez, and artist Adriana Barajas.
Two acts performed: Mariachi Rodriguez and Ballet Folklórico Xanharat. The dance company started in Milwaukee in 2020 and now appears at cultural events across the Midwest, including Mexican Fiesta, described in the source as the largest Hispanic festival in the region. Its other stops include the Marcus Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee Night Market, Disney Orlando, Universal Studios and Latino Night with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Attendees included Mykel Key, a student at Alverno College, with Vanessa Vasques, the college's dean of students. Some participants described their own reasons for attending. "We come to celebrate our traditions and our loved ones", said Sonia, Genna, Miguel Angel and Isis.
Questions remain about the event's scale. The source does not say how many people registered for the run, how many attended the festival, or how much the day cost. It gives no vendor count, no performer schedule and no attendance figure for the run or the festival. Those numbers would put the gathering in context for a cemetery that draws public events to its grounds.
Forest Home Cemetery & Arboretum lists the celebration as an annual event, and its chapel displayed school ofrendas for the occasion. The cemetery is described in the source as one of Milwaukee's historic spaces.
