Día de los Muertos in Santa Clara: Three Ofrendas to Visit
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
Where in Santa Clara does a photo of someone you miss belong this week? It depends on the photo, because each of the city's three ofrendas comes from a different institution with its own calendar and its own rules. Mission City Memorial Park, the city cemetery on Winchester Boulevard, takes framed photos and small mementos. The Central Park Library on Homestead Road will print your photo for you and frame it, and it accepts pets. Santa Clara University's Camino de los Muertos on Sunday, Nov. 1 is the largest of the three. That one is a walk past altars built by others. Which ofrenda fits depends on what you are bringing.
The longest-running display this season is at Mission City Memorial Park, 420 N. Winchester Blvd. The City of Santa Clara owns and operates it. The City's history page dates the graveyard to 1850.
The community ofrenda there opened at 2 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28 and stays up through Friday, Nov. 6. That's a 40-day window. Last year's ran from Oct. 6 to Nov. 7, so this year's display opened about a week earlier and runs longer.
The cemetery's rules are specific. Contributions should be labeled, framed photos in frames no larger than 5 x 7 inches, plus small mementos. The City asks visitors not to bring candles, food or glass items. Those are the things a family ofrenda at home usually holds, so this altar is made mostly of photographs and keepsakes.
The cemetery's Sunset Cinema showing of Coco was scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23. The City planned the screening for the cemetery's open "Evergreen Section," which holds no graves. It listed 3 Hermanos Mexican Grill and Churros El Guero as food vendors, along with a stop by the Santa Clara City Library Bookmobile. The evening was billed as a partnership between the cemetery and the library, and that partnership leads to the second ofrenda.
The Santa Clara City Library's Community Ofrenda is in the first-floor lobby of the Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Road. It is on view from Oct. 15 to Nov. 3. The event title lists photo drop-off through Nov. 2, so Monday is the safer last day to add a picture.
The library's rules remove most of the hurdles the cemetery's rules set. It welcomes photos of loved ones "whether human or furry," so a family dog or cat has a place here. It provides 4x6 frames. If you don't have a print at all, you can email the photo to [email protected] with your name, phone number and your loved one's name, and staff will print it for you. The listing runs in both English and Spanish.
Here's a quick way to match what you have to where it goes:
The third ofrenda works differently from the other two. The 4th Annual Camino de los Muertos takes place on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 on the Santa Clara University campus, 500 El Camino Real. SCU lists the hours as 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and marks them tentative. Admission is free, and parking is free in the Main Garage. The university runs it with the Mexican Consulate of San Jose and Univision 14.
Here, other people build the altars. SCU describes them as coming from the university and local community organizations. In 2025, the SCU Religious Studies department noted that professors Roberto Mata and Pearl Maria Barros, with Olivia Gonzalez, built the SCU Latine Faculty ofrenda, and that Ana María Pineda helped with the SCU Latinx Alumni ofrenda.
The event has grown fast. According to student newspaper The Santa Clara, organizers expected about 600 people at the first event in 2023, and more than 3,000 came. The second year drew 7,000. The same report says the 2023 event sat in front of O'Connor Hall. In 2024 it spread along the pathway between Mission Santa Clara and Vari Hall, with food trucks in the Lucas Hall parking lot, vendors between SCDI and Heafy, and a performance area in the SCDI courtyard. Raymond Plaza of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion told The Santa Clara:
"If last year exceeded expectations, this year surpassed everything. We learned a lot from last year, and with the support of multiple offices, we were able to expand the footprint (to different areas of campus) in order to take the event to the next level."
This year's program, according to SCU, includes a mercado of artisan vendors, food from local vendors, and face painting and papel picado making. There will also be a Catrina Costume Contest open to all ages, traditional dance and mariachi, and an All Saints Day Mass in Spanish at 5 p.m. inside Mission Santa Clara. The university's 2025 preview promised Ballet Folklórico and dozens of ofrendas.
Put the three calendars side by side and the overlap is short. The library's display ends Nov. 3, the cemetery's ends Nov. 6, and the Camino is a single afternoon. On Sunday, Nov. 1, all three ofrendas are on display. A Sunday built around that overlap looks like this:
Plan for a crowd. The Santa Clara reported 7,000 attendees in 2024 over what it described as a three-hour event.
Halloween falls on Saturday, Oct. 31 this year, the day before the Camino. Two Saturday stops fill that day.
The Santa Clara Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Jackson Street and Homestead Road. Its operator says it is open year-round, rain or shine, and points to a separate closure schedule for holidays. The Central Park Library and its ofrenda are also on Homestead Road, at 2635. That makes Saturday morning a good time to bring a framed photo or drop one off.
That afternoon, Discover Santa Clara lists the Diwali Dandiya & Halloween Festival from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Live Oak Park, 641 Moreland Way. Tickets start at $10 before fees. It's a separate celebration on the same weekend.
The cemetery's display closes Nov. 6. After that, the city's Holiday Tree Lighting is set for Dec. 4, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Central Park, 909 Kiely Blvd.
Knowing the dates on a city's own calendar, and how each one works, is part of how Amy Le knows Santa Clara. If you'd like to talk about the parts of the city you know best, or the ones you haven't seen yet, we'd be glad to hear from you. Schedule a Consultation whenever the timing is right for you.
Get assistance in determining current property value, crafting a competitive offer, writing and negotiating a contract, and much more. Contact me today.