Four local dance and musical groups will entertain at the 10th annual free Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Community Celebration held by the Museum of Ventura County. The museum’s most popular event will be held in their new plaza and pavilion at 100 E. Main Street in Ventura, on Saturday, October 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The entire museum is free that day and open until 6 p.m.

The event performers will include Ballet Folklorico Mestizo, comprised of students and faculty from Oxnard College; Danza Azteca Mayahuel, a traditionally costumed Aztec dance group of adults and children based in Ojai; Grupo Foklorico Tecalitlan, featuring children performing traditional dances from Mexico; and musicians Mariachi Costa de Oro of Ventura. This will be the fifth year the community based Mariachi Costa de Oro has played at the Museum’s event.

Amid the music and dancing at the museum’s Day of the Dead Celebration, children and adults of all ages will transform into skeletons at the face painting booths, have their pictures taken, and try traditional crafts. Inside the galleries, the exhibition Altars & Art, created by local artists, schools, and community groups, will be on display to honor the departed.

The festival of Día de los Muertos honors the dead who are said to come back to walk among the living on November 1 and 2. Celebrated in many parts of Mexico and Latin America, Día de los Muertos is now popular in the United States among Latinos and non-Latinos alike.

For more information go to www.venturamuseum.org or 805) 653-0323.