Novato's Día de los Muertos Keeps Adding Pieces, and in Year Three It's a Car Ofrenda

Novato's city-run Día de los Muertos celebration began in 2024. That makes it one of the newest traditions on the City Hall calendar, and it has changed every year since. The third celebration is Saturday, October 24, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Novato Civic Green, 901 Sherman Avenue, and it adds the city's first car ofrenda display. There's space for up to 10 vehicles, each with its trunk or rear turned into an altar.

Until now, the remembrance at the center of the afternoon happened at one place. That was the community ofrenda, a shared altar the city sets up and anyone can add a photo to. The car display keeps the shared altar and adds up to ten more, each one designed and built by the people who applied.

Year One Was a Table, Two Hours, and One Band

The first celebration, on November 2, 2024, was small. It ran from 4 to 6 p.m. MarinArts' listing called it the city's "inaugural" Día de los Muertos celebration. The lineup was food from Tommy's Salsa, music from Cascada de Flores, photo frame decorating and magnet making. Families were asked to bring 3-by-3-inch photos or mementos for the altar. The city supplied electronic candles, silk marigolds and cups of water. Mementos nobody picked up were held at the Margaret Todd Senior Center through November 15.

In 2025 the event ran a full three hours and added a procession. The city's listing put the start of the walk at 3:45 p.m., with face painting added to the activities. The Marin Independent Journal's photo coverage from that afternoon shows the procession, face painting, crafts and people viewing the altar.

Laid side by side, the three years show steady growth:

This year's date is the earliest so far. It falls a full week before the November 1 and 2 dates the first two celebrations were close to. Anyone who remembers the event as an early-November afternoon will want to update their calendar.

What Ten Parking Spaces Change

The city describes a car ofrenda as a vehicle's trunk or rear turned into a traditional Día de los Muertos altar. Participants were encouraged to use photographs, marigolds, LED candles, papel picado, favorite foods and other traditional ofrenda elements.

The application shows how tightly the city scaled it. The display is limited to 10 vehicles, and applying did not guarantee a spot. The deadline to apply was September 25, and the city planned to notify selected participants by October 2, so applications for this year are closed. The application was open to individuals, families, schools, nonprofits, businesses and community organizations. Its stated goals are honoring loved ones, explaining the cultural meaning of the holiday and representing the community.

The rules shape what the row will look like:

• Sedans, SUVs, minivans, pickup trucks and hatchbacks are allowed.
• Trailers, RVs, buses and oversized vehicles are not.
• Each display has to fit within one assigned parking space.
• No open flames, grills, generators or alcohol, and no serving homemade or prepackaged food.
• No active marketing and most promotional material is barred, so a business entry has to be about remembrance.
• LED or battery candles are allowed.

The limit on marketing matters because businesses were invited to apply. The rules also require displays to be family-friendly and respectful and to honor the cultural traditions of the holiday. Each car is limited to its own parking space, which keeps the focus on memorials rather than the cars themselves. That makes it different from the Nostalgia Days classic-car show on Grant Avenue on October 10.

Novato isn't the only Bay Area city trying the format this season. Redwood City is running a trunk-ofrenda contest called Recuerdos sobre ruedas, or "Memories on Wheels", on November 8. It lists 12 spaces and a theme honoring children who have died. Redwood City's version is a themed contest. Novato's asks each display to honor loved ones and help visitors understand the holiday. The two have about the same capacity.

The Stage Is Built Around Dance Now

The other big change is on the performance side. Cascada de Flores provided the music for both of the first two years. For 2026 the city has booked two dance groups instead.

Ireri Ballet Folklórico is a Petaluma dance school led by Maria Serrano. According to The Press Democrat, it teaches Mexican folk dance and performs at community events.

Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca comes from San Francisco's Mission District. Mission Local reports that Miguel and Irma Martinez founded the group in 1993 and that its danza practice goes back to the 1980s.

That pairing combines folk dance and Aztec dance on one program. It also fits this year's added procession and the car row. More of the afternoon now happens on the move and in the open, with less of it centered on a single performance area.

Tommy's Salsa Has Been There All Three Years

Tommy's Salsa is the one vendor that hasn't changed. It has been part of the celebration every year. The restaurant has been in Novato since 1992 at 1553 S. Novato Blvd., and it also runs catering and a taco truck.

New this year is Manny's Tacos, a Marin County operation that caters and pops up at local farmers markets, festivals and breweries. Two food operators instead of one is a sensible match for a program that now runs a full three hours with dance performances in the middle. The city's past guest guidance for events on the Green has encouraged picnics. For this one, though, the two named vendors are the plan.

Planning the Afternoon of October 24

The city's calendar lists the location as the Civic Green and Flex Space at 901 Sherman Avenue, the City Hall block. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Here is the program in the order the listings give it:

1. 3 p.m. The gates open on the Civic Green.
2. 3:15 p.m. The community procession begins, according to both the city's events page and MarinArts, so anyone who wants to walk should arrive close to 3.
3. Through 6 p.m. Sugar skull decorating, magnet making, face painting, the community ofrenda, the car ofrenda display and the two dance groups.

The city hasn't published a 2026 route for the procession. The 2025 walk was described only as a short designated route using sidewalks and crosswalks, so last year's path isn't a reliable guide to this year's.

For the community ofrenda, the most detailed public guidance is still from the 2024 event. It asked for 3-by-3-inch photos or mementos labeled with a name and phone number. A small labeled photo is a reasonable thing to bring, and the city's events page at novato.gov/events is the place to confirm what's allowed this year.

The Week It Sits In

Moving the date to October 24 puts the celebration in the middle of a busy stretch for the City Hall block. The free Not-So-Scary Halloween Magic Show runs at City Hall on Saturday, October 17, with shows at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Three days after Día de los Muertos, the Downtown Novato Community Farmers' Market holds its final Tuesday of the season on October 27. It runs on Sherman Avenue between Grant and De Long, on October hours of 4 to 7 p.m.

After that, the season moves toward Grant Avenue and the holidays. Downtown's Safe Trick or Treat is listed for October 31 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at participating businesses. The city's Holiday Crafts Faire, with more than 50 artisans, runs December 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. and December 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road. The Downtown Novato Business Association's Community Tree Lighting Festival follows that same Saturday evening, December 5, from 4 to 7:30 p.m.

If you're curious how other Novato civic spaces split up their calendars, our look at Hamilton's 1938 amphitheater stage covers the other end of town. The Novato neighborhood page collects more on the city's parks and downtown.

At Team O'Brien, we like watching a Novato tradition take shape, and we'll be on the Civic Green on October 24 to see the city's first car ofrendas. If you have questions about Novato, whether it's the calendar or your home's value, reach out for a free home valuation or schedule a consultation with David and Deirdre.