Hollywood Forever's Día de los Muertos Is One Long Day This Year

The 27th annual Día de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever takes place on Saturday, October 24, from noon to midnight, under the theme "All Under One Sky – Bajo un Mismo Cielo." Last year's celebration was on Saturday, November 1, and the cemetery ran it as three separate events between 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. All three sold out with no tickets at the gate, and guests had to leave the park when their session ended. In 2026 there are still three admission windows, but the organizers now state plainly that you may stay past yours.

That one rule changes how to plan the day. It also changes which ticket is the best value and which date on the calendar matters most.

Three sessions became one day

Here is the 2026 festival set against the 2025 version, using both years' official listings.

Some things carried over. DJ Que Madre and DJ Dro Barlo, who led the afternoon and late sessions in 2025, are both back on the 2026 bill. This year they join DannyLux, Trish Toledo, Tropa Magica, Los Shadows and DJ Joaqu.n. The program again centers on the altar exhibition and the ceremonial procession, with the Muerte y Tradición stage, a Children's Plaza, an art exhibition in the Cathedral, Aztec dancers, folklórico, and arts-and-crafts and food vendors. NBC Los Angeles covered the lineup and the community-made ofrendas on September 29.

The bigger change is that the day now runs continuously. Last year a ticket was for one sealed block of time. This year it is a start time.

The $30 ticket now covers the whole day

The three windows are noon to 4 p.m., 4 to 7 p.m., and 7 to 11 p.m. At the time of research, TicketWeb listed general admission at $30 plus $5.93 in fees for the noon window, $40 plus $6.46 for the 4 p.m. window, and $35 plus $6.07 for the evening window. Children ages 5 to 12 were $22 plus $4.71 for the noon window.

Because guests can now stay on, the earliest ticket is both the cheapest and the one that buys the most time. A noon entry covers up to twelve hours, from the gates opening to the event's midnight close, for $10 less than the 4 p.m. ticket. Noon is also the deadline for altars to be finished if they are to qualify for the contest, so a noon ticket gets you in as the judged altars are in place and lets you stay for the 9 p.m. awards. Under last year's rules, seeing both meant buying more than one session.

A few details to check before buying:

• Everyone 5 and older needs a ticket.
• There are no refunds or exchanges, and the organizers say the lineup and schedule can change at any time.
• The festival site lists the evening window as 7 to 11 p.m. TicketWeb's evening ticket details say 6 to 11 p.m. Go by the time printed on your ticket.
• Prices are a snapshot from TicketWeb and may change.

For altar builders, the key date is October 10

The altars are the center of the festival, and taking part costs nothing. Only registered altar participants may bring an ofrenda into the grounds, and the festival FAQ sets the application deadline at October 10, 2026. That leaves six days from today. For anyone thinking about building one, that matters more than the festival date itself.

Here is the sequence after you apply:

1. October 10: Altar applications close.
2. October 24, noon: Altars must be finished to qualify for judging.
3. October 24, 9 p.m.: Winners are announced onstage.

There is more prize money this year. First place stays at $5,000, second place rises from $2,000 to $3,500, and third place rises from $1,000 to $2,500. Across the top three places, the total goes from $8,000 to $11,000, and almost all of the increase is in the places below first. There is also a costume award of $1,000 for the winner and $500 for the runner-up, and the FAQ encourages costumes and face painting for everyone.

The festival now falls before Halloween

In 2025 the festival came the day after Halloween. Its new date of October 24 sits in the middle of the cemetery's busiest month, with the rest of October's programming on either side of it.

On Monday, October 12, at 7 p.m., Chevalier's Books hosts Ransom Riggs at the Masonic Lodge on the grounds. The evening includes a film screening and a Q&A to mark the end of his Sunderworld duology and the 10th anniversary of Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

From October 15 to 17, Geese plays three outdoor shows on the Fairbanks Lawn, with gates at 6 p.m. and the show at 7. There is a limit of four tickets per person, credit card, email or household. Tickets cannot be transferred, and resold tickets will not be honored.

The festival follows on October 24, and Cinespia closes out the month. The film series is in its 25th season, which it marked with a custom See's Candies box. Its summer season reached Goodfellas on September 12. For Halloween weekend it is showing Jennifer's Body on October 30 and The Thing on October 31, both with gates at 5:30 p.m. and the film at 7:15 p.m. At the time of research, Cinespia's homepage showed Jennifer's Body as sold out, while The Thing still had a ticket link.

That makes four kinds of events in less than three weeks: a book talk, a three-night concert run, a twelve-hour festival and two horror screenings. The festival used to come after all of them. This year it falls in the middle.

Santa Monica Boulevard is under construction

Getting to the cemetery this fall means dealing with Caltrans. Its State Route 2 Multimodal Project began work on the Hollywood segment of Santa Monica Boulevard, between La Brea Avenue and the 101, in June 2026. Crews move block by block, and each block takes about three weeks depending on conditions and electrical work. The full project, which includes new traffic signal poles, curb ramps and rebuilt transit stops, is expected to finish in fall 2028. Caltrans says the schedule can change and that people nearby may notice noise, vibration and dust.

The most recent block-by-block notice found was for August 2 to 7. It listed overnight lane closures between Van Ness and Gower and between Seward and Mansfield, with parking restrictions in the work zones. No newer notice was found, so that list says nothing about which blocks will be closed on October 24. Caltrans posts current conditions on QuickMap, and it is worth checking the afternoon you leave.

For festival parking, the organizers point to structures on Lemon Grove and Van Ness, plus additional locations. Ticket buyers will get more parking details by email before the event. The festival pages reviewed list no shuttle or transit plan.

Dinner on Melrose before the gates

With a continuous day, it is also easier to leave for a meal and come back. The cemetery's own posted guidance is limited to the stay-past rule, so check re-entry at the gate before you head out. Melrose has a good spread of options nearby. Pawn Shop opened June 26 at 5901 Melrose Avenue in the former Brothers Collateral building. The founder is Diego Torres-Palma, chef Tony Messina is among the backers and handles the menu, and the room has 53 screens, seven private viewing suites and a 50-seat bar. When it opened, its posted hours ran until midnight Thursday through Saturday. Providence, at 5955 Melrose, has been there for nearly two decades. Further along, Mario's Peruvian and Seafood at 5786 Melrose is a longtime neighborhood restaurant. Kali Steak at 5722 Melrose became a midcentury-style steakhouse in July 2025 and has a bar that shows Dodgers games.

Places like Hollywood Forever, with their own history and traditions, are part of what makes Hollywood distinctive. Kathy Marshall follows those traditions as closely as she follows the market. If you are thinking about what your Hollywood home is worth, or how it compares with others nearby, you are welcome to request a private valuation and consultation.