For Día de los Muertos this year, Santa Clara has two public altars that start out empty and fill up with whatever residents bring. The community ofrenda in the Central Park Library lobby on Homestead Road takes photos from the public through Monday. A second community ofrenda at Mission City Memorial Park on North Winchester Boulevard takes framed photos and small mementos until Friday, November 6. Between those two closing dates, on Sunday, Santa Clara University holds its fourth annual Camino de los Muertos along Palm Drive. Departments and community groups set up altars there, and the evening includes a Mass at Mission Santa Clara.
All three end on different days, which leaves you a few days to plan from this Thursday. A photo of a grandparent, a parent, or a family dog can sit on a Santa Clara altar by the weekend if you start now. The details below cover what each place accepts, what it doesn't, and when each one closes.
The library altar accepts email, and it accepts pets
The Santa Clara City Library set up its community ofrenda in the first-floor lobby of Central Park Library at 2635 Homestead Road. You can view it from October 15 through November 3. The event title says photo drop-off runs through November 2, so Monday is the last day to add a picture and Tuesday is the last day to see the full altar.
Three details make this the easiest of the city's altars to join.
- You don't need a print. Email the photo to [email protected] with your name, your phone number, and the name of your loved one. Library staff will print it for you.
- Frames are on the house. The library provides 4x6-inch frames.
- Pets count. The library invites photos of a loved one "whether human or furry."
The library posted the listing in both English and Spanish, so you can send the link to relatives in whichever language they read. The Spanish version reads:
La Biblioteca de la ciudad de Santa Clara celebrará el Día de los Muertos con una ofrenda comunitaria. Trae una fotografía de un ser querido fallecido, tal sea humano o mascota, para honrar su memoria en nuestro hermoso altar.
Central Park Library's posted hours decide when you can drop off in person. The library is open Monday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. If you're planning to spend Sunday afternoon at Santa Clara University, keep in mind that the library closes at 5, two hours into the Camino. Saturday or Monday may be the easier day to bring a photo by. The library's calendars for October and November list no ofrenda at the Mission or Northside branches, so Central Park is the only library location with one.
The cemetery altar holds objects as well as faces
Once you have a photo on the library altar, the next place to go is the one with the later deadline. Mission City Memorial Park, at 420 N. Winchester Blvd., partnered with Santa Clara City Library on this year's program. Its community ofrenda opened at 2 p.m. on Monday, September 28, and runs through Friday, November 6.
The park's rules are different from the library's, and the differences shape what you can bring:
- Mementos are welcome. Besides labeled framed photos, the park invites "other small mementos that remind families of their loved ones," according to the city's October 2026 City Hall News.
- Bring photos already framed, 5x7 or smaller. The park asks for framed photos, and frames can be no larger than 5 by 7 inches.
- Leave the traditional extras at home. The city asks visitors not to bring candles, food, or glass items.
That last rule matters if you're thinking of a full home-style ofrenda with pan de muerto and votive candles. Those belong on a family altar, not this one. A favorite pin, a small toy, or a folded note fits the park's guidelines.
The altar came with an event that has already happened. On Friday, October 23, the park held a Sunset Cinema evening with storytelling and a showing of Disney Pixar's Coco. The city screened the film in the cemetery's open Evergreen Section, an area with no graves, and said its "top priority is that everyone stays safe and respectful." The same expectation applies on a quiet weekday visit to the altar. Treat Mission City Memorial Park as a working cemetery that is open to the public, not as an event space.
Sunday on Palm Drive brings the city's altars together
The library and cemetery altars are each one display filled by many households. Santa Clara University's 4th Annual Camino de los Muertos is a walk past many altars, built by SCU departments and by community organizations from across the San Jose and Santa Clara area.
The essentials from the university's listing:
- When: Sunday, November 1, 3 to 8 p.m.
- Where: Palm Drive and Alviso Mall on the Santa Clara University campus at 500 El Camino Real.
- Cost: Free and open to the community. The listing includes a registration option.
- Parking: Free in the North Campus Garage off Benton Street.
- Hosts: Santa Clara University, Univision Bay Area, and the Mexican Consulate of San Jose.
Besides the altars, the evening includes performances, music, crafts, food trucks, and a contest for the best Catrina or Catrín costume. At 5 p.m., the university holds a special All Saints Day Mass in Spanish in Mission Santa Clara. That's the midpoint of the evening, so arriving at 3 gives you two hours on Palm Drive before the Mass and a few hours of music and food trucks after it.
One timing detail is worth checking before you leave home. The university's main Camino de los Muertos page labels the 3 to 8 p.m. window "tentative," while the campus events calendar lists the same hours without that note. If you're planning around the Mass or the costume contest, look at the listing again on Sunday morning.
SCU also ran a series of free community sessions leading up to Sunday, including sugar-skull making on October 23 and a session on altar making on October 27. Those sessions are over, and Sunday's Camino is the event they led up to.
The closing dates set the order of your week
Taken together, the three programs follow a simple order. The two city altars have different rules and different deadlines, and the university event sits between them. Here is the calendar from Thursday, October 29:
- Thursday, October 29, through Monday, November 2: Drop off or email a photo for the Central Park Library ofrenda. Monday is the last drop-off day.
- Saturday, October 31: If you have little ones, the city's Halloween Picnic in the Park runs from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Plaza Park by the Mission Branch Library, 1098 Lexington St., with crafts, treats, games, and activities.
- Sunday, November 1: Camino de los Muertos on Palm Drive from 3 to 8 p.m., with Mass in Spanish at Mission Santa Clara at 5.
- Tuesday, November 3: Last day to view the Central Park Library ofrenda.
- Friday, November 6: Last day for the community ofrenda at Mission City Memorial Park.
Spread out like that, a household can take part in each tradition. You can email a photo to the library from your phone tonight, bring a framed photo and a small memento to North Winchester sometime before the following Friday, and spend Sunday evening walking past the altars other families and groups built on Palm Drive.
For your own home altar, Lupita's Taqueria & Panaderia at 2341 El Camino Real lists pan de muerto on its bakery menu as a seasonal, limited-time pan dulce. Since it's a seasonal item, call ahead to make sure they have it before you go.
Remembering family is a big part of how many households here mark the season, and that goes for the Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking families we work with as much as anyone. If you'd like to talk about how your own family's traditions might shape your next home, from the room where the altar goes to the neighborhood where relatives gather, Edelino Chen is glad to listen in English, Mandarin, or Cantonese. Schedule a free consultation.
