Sponsored

Arts Focus: Dia De Los Muertos comes alive at MOCAA on Nov. 1

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Come celebrate Dia De Los Muertos on Tuesday, November 1 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at an evening picnic at one of Arlington’s venerable cultural institutions recently renamed Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (formerly Arlington Arts Center)!

Bring your own blanket and grab dinner from a local food truck while you enjoy performances and art activities in the park for this annual celebration of Mexican art and culture.

Returning this year is traditional mariachi music by Mariachi Los Amigos. Show off your dance moves to the Salsa, Latin Soul and Boogaloo groves of Arlington’s internationally known DJ’s Leon City Sounds! An array of family-friendly art projects, face painting and other activities round out the evening. Enjoy delicious Mexican food items from acclaimed local vendors La Tingeria.

Although recently renamed, MOCAA has a long collaborative history with Arlington County Government. The independent non-profit holds a long-term lease with Arlington County to operate within the County-owned former school building. Designed in 1910 by noted school architect Charles M. Robinson, the school closed in 1975 and the building became home to the Arlington Arts Center in 1976.

After an extensive renovation in 2005, it now boasts Tiffany Windows salvaged from the former Abbey Mosuleaum by Arlington Arts and the County’s Historic Preservation. The Clarendon School is a designated Arlington County Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Come celebrate Dia De Los Muertos on Tuesday, November 1 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, 3550 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22201. For details, visit the website!