Forest Home's Day of the Dead Festival 2025

Milwaukee's most authentic and moving Day of the Dead celebration returns to Forest Home Cemetery on October 25, 2025, offering visitors an extraordinary blend of ancient Mexican traditions and Victorian cemetery beauty.

This free, cemetery-based festival uniquely honors deceased loved ones while showcasing the vibrant culture of Milwaukee's largest Latino community in an intimate, sacred setting that perfectly aligns with authentic Día de los Muertos practices.

Unlike typical Halloween events, this celebration transforms Wisconsin's oldest operating cemetery into a living bridge between worlds, where families create colorful ofrendas (altars) amid 189 acres of historic monuments and autumn foliage. The festival's location in Lincoln Village—now predominantly Mexican—represents a profound cultural evolution, as Forest Home Cemetery has become a cornerstone institution for Milwaukee's 112,931-person Latino community.

Ancient traditions meet Milwaukee's Victorian splendor

Forest Home Cemetery provides an authentically appropriate setting for Day of the Dead observances that trace back over 3,000 years to indigenous Mesoamerican civilizations. Traditional Día de los Muertos celebrations center on visiting cemeteries to honor deceased loved ones, making this historic Milwaukee landmark an ideal venue for maintaining sacred practices.

The festival's heart beats within the cemetery's 1892 Gothic Revival chapel, where LUNA (Latinas Unidas en las Artes) creates stunning traditional ofrendas featuring vibrant cempasúchil (marigolds), flickering candles, beloved photographs, and personal offerings. These altars represent the four essential elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—creating sacred spaces that welcome spirits back to commune with the living.

Professional altar installations have honored COVID-19 victims, celebrated Latinx artists, and commemorated Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, demonstrating how ancient traditions address contemporary community needs. The chapel's Lake Superior sandstone walls and Gothic arches provide a dramatic backdrop for these colorful displays, where the scent of copal incense mingles with October's crisp air.

Festival programming includes traditional Mexican music and dance performances, with mariachi groups filling the cemetery's rolling landscape with beloved songs. Children participate in arts and crafts activities while families share stories and memories, creating the joyful atmosphere that distinguishes Day of the Dead from Western mourning practices. This is celebration, not mourning—a fundamental distinction that honors life and maintains connections with those who have passed.

Milwaukee's evolving Latino heritage comes full circle

The festival's 2025 edition marks its fifth anniversary since launching in 2021, when Forest Home Cemetery leadership recognized their institution's transformation. As 8th District Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa—the first Latina elected to Milwaukee's Common Council—observed, "The Latino community has become the largest constituency group around the cemetery."

Milwaukee's Latino population represents a rich historical tapestry dating to the 1920s, when Mexican immigrants arrived to work in local tanneries and factories. Today's community of over 112,000 people makes Latinos Wisconsin's largest minority group, with 68% claiming Mexican ancestry and 39% under age 18. This young, vibrant population has transformed neighborhoods like Lincoln Village, where Forest Home Cemetery sits at the community's heart.

The cemetery's evolution from its 19th-century origins as a final resting place for Milwaukee's beer barons and industrial titans to today's Latino cultural anchor reflects Milwaukee's changing demographics. Notable graves include Harley-Davidson founders Arthur and William Davidson, brewing families like Pabst and Schlitz, and Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne—a diverse cross-section of Milwaukee history now celebrated alongside Día de los Muertos traditions.

Latino Arts Inc. has hosted Milwaukee's longest-standing Day of the Dead celebration for over 25 years, while Forest Home's festival adds the unique element of authentic cemetery-based observance. The combination creates Milwaukee's most comprehensive Day of the Dead landscape, with celebrations spanning multiple venues throughout the predominantly Latino south side.

Your complete festival experience guide

Festival Schedule:

• 5K Run/Walk: 9:30 AM start with chip timing

• Main Festival: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

• Free admission (race registration required for runners)

• Location: 2405 W. Forest Home Avenue, Milwaukee

Getting There: Park free throughout the cemetery's paved roads via the main Lincoln Avenue entrance or secondary Forest Home Avenue entrance. Public transportation users can take MCTS bus routes 14, 53, or PUR with stops within a three-minute walk. Early arrival (10:00-11:00 AM) provides the best parking and freshest ofrenda viewing, while late afternoon offers excellent photography lighting among the autumn foliage.

Weather Preparation: Late October Milwaukee weather averages 45-65°F with potential wind from Lake Michigan. Layer clothing with comfortable walking shoes suitable for uneven cemetery paths. A light rain jacket proves wise given the 31% precipitation chance, while early-morning 5K participants should bring warm accessories.

Cultural Etiquette: This sacred celebration requires respectful participation. Avoid Halloween costumes or spooky themes—Day of the Dead celebrates life and maintains connections with deceased loved ones, not fear of death. Ask permission before photographing families at gravesites, stay quiet during spiritual moments, and avoid flash photography in the chapel's candlelit atmosphere.

Photography opportunities and visual feast

The festival offers Milwaukee's most unique photography setting, combining authentic Mexican traditions with Victorian garden cemetery beauty. The historic chapel houses the most striking images: colorful ofrendas with marigold petals scattered like sunset paths, flickering candles casting warm light on beloved photographs, and elaborate sugar skulls decorated with family names.

Forest Home's nearly 200 acres showcase autumn at its peak, with over 100 tree species providing vibrant foliage backdrops for ornate Victorian monuments. The cemetery's status as Milwaukee's only accredited arboretum means exceptional natural beauty, particularly in late October when maples, oaks, and hickories display brilliant colors.

Traditional face painting creates stunning portrait opportunities, with professional artists applying intricate Catrina designs and sugar skull makeup throughout the event. The contrast between colorful participants and the cemetery's weathered limestone monuments produces powerful images that capture the celebration's life-affirming spirit.

Photography Guidelines: Respect families during spiritual moments by asking permission before capturing intimate scenes. Focus on cultural elements like traditional decorations, authentic food preparations, and artistic details rather than treating participants as subjects. The chapel's atmospheric candlelight requires no flash photography to preserve the sacred ambiance.

Family-friendly accessibility and logistics

Forest Home Cemetery's design accommodates families with strollers, wheelchair users, and elderly visitors through paved roads throughout the property. ADA-compliant parking and accessible restrooms in the Halls of History building ensure comfortable visits for all mobility levels. The cemetery's generally flat to gently rolling terrain allows easy navigation, though surfaces can be uneven in older sections.

Children enjoy dedicated arts and crafts activities, face painting stations, and the Kids 1K run option alongside the main 5K event. Festival programming emphasizes education about Day of the Dead traditions, helping young visitors understand cultural significance while participating in joyful activities. The open cemetery setting provides space for families to rest and explore at their own pace.

Food trucks offer authentic Mexican cuisine alongside local Milwaukee favorites, while Latino-owned vendors sell traditional crafts and cultural items. Bringing cash facilitates vendor purchases and supports local community businesses. The festival's free admission maintains accessibility for Milwaukee's working-class Latino families while welcoming visitors from across the region.

Where ancient wisdom meets modern celebration

The Forest Home Cemetery Día de los Muertos Festival represents something remarkable: a 3,000-year-old indigenous tradition thriving in a 175-year-old Midwestern cemetery, creating new cultural expressions while honoring ancient wisdom. This celebration offers profound alternatives to Western approaches to death and remembrance, transforming grief into joy and loss into continued connection.

For first-time visitors, the experience reveals how contemporary Latino communities maintain sacred traditions across geography and generations. Families actively communicate with deceased loved ones through sensory offerings, shared meals, and joyful gathering—not performance but authentic cultural practice that bridges physical and spiritual worlds.

The festival's location at Milwaukee's historic heart, surrounded by the graves of beer barons and industrial pioneers, symbolizes how American communities evolve while honoring diverse cultural contributions. Forest Home Cemetery's embrace of Day of the Dead traditions demonstrates how historic institutions can adapt to serve changing demographics while preserving both traditional practices and local history.

This October 25, witness Milwaukee's most moving cultural celebration where ancient Mexican traditions meet Victorian elegance, where death becomes doorway rather than ending, and where community gathers to prove that love transcends all boundaries—even those between life and death.

Conclusion

The 2025 Día de los Muertos Festival at Forest Home Cemetery offers visitors an authentic encounter with one of humanity's most profound cultural traditions. Beyond the stunning visual elements and family-friendly activities lies a deeper invitation: to understand how Mexican and indigenous communities have transformed humanity's greatest mystery—death—into an occasion for joy, connection, and cultural continuity.

This celebration succeeds not as cultural tourism but as genuine community expression, where Milwaukee's Latino families maintain sacred connections with their ancestors while welcoming others to witness and respectfully participate. In an era of increasing cultural commercialization, Forest Home's festival preserves authentic tradition while building bridges across communities—exactly what Day of the Dead has accomplished for three millennia.

Whether you arrive for the 5K run through autumn foliage, the chapel's breathtaking ofrendas, or simply to experience authentic cultural celebration, you'll discover how ancient wisdom continues to offer contemporary communities profound ways to honor life, death, and the enduring bonds between them.