The dead never truly leave us and they are more alive than ever during a variety of events centered around the centuries old tradition of Dia de los Muertos. The custom of honoring the dearly departed dates back hundreds of years and is an important ritual for thousands of people throughout Latin America, Mexico and the southwestern United States. From now through November 4, a handful of performances, processions, exhibits and celebrations are taking place throughout the Old Pueblo, including the popular All Souls Procession, a two-mile-long march, made up of thousands of people, that winds its way through Downtown Tucson.

Day of the Dead: Through the Eyes of Children

Recurring daily through November 09, 2012

Address: 420 S. Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701

Phone: 520-882-7454

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La Pilita Museum’s Diá de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibit features the art and language of youth, with papier-mache butterflies, skulls, masks, and drawings.

Dia de Los Muertos-Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery

Recurring weekly on Friday, Saturday

November 02, 2012  — November 26, 2012

Address: 218 E. 6th. Street, Tucson, AZ 85705

Phone: 520-881-5335 or raicestaller222@aol.com

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Acultural celebration in the tradition of the Hispanic Southwest, with personal tributes in the form of altars, ofrendas (offerings), paintings, sculpture & mixed media work at Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery & Workshop.

Procession of Little Angels

November 03, 2012

Address: 220 S. 5th Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701

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The All Souls Procession’s family-friendly event for children acknowledges and celebrates deceased loved ones from the perspective of the child, starting at Armory Park.

23rd Annual All Souls Procession

November 04, 2012

Address: 745 N. 4th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705

Phone: 1-800-638-8350

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A public procession, inspired by Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos holiday, of walkers, dancers, drummers, and stilt-walkers through downtown Tucson.

All Souls Procession 6th Annual Photography Exhibition at Studio 455

Saturdays through November 04, 2012

Address: 455  N. Ferro Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705

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This photography exhibition includes images of past All Soul’s Processions as well as any and all images that related to Death.

Dance of the Dead at The Rialto Theatre

November 04, 2012

Address: 318 E. Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701

Phone: (520) 740-1000

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The celebrated Los Angeles Latin rock-band Ozomatli will perform at the all-ages Dance of the Dead concert at the Rialto Theatre, following the All Souls Procession grand finale.

Image: Facebook

One of our favorite events is setting up right outside the MTCVB office in La Placita Village.

This weekend, the 38th annual Tucson Meet Yourself will sprawl across 60 acres of downtown and draw thousands for a weekend full of fun, food, culture and folklife celebration.

Ethnic food, art exhibits, demonstrations, music and dance performances presented by the more than 64 different cultural groups living in the Southern Arizona-Sonora, Mexico borderland region will be on the program.

This grassroots celebration of the Southwestern cultural landscape attracts more than 100,000 people to downtown Tucson, annually. Earlier this year, the festival was recognized for shining a light on folk and traditional arts with two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). To learn more, visit tucsonmeetyourself.org.

Populated with haunted houses featuring special effects, pyrotechnics, and ghoulish creatures performing terrifying stunts, Nightfall-20 Years of Terror! offers a Hollywood-style celebration of Halloween that may be too scary for the little ones, Thursdays-Sundays in October at Old Tucson western film location and theme park.

The Halloween Howl at Colossal Cave Mountain Park hosts family-friendly hayrides and candlelight cave tours, October 19. Guests can help save the world from monsters at the 89th Halloween Haunted Ruins, featuring a trip through Tucson’s Valley of the Moon, weekends in October.

Old Bisbee Ghost Hunt is the newest monthly tour offered at Old Bisbee Ghost Tours, in Bisbee, Arizona, 93 miles southeast of Tucson. This four-hour tour includes a training session, use of ghost-hunting equipment, investigations of haunted locations, and a potential evidence DVD. Guests will investigate who is haunting these buildings and why; afterward, data will be downloaded and sent on a DVD to each participant. Cost is $40 per person. Upcoming tour dates: October 19, November 3.

For more spooky events and fall fun, check out visitTucson.org/events.

Tucson offers a rich experience of the authentic Southwest and is an ideal summer getaway for visitors or residents who are looking to explore “haute” culture and “cool” summer deals.

Check in with George – the famous mountain lion, local celebrity and official summer mascot, who resides at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum – for an inside look on the oldest, hippest and continuously inhabited city in the country and all the real deals that celebrate everything there is to see and do in Tucson and Southern Arizona.

Whether you choose to bunk in a real and rugged ranch, book a getaway at one of Tucson’s historic and elegantly appointed hotels and B&B’s or renew at any of Tucson’s spas or resort properties – the deal will be on TucsonRealDeals.com.

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