Long Beach Will Host Día de los Muertos Festival
The city will hold a scaled-back festival at Rainbow Lagoon on November 1, 2026.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Cultural
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Long Beach will host a Día de los Muertos festival at Rainbow Lagoon on November 1, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The city is taking over organization of the event, which was previously canceled in 2025.
Why it matters
The festival returns after the 2025 cancellation, which the city attributed to concerns regarding federal immigration enforcement. By directly managing the event with reallocated funds, the city aims to revive the tradition without a parade component.
The city budgeted $100,000 for the 2026 event using unspent funds from the prior year's parade. The festival will run on November 1, 2026, between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Rainbow Lagoon.
The players
Long Beach City Council
The local legislative body that approved the diversion of unspent funds to finance the 2026 festival.
Rainbow Lagoon
The public park located in Long Beach that serves as the venue for the festival.
The details
After a third-party company declined to continue organizing the event, Long Beach shifted to direct city management. The 2026 iteration will be smaller than previous years and will not include a parade, which had been part of the celebration since 2022.
Timeline
The festival began in 2014.
A parade was added to the festival in 2022.
The festival was canceled in 2025.
The City Council approved fund diversion in September 2025.
The festival will take place on November 1, 2026.
Industry Dynamics
The city's transition to internal event management follows the 2025 cancellation, which was linked to broader municipal concerns about federal immigration enforcement. This shift marks a return to city-led cultural programming after the withdrawal of the third-party company that ran the event from 2022 to 2024.
Attendees should plan for a smaller-scale festival this year compared to previous iterations. The event, which takes place at Rainbow Lagoon, will no longer feature a parade.
The takeaway
The return of the festival underscores the city's effort to maintain local cultural traditions despite administrative changes and past funding hurdles. Residents interested in participating should note that the scope of the event is reduced and will focus on an afternoon gathering at the park.
Further reading
Learn more about local cultural events in Long Beach Cultural.
More information
Prospective participants can apply to be a vendor through the official event resource.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Long Beach Post.
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