South Valley non-profit invites community to honor loved ones on Dia de los Muertos

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Tulare County League of Mexican American Women is hosting its 11th annual Dia de los Muertos event this weekend.

Altars will be set up to honor family members that have passed.

Leanza Garcia is the Historian for the league.

She has been working behind the scenes to make this event happen.

Leanza says, "My first time going to a Dia de los Muertos event at the cemetery was actually with my dad, and we had a lot of fun."

This year will be different. Leanza's dad, Sam Garcia, passed away last year.

Instead of attending the event with her dad, she will build an altar in his honor.

"It is a bittersweet reality, but I am happy to be able to take this time to really honor my loved ones, especially my dad," Leanza mentions.

This event will allow community members to honor loved ones that have passed with the league's community altar.

Anyone is welcome to bring a photo to add to the main altar.

"It is a good chance to process that grief because I definitely learned that grief does not go away, and it is another way just to celebrate them," explains Leanza.

The league's Dia de los Muertos event is free of charge.

It goes from 11 am to 4 pm at the Visalia Public Cemetery this Saturday

Details can be found here.