On Saturday, October 31, the riverbank below the Waco Suspension Bridge fills with blue and white. Creative Waco's Día de los Muertos parade and festival returns to Indian Spring Park for its sixth year. The 2026 theme is "Talavera: The Blue That Unites Us," named for the cobalt-and-white pottery, and organizers are asking people to wear it in their clothing, accessories, face paint and parade entries.
Last year the festival ran on November 1. This year it falls on October 31, a Saturday, so Waco's biggest Día de los Muertos gathering and Halloween share the same night. The football schedule helps. Baylor plays at UCF in Orlando on Friday, October 30, with a 6:30 p.m. kickoff, so McLane Stadium sits empty across the river that Saturday. For one evening, the festival has downtown mostly to itself, and everything else on the city calendar falls before it, after it, or a short drive away.
Oct. 31, Hour by Hour
These are the published times as of early October, in order:
- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Waco Downtown Farmers Market is open at Bridge Street Plaza in East Waco. It runs every Saturday of the year, and October 31 is on its calendar.
- All day. Home for the Holidays runs October 30 through November 1 at the Waco Convention Center, with more than 130 vendors. Tickets or registration are required.
- 4 p.m. The Día de los Muertos festival opens at Indian Spring Park, according to Creative Waco. The Eventbrite listing says 3 p.m. Creative Waco is the organizer, so its page is the one to check closer to the date.
- 6 p.m. St. Alban's Episcopal Church, 305 N. 30th St., holds its Organ Spooktacular & Trunk-or-Treat.
- 6:15 p.m. Doors open at the Hippodrome for We Are Messengers and Allison Eide's Halfway Home Tour. The show starts at 7 p.m.
- 10 p.m. The festival closes.
Nothing on this list overlaps much with anything else. A family could spend the morning at Bridge Street Plaza, go to the park in the late afternoon, and still make a 6 p.m. trunk-or-treat. A concertgoer could see the parade and the early part of the festival before heading to the Hippodrome. If Baylor had a home game that Saturday, all of these plans would compete with stadium traffic. This year they don't.
What the Parade and Park Look Like
Creative Waco's route description has the parade starting along the river, looping at the bottom of the route, then heading up past several key streets to a finish near Kendrick Elementary. The posted map runs from near Washington Avenue at the south end to near Waco Drive at the north, with the Waco Convention Center marked along the way.
The festival map shows a Muertos Stage, food trucks, a vendor market, a drinks area, a kids activity area and restrooms, all near the suspension bridge with Franklin Avenue close by. The map also labels an "Alebrije Garden." Alebrijes were the 2025 theme, so the map may be carried over from last year and could change before the event.
The confirmed programming for 2026 is free and family-focused:
- A Kids Zone with hands-on art activities, games and interactive experiences inspired by Día de los Muertos
- Free calavera face painting for kids and families
- A vendor market with local art, handmade goods, food and gifts
- A live concert
Anyone can join the parade in colorful clothes or calavera face paint. This year's sponsors and partners are H-E-B, City Center Waco, the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
How Big the Festival Has Gotten
The growth figures help explain why the date move matters. Creative Waco's 2025 sponsor pitch said the 2024 festival drew 7,000 people and that its marketing reached more than 133,000. The pitch projected more than 10,000 attendees for 2025.
An undated Waco Tribune-Herald preview of one recent festival gave more detail. It reported about 500 parade participants representing some 60 community groups and businesses, and 87 vendors, up from 69 the year before. It also said the festival could top 8,000 people if the weather stayed clear, which was a forecast and not a final count. Creative Waco's Julie Cervantes told the paper, "We actually had to turn away vendors this year."
Local businesses are a big part of the parade. Before the 2025 parade, KWTX visited float builders. Sara Rodriguez, owner of Mi País Artesanía, described costumes featuring Latin American flags and marigolds. Alexis Wampler of Waco Balloon Co. talked about her alebrije-themed entry and about remembering family. With this year's Talavera theme, expect more cobalt and white than the bright alebrije colors of last fall.
A crowd that size on Halloween will draw two kinds of visitors to the park: people coming for Día de los Muertos and families already out in costume for the evening. Both can join in. The parade welcomes anyone in colorful clothes, and the face painting is free.
The Rest of the Week Leading Up to It
The last week of October stays busy before the festival. Magnolia's Silobration runs October 22 through 25, with more than 100 vendors and headliners Mt. Joy, The Fray, Cory Asbury and Dylan Gossett. On Wednesday, October 28, the City of Waco and Waco ISD police host a Trunk or Treat at Waco ISD Stadium, 1401 S. New Road. For families with young kids, that event lets Halloween candy happen midweek, which frees up Saturday for the parade.
As of early October, Cameron Park Zoo's calendar shows no event for October 30 through November 1. The Convention Center's Home for the Holidays runs Friday through Sunday, so shoppers can go Friday or Sunday and keep Saturday open.
Still Unannounced
Creative Waco's 2026 page leaves several details unconfirmed as of October 5:
| Detail | Status as of Oct. 5, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Festival opening time | 4 p.m. per Creative Waco, 3 p.m. per Eventbrite |
| Parade start time | Not posted; the 2025 parade began at 4 p.m. |
| Concert lineup and set times | Not posted |
| Named vendors | Not posted |
| Community ofrenda | Not described for 2026; in 2025, visitors were invited to add photos and keepsakes |
| Parking, shuttles, street closures | Not posted |
Creative Waco's event page has a "Get Updates" sign-up form, which is likely where the final schedule will appear first.
Another tradition that hasn't been confirmed for 2026 is artist Rocío Ramirez Landoll's Traveling Ofrenda. Last year, its 15th, the ofrenda was set up at ArtPlace, 418 Elm Ave., from October 30 through November 3, with candles lit at 6 p.m. each day. Visitors were invited to bring photos of loved ones who have died. Landoll has described the ofrenda as a way to teach the community about Mexican culture and traditions. If it returns on a similar schedule, it would bracket the festival weekend just as it did in 2025.
Halloween weekend is one of the busiest stretches on the downtown calendar, and every year I enjoy watching Waco families make plans for it, in English and in Spanish. If you're thinking about how events like this one shape everyday life around the river, or what a neighborhood near downtown feels like on a festival night, I'm happy to talk it through. Reach out to Vianey Suarez. Let's Connect.
