This evening, Thursday, October 29, at 6 p.m., the gazebo in Riverview-Fisk Park becomes a communal altar, with marigolds, framed photographs and skeletons set against the Manhattan skyline across the river. Neighbors are invited to bring pictures and offerings for loved ones who have died. By Sunday morning, giant skeleton puppets will be lined up at the corner of Bowers Street and Palisade Avenue. This year they head somewhere they have not gone before.
The 12th Annual Jersey City Day of the Dead runs from Thursday, October 29, through Sunday, November 1. The Riverview Farmers Market hosts it and calls it a Jersey City-wide celebration. The biggest change for 2026 is the route. The organizers say the parade will "expand through the Heights to Central Avenue," which links the park on the Palisade side with the neighborhood's main commercial street.
A farmers market runs the Heights' fall calendar
The Riverview Farmers Market is run by Farms in the Heights, a local nonprofit. The market sets up every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Riverview-Fisk Park, on Palisade Avenue between Bowers and Griffith Streets. It has served the Heights for more than 15 years with local vendors and free events.
The festival has had the same artistic director for most of that time. Santiago Cohen is a Mexican-American artist who has worked as a designer, illustrator and animator for HBO, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and PBS. He has written and illustrated more than 20 children's books and graphic novels, and he has led the Jersey City Day of the Dead Parade since 2014. He makes the giant puppets himself, and he leads the march.
Public funding also shows how far the event now reaches. The market's Music & Art in the Park programming is supported by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development administers the grant, and the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund contributes public money as well.
The 2025 festival drew hundreds of people. It featured giant skeleton puppets parading around Riverview-Fisk Park, traditional dance by Sueño Americano, live mariachi and the first La Catrina Costume Contest. Last year's parade circled the park. This year's goes out into the neighborhood.
Thursday evening at the gazebo
The ofrenda unveiling runs Thursday, October 29, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Riverview-Fisk Park gazebo. The market builds a large communal memorial altar there and opens it with an evening program:
- Traditional dance by Sueño Americano
- Calaverita readings
- A youth theater play by students from Educational Arts Team, or EAT
- An open invitation for residents to place photos and offerings for departed loved ones
The altar stays up through the weekend. Hoboken Now reports that Sunday's parade returns to Riverview Park and ends at the gazebo and ofrenda. Whatever you add Thursday evening is where the procession ends on Sunday.
Halloween falls on Saturday, between the two festival days. LilCo, the Little Heights Collective, is organizing a Heights Halloween Trail with the Central Avenue Special Improvement District and HEWS. The goal is to help families find decorated homes, costumes and candy around the neighborhood. Slice of Culture reported that homes and businesses could sign up through October 22, that the best home or business would win a prize, and that a map would be shared once it was finished. Watch for that map from the organizers before Saturday afternoon.
Sunday, from Bowers Street to Central Avenue
The main festival runs Sunday, November 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Riverview-Fisk Park, 498 Palisade Avenue, and it is free. Times come from the organizer and from The Local Girl's event listing:
- 10 a.m. The festival opens in the park. Expect face painting, family crafts and memorial portraits by Athena Toledo.
- 10:45 a.m. Marchers meet at the corner of Bowers Street and Palisade Avenue to pick up a skeleton puppet. The organizers say everyone is welcome.
- 11 a.m. The parade starts.
- 12:15 p.m. Mariachi Oro de Mexico and Sueño Americano perform by the gazebo.
- Around 1 p.m. La Catrina contest judging.
The La Catrina contest has two prize categories this year, one for individuals and one for groups, and contestants march in the parade. Registration is through a form linked on the organizer's page. Anyone planning a full Catrina look should plan the morning around a 10:45 a.m. line-up instead of the 1 p.m. judging.
The organizer has published the route as a map image. It describes the path as going through the Heights to Central Avenue and back to the park. If you live on the side streets between Palisade and Central, expect a slow procession with puppets late Sunday morning. If you are watching instead of marching, the market's Instagram is where the organizers say to look for full schedules.
What reaching Central Avenue adds
Taking the parade to Central Avenue is a partnership with the Central Avenue Special Improvement District, known as CASID. The market lists three things to look for on the avenue:
- Decorative Day of the Dead banners along Central Avenue
- Skeleton puppet displays in local storefront windows
- Special food, drink and craft activations at local businesses
The windows and banners are meant to be seen on the way to and from the park, so a Sunday walk down Central after the music ends is part of the event.
CASID has done this kind of thing before. In July, Hudson County View reported that the district held a two-day World Cup celebration on the avenue. It included a business crawl on Friday, July 10, and a watch party with cultural programming on Saturday, July 11. Executive director Dayana De La Torre described it as a neighborhood event, supported by a $50,000 grant and produced with JCAST and the Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County. JCAST is also part of this festival's lead-up. On October 2, Tres Chilitos hosted a JCAST art show of Día de los Muertos artwork and local youth work, curated by Athena Toledo.
The October workshops before the festival show the same Palisade-to-Central partnership. Jerry Alba of Punk Cat Press ran mobile block printing at the market on October 4, 11 and 18 for custom tote bags, shirts and frame crafts. The market also ran community crafting sessions on sugar skulls, masks and alebrijes.
Three more Sundays, then a holiday market
When the puppets are put away, the market has three Sundays left. The 2026 season runs from May 3 through November 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine.
- Sunday, November 8. Free arts and crafts, plus a kids' craft with Atacama Clay Studio to paint a holiday ornament.
- Sunday, November 15. Regular market day.
- Sunday, November 22. Free arts and crafts on the last day of the season.
The market is also a place where new local businesses get started. Over the summer, Jane's Matcha moved from its market stall to a permanent shop at 93 Franklin Street, and owner Jane Yang's last market day was August 9. The market then added Ritual House as a matcha vendor and Jersey Artisan Co. as a cheese vendor. The final weeks are a good time to try them before the stalls close for the winter.
After the season ends, the organizers have one more date. The fifth annual Heights Holiday Market is set for Saturday, December 5, with more than 150 makers and a festive food court. It is a separate event from the Sunday market.
At Elite NJ, we follow the Heights through its weekends as well as its listings, and Riverview-Fisk Park in the fall is a big part of that. If you own a home between Palisade Avenue and Central Avenue and want an honest read on your block, or if you're helping family settle a property in the Heights, reach out. We're happy to talk it through, whether that's before the parade or after the season's last market Sunday. Contact Us.
