HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Some Hattiesburg residents celebrated a holiday Saturday that takes place around Halloween but is a little bit different.
The Mississippi Latinx Art Association hosted a celebration of the Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
It started with a parade on Main Street, from the Rebekah Stark Johnson Community Arts Center to The Creators Plaza at West 4th Street and Main Street.
The parade featured authentic Mexican costumes, giant puppets known as mojigangas and a mariachi band.
Most of the traditional holiday takes place on Nov. 1 and 2.
“It is not the same as Halloween,” said Jacqueline Gonzalez Wooton, co-owner of Nuestro Arte in Hattiesburg. “Dia De Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is a day that we celebrate where our friends and family members who have passed, on that one day, they come back and they spend some time with us.”
“It’s not a day to be sad. Usually in Mexico and other Latin American countries, people gather in the cemeteries, they bring food and flowers,” she said.
It was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission and donations from Forrest County, Community Bank and Visit Hattiesburg.
Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Copyright 2026 WDAM. All rights reserved.