More than 500 people attended Friday’s Day of the Dead Celebration at the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center.
“Every year … we gather to celebrate our shared heritage, honor our past and embrace the vibrant traditions of Día de los Muertos,” Round Lake Beach Mayor Scott Nickles said. “I’m grateful to our staff, our village trustees, our community and every family that joins us in this joyful remembrance.”
Day of the Dead is a tradition in Mexico and across the world in early November to honor the memory and contributions of the departed.
Round Lake Beach’s celebration included ofrendas, or altars, where photos of loved ones are placed among items in life they enjoyed or stood for, such as favorite foods, causes or the occupations they had.
An ofrenda in the vestibule entrance included photos and mementos dedicated to people like the late musician Ozzy Osbourne. The top of this altar also included a photograph, flowers and tributes to Round Lake Beach Police Department Commander Christopher Cordes of Antioch, who died suddenly in November of 2024.
Maintaining the altar was building staff member Edy Giron. “It is sad,” he said of the ofrenda.
About Cordes, Giron said. “I knew him. He was very polite with me. He always said hello, I said hello, and sometimes he made jokes. I remember him.”
Nickles added, “With Commander Cordes, it certainly definitely wasn’t something we were expecting, that’s for sure. But unfortunately, we lost him, and over the years we’ve lost lots of people that mean something to us here in the community.”
Nickles said the fear of federal immigration enforcement activities may have impacted event attendance. Some Día de los Muertos celebrations in Chicago and Lake County were canceled or postponed due to such fears.
“You always hate to cut anything out,” he said. “You want to have it, and you understand those who can’t make it, but we still want to celebrate the culture at this time of year and hope that everyone can enjoy it.”
There were, “so many people who asked us to make sure we have it,” Nickles said.
There were traditional dance performances on stage, a market, food for purchase and smaller ofrendas or honorariums at tables, including one assembled by Cub Scout Pack 99 and Scout Troop 275 of Round Lake.
Jody Hultman, a committee chair and unit commissioner serving that scouting program, said she hopes the table presence could help to recruit new scouts.
“It’s very important,” Hultman said about the scouting ofrenda. “This way helps us to learn each other’s cultures. We are a very diverse group.”
Lake County dancers performed on stage, including Grupo Folklorico México en la Piel of Waukegan.
Carlos Mandujano of Wadsworth, the group’s director, said, “It’s very important because they learn Mexican traditions.”
Dancing and music, he said, “bring everybody together.”
