A Bellevue-based Aztec dance group is performing at Crossroads Community Center on Wednesday, Oct. 7, as part of a weeks-long Día de los Muertos series running through Oct. 30.

Nahui Ollin Tezcatlipocatl, the group leading the performance, teaches traditional Aztec dance and its connection to honoring ancestors, according to the city's event listing. No admission fee or start time was listed on the city's page.

A Sugar Skull Making workshop is also listed for Oct. 7 at Crossroads, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Participants can create their own sugar skull to take home and bring back to decorate at the main Día de los Muertos celebration later this month.

Both events fall under the city's community-led Cross-Cultural Center without Walls initiative.

The series launched Sept. 19 with a Catrina makeup workshop at the BelRed Arts Night Market. Artists Amelia and Leslye led that session, while Cafecito Mexican Bakery owners Lizeet and Porfirio displayed freshly baked pan de muerto and a community ofrenda adorned with cempasúchil (marigolds) and candles, according to a Bellevue Arts Program post on Instagram.

The series builds toward a free Eastside Día de los Muertos Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. at Crossroads Community Center, 16000 NE 10th St. The City of Bellevue, Youth Eastside Services (Y.E.S.) and Cafecito Mexican Bakery are presenting the event.

The Oct. 24 celebration will feature live music, cultural performances, hands-on crafts like sugar skull decorating and paper flower-making, food and community altars called ofrendas, according to the event page. Highland Middle School's mariachi group is scheduled to perform.

An Aztec Dancing Workshop is also scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 14. A Youth Ofrenda Contest will close the series on Friday, Oct. 30, at Sammamish High School.

All events are part of the Cross-Cultural Center without Walls, a pilot program that funds local organizations to host intercultural events across Bellevue. In 2026, 27 organizations received funding and plan to host more than 70 events, according to the city. The program traces back to Bellevue's 2014 Diversity Advantage Plan.

Beyond the series, Nahui Ollin Tezcatlipocatl leads free weekly Aztec dance classes at Crossroads on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. through Dec. 31, open to anyone age 5 and older.

Residents with questions about the Día de los Muertos series can contact Hugo Cuellar at [email protected].