EDWARDSVILLE - SIUE’s Lovejoy Library will host a celebration for Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos.

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From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, students and community members are invited to Lovejoy Library for free food, crafts, dancing, singing and more. Simone Williams, Diversity and Engagement Librarian and an assistant professor, noted that the event aims to bring together the community while honoring Latinx culture.

“It gets pretty loud and it gets pretty packed,” Williams said. “I think it’s very important because it not only exposes the community to the library and university, but vice versa. So it’s good to have their input, because the community is also part of the university and a university should be and is a part of the community.”

Williams hopes to see many people from around the Riverbend at the event on Oct. 29. She said Hispanic Fest, a St. Louis-based organization that coordinates Hispanic festivals and organizations in the Metro East area, will co-host the event.

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The specifics of the event vary from year to year, but sometimes include face painting, photo booths, piñatas and more. Williams promises “traditional Hispanic food,” adding that it’s “not like Taco Bell.”

This is the library’s fourth annual Day of the Dead event. Williams explained that Lovejoy Library began hosting the event because they noticed a lack of activities to honor Day of the Dead.

“It grew out of a need, because I knew that we had a growing Latino and Hispanic population on campus, and they didn’t have a lot of events geared towards them at that time,” Williams said. “We get a lot of the student organizations, so the Hispanic Student Union and also the Latinx, Hispanic fraternities, they participate every year. They bring the table so [attendees] can learn more about their organizations. They interact with a lot of the guests and also they have served as interpreters.”

She added that the students have been “great” in their roles as interpreters and representatives of their organizations. She encourages families to come out, bring their kids, and enjoy the event alongside SIUE students.

“Bring as many people as possible,” she said. “We have a flow of people coming in and out on the day…It’s nice and it is free.”

For more information, visit the official SIUE Lovejoy Library Facebook page.

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