This Year's Festival of the Skeletons Walks Past the Village of the Arts' New Walls

Bradenton's Village of the Arts lost its sidewalk paintings in 2025 and moved its public art onto building walls in March 2026. This weekend's Festival of the Skeletons is the first one held since those murals went up.

The free 22nd Día de los Muertos Festival of the Skeletons runs this Friday, November 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, November 7, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival hasn't changed much over 22 years: face paint, gallery altars and food trucks. The streets around it have. This year the route between altars also passes the murals the Village painted in March. Plan your weekend around both and you'll see the Village as it stands now.

The sidewalks went gray in late summer 2025

On June 30, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation sent a memo ordering the removal of pavement markings that didn't meet state color and shape rules. The memo cited public safety, and cities that didn't comply risked losing state funding, according to the Bradenton Herald. The statewide deadline was September 4. Sarasota and St. Petersburg had already cleared their street art before it, SNN reported.

In the Village, one of the losses was an ocean scene of fish and sea turtles that had been part of the sidewalks for years. It was paved over in the last days of August 2025. The City of Bradenton said in a statement that the changes protected critical funding, and that it would keep working with residents, businesses and artists to showcase community spirit "in safe and lasting ways."

The 2025 Festival of the Skeletons dedicated its main shrine to the people who built the Village, led by its founding father, Herbie Rose.

What went up on the walls in March

The Village answered with the first WonderWall Mural Fest on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Artists Guild president David Shiplett told the Bradenton Herald that after the sidewalk art came down, Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown visited the Village and started "pointing out things you can paint," even under the new rules. Pulse of Manatee called the festival the district's largest event in 25 years. The fest included a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County that paired young people with professional artists.

The plan called for five permanent murals and four temporary murals on reinforced plywood. Board member Teri Nattress described the purpose to the Bradenton Herald:

"Our message is that we're stronger together and we can move forward together. The message is really to ourselves and to our own community."

On festival day, WFLA reported that artists painted five murals live. Discover Bradenton's festival guide later said the event left five permanent murals at sites that included Federal Market, Bits & Pieces, Embodied Health and Jerk Dog Records. The sidewalk paintings were spread along the pavement. The new murals sit at specific buildings, so you can walk a short loop between them.

Friday after dark, Saturday in daylight

The two sessions are built for different visits. Friday evening brings live music and food vendors. Saturday's daylight hours suit the gallery altars and the art. Friday ends at 9 p.m. this year, half an hour earlier than the 9:30 close in 2025.

This year the Community Village Shrine honors Frida Kahlo. Organizers are asking guests to come in their favorite Día de los Muertos attire, and Kahlo's flower crowns and bold colors fit right in. The Community Shrine and Memory Wall are open to anyone who wants to honor someone they've lost. Last year people left notes, photos and keepsakes, so bring a printed photo or a few written lines with you. Inside the galleries, many altars honor family, friends and pets.

A few logistics:

• Cost: Free admission. Food and pop-up vendor purchases are extra.
• Early arrivals: The first 300 guests get free festival goodies.
• Parking: Free street parking throughout the Village, plus the empty lot at 13th Avenue and 12th Street.
• More details: The Village of the Arts Merchants event page.

The Village holds its ArtWalk on the first Friday and Saturday of each month, generally from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This weekend is the first weekend of November, so the festival and the ArtWalk fall on the same days. For the festival itself, go by the event's own hours.

A walking loop from the mural sites to the altars

Saturday's daylight hours make it easy to see the murals and the altars on one walk. The mural sites below come from the Bradenton Herald's pre-festival report. The gallery addresses and hours come from the Village merchants' directory.

1. Federal Market, near Ninth Street West and 13th Avenue West, at the eastern edge of the Village. Start here after parking near 13th Avenue and 12th Street.
2. Bits & Pieces, at 13th Street West and 13th Avenue West.
3. Embodied Health, 1102 12th St. W.
4. Jerk Dog Records, 1119 12th St. W.
5. Divine Excess Folk Art Gallery, a few doors down at 1125 12th St. W. It's open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
6. TVM Gallery, 1227 12th St. W. It opens on first-Friday and first-Saturday ArtWalk weekends and by appointment, so this weekend counts.
7. Arte Coyoacano Gallery, 1023 12th St. W. It's open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
8. 10th Avenue West Studios, 1102 10th Ave. W. It's a working studio that opens Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you have time, swing over to 11th Avenue West. Left of Center Gallery, one of the Village's longtime galleries, is at 1013 11th Ave. W. Joan Peters Gallery is at 1210 11th Ave. W.

Where to sit down between shrines

The food trucks stay put all weekend, but three Village spots also posted hours that cover both festival sessions.

The Village Patio, 1213 13th Ave. W., lists Friday and Saturday hours of 11 a.m. to midnight. That covers Friday's evening session and leaves plenty of room afterward. Adobe Kava, 1302 13th Ave. W., moved to new hours in August 2026: 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends. Arte Caffè Italian Bakery & Restaurant is at 930 12th St. W., on the walk in from the eastern edge.

All three also served the WonderWall crowd in March, along with Flamingo Bay Brewing and Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen.

The Village calendar after the skeletons

The festival kicks off a busy stretch for the neighborhood. The merchants group launched its own website in April 2026, and the Third Saturday Market is a regular listing there. Here's what's on the calendar from now through March:

The Realize Bradenton Winter Wonderland falls on the same Saturday as December's first-weekend ArtWalk. That makes December 5 a day you can spend in the Village before heading downtown for the evening. The Village of the Arts lists Holiday Shopping as one of its annual December events. According to Discover Bradenton, the next WonderWall arrives March 6, 2027, as its second year. More walls will likely get the same treatment the first five did.

Christine loves seeing her neighbors at events like this one. If the walk through the Village gets you wondering what your own Bradenton home is worth, Christine Spelman offers a free consultation and an appraisal-informed home valuation, with no pressure and no rush. Enjoy the festival this weekend.