On Thursday Nov. 2 Spanish Honor Society (SHS) alongside Kirkendall Public Library brought Day of the Dead for the community of Ankeny to experience and enjoy. Families and kids were able to indulge in activities set up by SHS members. 

“November 1st and 2nd is when Day of the dead is celebrated in many Latin American countries. The holiday is to celebrate those who have passed on before us,” Spanish teacher and SHS sponsor Jillian Anderson said. “And with this event we are engaging the community in some of the activities that many Latinos participate in these days, such as decorating sugar skulls, making papel picado, which is a decoration that is on the altars, and making paper flowers.”

Anderson and Kelly Munter, the youth services librarian at Kirkendall, collaborated to bring this celebration of the Day of the Dead for families. 

“I helped coordinate this event with Jillian,” Munter said. “Jillian’s husband actually works here at the library so that was our main connection. This is our second year doing this event.” 

Munter says that these events are a wonderful opportunity for families to experience different cultures. 

“It’s important [for SHS to host these events] to connect the language that we’re learning to the actual culture and then be able to teach the culture to other community members and show appreciation for the culture as well,” Anderson said. 

Activities included coloring pages, a scavenger hunt, making sugar skulls out of stickers, and making papel picado and flowers out of tissue paper. SHS students helped run each station. 

“I was at the coloring station coloring with little kids,” junior Kaylyn Miller said. “Coloring is really calming for the kids. I really enjoyed finding the colors for the kids and helping them and giving them my opinion on what to color.” 

Sophomore Addison Meyer, who worked the scavenger hunt and at the welcome station, says that it was really fun seeing the kids excited when they understood the jokes.

“I wanted to help out with the event because I like kids, and I like seeing all the kids happy and enjoying all the activities,” senior foreign exchange student Natalia Perez Martinez said. “I [also wanted to help] knowing that many here have something in common, they speak and know Spanish. And I like to meet more people.” 

Families could also see the altars, known as ofrendas in Spanish, that SHS members made for famous Mexican and Latin American celebrities. 

“I made an ofrenda for Frida Kahlo,” senior Brenna Fast said. “[The ofrenda] is like a decoration that you kind of set up for a loved one that died. In this case, she’s not my loved one, but she is famous. It’s to honor their passing and to invite them back.” 

Kahlo’s altar included candles, pictures of her, some flowers, paint brushes, and a blanket. Items that represent and commemorate her life. 

Kids reportedly enjoyed going through the stations. 

“I like the one where you cut the papel picado,” Sebastian Anderson, Anderson’s son said.

“The Day of the Dead Celebration went great,” Munter said when the event ended. 

The Spanish Honor Society hopes to continue hosting these events to connect community members to different cultures. 

“These events are beneficial for everyone,” senior Lio Aguirre said. “It was really fun and I would do it again.”