Old Town Mankato Day of the Dead festival exceeds fundraising goals, will continue

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - Mankato’s annual Día de Los Muertos festival is just two weeks away.

2025 will be the fifth year of the ‘Day of the Dead’ in Mankato, and the road to the half-decade mark has been anything but easy.

In July, organizers spoke out about difficulty fundraising, as only about half of the festival’s $50,000 cost had been raised.

The community responded, and while the GoFundMe fell a bit short, organizers said that other avenues gave the event more than enough to cover this year’s celebration.

“Just asking was huge,” organizer Justin Ek said. “We got all the support and more that we needed for that. We’re going to have an awesome festival this year along with some saved for next year and future years as well.”

Now Old Town will start the transition to the Day of the Dead, with murals and decorations gradually filling Riverfront Drive and its businesses.

Historically, there would still be some last-second fundraising to be done leading up to the festival, and Ek said that with that peace of mind they can finally focus on making the best festival possible.

Leaders for the event said that the event has always put the community first, and it’s heartwarming to see the community now put them first.

“Our community has [been] really energized by this, and it’s really great to see. It makes me feel wonderful to have so much support come through for us. When we were feeling kind of down about it the community really showed up and gave us the juice that we needed to keep going with it,” Ek said.

Day of the Dead will romp through Old Town Mankato on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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