The Gail Borden Public Library Foundation and the U-46 Educational Foundation are teaming up this year for two events celebrating Day of the Dead in Elgin.
El Trote De Las Calacas, aka the Skeleton Trot, is a 5K race and walk that will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, beginning and ending at the Gail Borden Public Library in downtown Elgin. It will be followed at 10 a.m. with a Day of the Dead Festival inside the library.
“As both organizations support education, we often collaborate together,” library spokeswoman Denise Raleigh said. “When we both found that each other was planning a 5K, we decided to work together, especially with the library’s Day of the Dead Festival and the Olmec Origins exhibit coming this fall.”
Proceeds from race entry fees will be split between the library and school district foundations.
The library foundation supports efforts that include a summer reading program, youth and family events and exhibits.
“In short, it supports the library’s quest to enhance literacy in this community and to sustain a world-class library district,” Raleigh said.
The U-46 Educational Foundation helps fund opportunities for School District U-46 students that are outside the realm of the school district’s budget, U-46 spokeswoman Karla Jiménez said. These include grants that allow teachers to bring innovative projects to their classroom, scholarships for college-bound students, and funding for academic and fine arts programs.
“The U-46 Foundation successfully organized runs for U-46 in 2021 and 2022. We are looking forward to collaborating with the library to pick up on that momentum again,” Jiménez said.
The event will embrace the Day of the Dead theme by encouraging participants to dress as skeletons for the race, reflecting the Mexican tradition of celebrating and honoring deceased loved ones.
“We want people to commemorate the Day of the Dead events in customs that are comfortable to them. We plan to have face painting and much more,” Raleigh said. “But we want to emphasize that this event is for everyone of all cultures to enjoy. This community is wonderfully diverse, and we want to celebrate that.”
The Day of the Dead Festival will be a gathering with vendors, music, food, take-home crafts, a bilingual storytime, a costume contest for adults and children, and other activities that touch on Mexican traditions and culture.
An ofrenda — an altar dedicated to departed loved ones — will be set up; a Mexican lottery, which is similar to Bingo, will be played using pictures instead of numbers; and a photo booth available to take pictures with the library’s Catrinas, the “elegant skulls” associated with the Day of the Dead.
In November and December, the library also will be displaying 33 large heads created by contemporary artists that can be seen right now via the Olmec Trail on display throughout DuPage County. The Olmecs lived in what is now Mexico between 1400 BCE to 400 BCE, and the giant stone heads they created are part of their legacy.
The Olmec project was spearheaded by the Mexican Cultural Center of DuPage, Raleigh said. The library’s “Alebrijes, Creatures of a Dream World” exhibit last year was also presented in partnership with the cultural center.
“(Alebrijes) had a phenomenal impact in this community, with almost 150,000 exhibit visitors to the library,” Raleigh said.
“The creativity and artistry of these Olmecs inspired us to partner with MCC again,” Raleigh said.
Because of the cost to bring in the exhibit, the library foundation will be the lead sponsor, she said, and there is opportunity for other organizations to be part of the effort.
“We already have sponsors joining this endeavor,” she said. “A talented staff combined with a large, beautiful building and an effective foundation enables us to bring extraordinary exhibits to this library.”
To register for the Skeleton Trot and for more information about the Day of the Dead festivities, go to gailborden.info/trote.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
