The Bainbridge Island Museum of Art will host its fourth annual Dia de Los Muertos celebration, with a range of activities including art projects, storytelling and cultural cuisine, from Saturday, Oct. 28 to Sunday, Nov. 5.

Admission is free, and the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The dead never really leave us.

Across cultures and time, the persistent presence of departed loved ones is a matter beyond question, a vast circle of souls who live on in memory, perhaps even in spirit.

In that sense, Dia de los Muertos — the Day of the Dead — is really a celebration of life. Never mind the grinning skulls on the ceremonial altar; they’re usually made of sugar, after all.

“Dia de los Muertos is about connectedness with those we’ve loved,” said Araceli Cruz, Bainbridge textile artist and Day of the Dead event co-organizer along with Alice Mendoza and Cynthia Sears. “It goes back to the whole idea that love never dies. We live, we die, but love is an energy that never goes away.”

The festival centerpiece is a traditional ofrenda, a colorful, multi-paneled shrine crafted by Cruz to which visitors can add their own mementos honoring those who’ve passed into time. The altar is accessible to the public each day during museum hours.

With its origins in pre-Columbian Mexico and Central America, Dia de los Muertos predates the appearance of Christian practice in the hemisphere. Yet it coincides with All Saints and All Souls days and is recognized by the Catholic faith and various mainline Protestant denominations as a time of remembrance, reflection and prayer.

“The idea has kind of bled across the board,” said Cruz.

In Arizona, where Cruz’s Hispanic roots predate statehood by generations, Dia de los Muertos is simply part of the cultural fabric. Family elders may keep an ofrenda in the household year round, festooned with religious icons, Mexican marigolds, candied skulls or calaveras, and other symbolic objects. The holiday itself might bring a trip to the cemetery to tidy up loved ones’ graves, share stories and enjoy a picnic.

The BIMA celebration brings a range of activities centered on the community ofrenda. Visitors are invited to contribute flowers, votive candles and personal mementos throughout the week.

The community celebration gathering takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, and will be a time to share remembrances in a community circle. All are welcome.

Written messages on the ofrenda can memorialize anyone — a deceased parent or friend perhaps, Great Aunt Mabel or even Mittens, the family cat. Anyone whose life and love touched those who still count themselves among the living, and whose memories live on.

“It is profoundly moving to have the warmth generated by this celebration permeate the museum,” said Kristin Tollefson, BIMA’s education director. “Each year marks both growth and depth for the connections we’re making with people who are new to the celebration as well as those with longstanding history.”

At festival’s end, the notes and mementos will be burned in a ceremonial pyre off-site, signifying release and continuation of the spiritual journey.

“It’s exciting that the museum has embraced this, and that it is giving people an outlet to honor their loved ones,” Cruz says. “It’s very touching, and it has a strong energy.”

Visit www.biartmuseum.org for a complete list of holiday events.