In Oak Harbor, the best place to celebrate the dead may be the funeral home.

Saturday, Nov. 2, the Wallin-Stucky Funeral Home will host its first Dia de los Muertos celebration from 5-8 p.m. to honor loved ones who have passed. The event is free and open to all.

Soledad Saldana, a funeral director, said she has celebrated Dia de los Muertos all her life.

Saldana’s uncles and aunts passed on at a young age, she said. When she was little, she and her sisters made their favorite meals and brought them to the cemetery, where they decorated the headstones of all of their loved ones who passed away.

The family spent the day at the cemetery, she said, leaving food behind in the evening.

“It happened year after year after year, and my mom would always tell us, they come back, the spirits come back,” she said. “Oh, man, I would get so emotional about it.”

The next day, her family returned to pick up the dishes, and the food was gone.

“We start getting older and we’re like, ‘Wait a minute. Who’s having all these tamales?’” she said. “I always tell people that it’s like Santa Claus, when you believe in Santa Claus, and you grow up one day, you’re like, ‘Oh, our parents.’”

For this year’s celebration, Soledad is honoring her mother-in-law who passed away three years ago, she said. Her photo, along with the loved ones of guests, will display on the ofrenda.

The celebration offers food and drinks, music, facepainting, raffles and a photo booth. The Pixar movie “Coco” will play. Funeral staff will recreate the marigold bridge from the film.

“When you open that temple door, I just want you to see lots of lights,” Saldana said. “It’s like Christmas.”

Sugar skulls decorate the room, and people may have painted faces, Soledad said, but Dia de los Muertos is not to be confused with Halloween.

El Cazador donated rice and beans, and Taqueria El Kiosko donated horchata to the event, and many local businesses donated to the raffles, she said.

Lots of people have expressed interest in the event. Saldana hopes people RSVP by calling the funeral home at 360-675-3447.

“I’m super excited about it, and there’s so many people,” she said. “Oh yeah, we’ll be there, and we can’t wait.”