Cheekwood runs El Día de los Muertos on Saturday, Oct. 31 and Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. This is the 27th annual edition, and it closes the estate's posted run of October weekend events.
Cheekwood requires a time-entry ticket for every guest. That rule sets the order of the booking: reserve the slot, then build the day around it.
Saturday and Sunday end on different sets
Saturday’s last two sets on the Arboretum Lawn run 4 to 4:30 p.m. for Sol de Mexico Ballet Folklorico and 4:30 to 5 p.m. for Folklore Iyali. A Saturday arrival before 4 p.m. catches both.
Sunday ends with Folklore Iyali from 4 to 4:30 p.m. The grounds stay open until 5 p.m., and the entertainment stops at 4:30.
Both days open with DJ Cesar at 9 a.m. and carry a Danza Aztlán set at 10 a.m. and the La Catrinas fashion show at 3:15 p.m. A 4 p.m. arrival misses the fashion show and catches the closing set.
Reserve the timed slot first
The event page states that a time-entry ticket is required for all guests. A membership covers the ticket price and leaves the slot requirement in place.
Parking capacity can be reached during this event. Once the lot fills, Cheekwood sells walk-up tickets to guests arriving by rideshare. Plan the arrival with that cap in view.
Cheekwood does not admit school groups arriving by bus during this festival, and the event page ties that rule to the timed tickets and the parking limit.
The free lot at Belle Meade Office Park
Cheekwood offers free off-site parking with trolley transport on October event weekends, and it lists El Día de los Muertos on the Oct. 31–Nov. 1 row. The lot is the Belle Meade Office Park, 4525 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37205.
Trolleys run about every 20 minutes in each direction. Cheekwood asks guests to add the shuttle wait to their arrival time.
The off-site page stops selling lot tickets at 3 p.m. on the day of the visit and prints a last entry of 2:30 to 3 p.m. Buy the slot and the lot ticket in one transaction for an afternoon arrival.
The trolleys are not ADA accessible and carry foldable strollers only. Guest Services answers questions at 615-353-6965.
Ticket prices on site and at the lot
Adults pay $23 on site and $18 at the off-site lot. Seniors 65 and over pay $21 on site and $16 off site. College students pay $19 on site and $14 off site.
The festival page lists youth 3 to 17, children 2 and under, member adults and member youth as free at either location. The off-site page prints its own admission table with youth at $11, so confirm the youth price at the lot. Every ticket includes Garden and Mansion access.
Non-members pay a $2 service fee per ticket. On-site guests also pay $5 per vehicle for parking, and the off-site lot carries no parking fee.
An adult driving alone pays $30 on site and $20 at the lot. Two adults in one car pay $55 on site and $40 at the lot. The saving is $5 on parking plus $5 on each adult ticket.
What the ticket covers inside
The program lists ofrendas across the grounds, student murals in the Frist Learning Center Great Hall, marigold crown and monarch butterfly activities, a papel picado coloring sheet and a memory tree in Massey Auditorium.
The marketplace fills Parking Lot B and the Frist Learning Center Courtyard with art, goods and food vendors. The roster changes between the two days, and the event page names each stand.
Murals come from middle and high school classes including Bellevue Middle School, Cane Ridge High School, KIPP Nashville and the Independence High School National Art Honor Society.
Book the room as a separate line
A festival weekend needs a room booking alongside the ticket. hotelhuddle.com takes one request free of charge and notifies 50 or more hotels in Nashville.
Hotels return group rates, terms and perks for side-by-side comparison. You pay the hotel directly, and the request adds no markup to the rate.
Most hotels set the group threshold at 10 rooms per night, and the site states that its groupRooms brand takes group bookings of any size. Responses arrive in 24 to 72 hours.
Check two things before you commit
Construction has begun on Cheekwood’s Parking Pavilion and Welcome Plaza, slated for completion in 2027. The Metro Parks agreement that has carried overflow parking outside the gate concludes in 2027. Check the parking page before the drive for effects on the on-site lot.
Confirm the slot time and the parking location in one booking. The gardens, the mansion and the Great Hall programming all sit inside the gate.
Cheekwood sits at 1200 Forrest Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37205, about 8 1/2 miles southwest of downtown.