Crown Hill Memorial Park

Dallas will have one of its own this weekend at Crown Hill Memorial Park.Shutterstock/Kobby DaganRicardo Alarcon, executive director of the Mayan dance group Grupo Pakal, used to spend the night in the cemetery. While that might sound straight out of a horror movie, it is very common in Mexico during Dia de los Muertos.For many families, the loss of a loved one is a time for immense grief. But for Mexican families it is also a time to remember the dead and celebrate them with a party, particularly with activities the dead enjoyed during their life. When you’re celebrating the dead, you have to bring the party to them.The thought of heading to the cemetery for a festival might sound a little odd, but for Stephanie Hughes of the Hughes Family Tribute Center, it makes perfect sense. The story goes that in 1967, Ronald Hughes Sr. forgot to get his wife a Christmas gift so instead he gave her the cemetery he had just purchased. Now, for the second year in a row, the Hughes family is giving a gift to their community — a traditional Mexican festival honoring and celebrating the dead, complete with a play commissioned by the Tribute Center.The cemetery, Crown Hill Memorial Park, is located in the Bachman Lake area and traditionally visited by families on Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Dia de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated on Nov. 1. Though it is celebrated throughout Latin America, it is most strongly associated with Mexico where the tradition originated, says Hughes. Dia de los Muertos honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations, a typically Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec rituals with Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores.The festival will build on this tradition by presenting a theatrical production by Teatro Flor Candela and a dance presentation by Grupo Pakal, specializing in Mayan dance. The festival will also feature altar building and blessing; vendors of traditional Dia de los Muertos items such as marigolds...

Belknap, 91, of Port Leyden, on July 26, 2016.Services 11 a.m. Saturday at Mills Funeral Home, 301 Post St. Boonville. Burial Port Leyden Cemetery. Calling hours 10-11 a.m. Saturday.DIBBLE — James E. Dibble, 67, of Oneida on July 26, 2016.Private services, no calling hours. Arrangements Ironside Funeral Home, OneidaHAYDUK — Joseph Hayduk, 76, of Rome, on July 26, 2016.Services 10:15 a.m. Monday at Nunn and Harper Funeral Home, 418 N. George St., and at 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church. Burial Rome Cemetery. Calling hours 3-6 p.m. Sunday.KOENIG — Marcile Koenig, 91, of Floyd, on July 21, 2016.Services 11 a.m. Saturday in Floyd Cemetery.Arrangements by Dimbleby, Friedel, Williams & Edmunds Funeral Home.Contributions to the Floyd Methodist Church.O’CONNELL — Kevin Clark O’Connell, 60, of Watervliet, formerly of Rome, on July 8, 2016.Services 11 a.m. Saturday at Saint Peter’s Church. Burial parish cemetery.Contributions to a musical scholarship fund for children at: West Suburban YMCA, Attn: Kevin K. O’Connell (Music Director,) 276 Church Street, Newton, MA 02458.ROSENBURGH — Patricia M. Rosenburgh, 97, of Cleveland, N.Y., on July 25, 2016.  Services at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Rome, at a later date this summer. No calling hours. Arrangements by Nunn and Harper Funeral Home.Contributions to the Stevens-Swan Humane Society, 5664 Horatio St., Utica, NY 13502.SAWENKO — Eric J. Sawenko, 39, of Norfolk, Va., formerly of Munnsville, on July 16, 2016.Services 9 a.m. Saturday at Campbell- Dean Funeral Home, 260 Main St., Oneida. Burial Woodlawn Cemetery, 800 Grant Blvd, Syracuse.Calling hours will be held from 3-7 p.m. today.Contributions to Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association in Canastota. SHEPHERD — Harold “Shep” W. Shepherd, 79, of Westmoreland, on July 25, 2016.Services 11 a.m. Saturday at Barry Funeral Home, 807 W. Chestnut St. Private Burial Westernville Cemetery. Calling hours 4-7 p.m. today.?TOMASI — Sandra M. Tomasi, 65, of Rome, on July 24, 2016.Services at a later date at ...