Missoula Day of the Dead Parade

Missoula's best event started out in 1993 as a melding of art and honoring the dead. The event, held on Nov. 2 each year, is a downtown-long parade of those honoring the dead -- be they actual people or imagined personas (take the Dead Debutantes from this year). While death is the purpose, art is the theme, and the event is as much a visual spectacle as it is a tribute. Lots of cities now have Day of the Dead parades, but Missoula has one-upped them with a post-parade dance and performance art spectacle at Caras Park that includes, drums, tribal dancing, and fire.