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Read the press release here.

Mariachi, Puppets and Pumpkins 'Mash Up' Day of Dead and Halloween

By Meredith Hoffman | October 25, 2012 5:31pm

BUSHWICK — Bored by the predictability of plain old Halloween? One hybrid holiday party hopes to quench your cravings for a cross-cultural "mashup" extravaganza.

Calabazafest, the free annual festival returning to Maria Hernandez Park Sunday, is bringing Mariachi, puppetry, pumpkin carving — and freshly farmed food to the neighborhood, in a blend of Halloween, Day of the Dead, and the seasonal Harvest Fair.

Performances by the all-female group Mariachi Flor de Toloache, the OWS Puppet Guild, and the group Sabor the Latineers are part of the line-up, according to the sponsor Bushwick Farmers' Market's Facebook page.

Revelers of all ages can make masks, learn cooking tips, and compete in a costume contest during the event, and the "pumpkin guts" from the day's carving will be used to nourish the soil at the Bushwick Campus Farm behind the Bushwick School for Social Justice, the website notes.

Calabazafest runs 1 — 5 p.m. in Maria Hernandez Park. More details can be found on the event's Facebook page.