Colorfully painted storefronts and intricate window displays have transformed downtown Aurora into what organizers are calling "Sugar Skull City," honoring a traditional Mexican holiday that reunites the living and dead.

For years, the city has celebrated Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in great fashion, hosting a slew of cultural activities in a downtown festival that typically draw thousands of people, said Marissa Amoni, manager of the Aurora Downtown nonprofit.

(The window of Balderas Beauty Salon in downtown Aurora has been decorated as part of the 30-day "Sugar Skull City" event honoring the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead.)

(The Halloween display at 502 S. Second St. has been a focal point of a West Dundee neighborhood for years.)

But the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to re-imagine the event, she said, prompting the creation of a 30-day celebration beginning Thursday that features festive artwork, self-guided tours, business promotions, virtual content and a socially distanced scavenger hunt.

"There's a lot to take in," Amoni said, "and with 30 days to do it, it'll be a fun thing for people to do and not really have to worry about crowds."

As sugar skull artwork by local artists adorn downtown Aurora, Halloween-themed displays are popping up in other parts of the suburbs, including at the home of West Dundee resident Myke Kustief, whose elaborate decorations have been a focal point in her neighborhood for years.

Skull-Lord.com