YOUMACON 2014, for the love of anime and all things Japanese.

Halloween and Dia de los Muertos both took place this weekend, October 31–November 2, with traditional celebrations including a procession to Clark Park, where neighbors built a community ofrenda, sponsored by the DIA and open to the public from 12-4 p.m. on Sunday, November 2nd. This public installation is tied to the special exhibit of 28 ofrendas within a portion of the special exhibit wing of the DIA, where local artists (including this Knight Arts blogger!) closed the seasonal exhibit with a packed and colorful house for the artist talk at the DIA. Such enthusiastic community support for this program, brainchild of Carrie Morris, DIA museum program manager (Puppetry and Performing Arts), is a lovely start to a grand new holiday tradition in the making. Also on tap at the Detroit Film Theatre, musician Joel Peterson celebrated Halloween night by performing an original score to accompany the silent 1920 German horror film The Golem: How He Came Into the World.

Run of the Dead, having little to do with Day of the Dead, or being dead, but fun nonetheless.

Less traditional events of the weekend also included the 2014 Run of the Dead, a 5K/10K race through Southwest Detroit that celebrated healthy living on the Day of the Dead. The Juggalo army of Insane Clown Posse fans celebrated basically the opposite with the 20th annual Hallowicked event at the Fillmore Theater on October 31st. Youmacon 2014—a massive four-day celebration of Japanese culture kept the costume parade rolling through Sunday, as anime aficionados and cosplayers descended on the Renaissance Center. All in all, it was a colorful weekend, full of freak flags flying high.

Upcoming for this weekend at the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art.

But never fear, there is more in store this weekend, with two new bodies of work at the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art—“Elemental” by Neha Vedpathak and “Vicissitude” by Elizabeth Youngblood—supplementing the continuing presentation of Herbert Gentry & His Contemporaries in the main gallery.

“Water” at 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios, Nov. 6-Dec. 6, 2014.

If you’re thirsty to kickstart the  weekend, be sure to make it over to 555 Gallery on Friday, November 7th, for the opening of “Water,” a group show that straddles the line between art and activism, addressing the issue of water rights, as relevant worldwide as it is right here at home. From 6-8 p.m. there will be a discussion forum, “Race & Water: The Struggle for Access, Affordability and Autonomy,” followed from 8-11 p.m. by an open mic, poetry, music, fashion show and healing circle.

N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art: 52 E. Forest Ave., Detroit; 313-831-8700; nnamdicenter.org Detroit Film Theatre: 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7887; dia.org/detroitfilmtheatre. The Detroit Institute of Arts: 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-7900; www.dia.org 555 Gallery: 2801 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 888-495-ARTS; www.555arts.org