New Jersey community celebrating Día de los Muertos all week long

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (PIX11) - Celebrating Día de los Muertos not just for a day, but for an entire week, Jersey City Heights businesses are using this festive time to give to others.

"What we did was a sugar skull-themed candle," said Melissa Buesing, owner of The Lucky Honeybee gift shop. "It smells like vanilla and sugar, inspired by the sugar skulls that are left on the ofrenda."

The shop already sold out of the candle, part of the proceeds from which will benefit the Jersey City Heights Seventh-Day Adventist Church Food Bank.

"I just figured it would be great to give back to them," said Buesing.

"Here in Jersey Heights, all the small businesses, we're like a small community," said Robert Sonza, store manager of Modcup Coffee, which is selling a special dark roast coffee for Día de los Muertos, benefitting the group behind the weeklong celebration, Riverview Farmers Market. "They've been working for so long here. It's basically giving back to them for their hard work."

But there's much more to do than shop around; there are fun events lined up all week, from classes to workshops to performances, all here in the Heights.

"I think it really says that the businesses here in the Heights appreciate the cultural diversity," said Megan Wintersteen, vice president on the board of directors for the Riverview Farmers Market, which kicked off the week with a Día de los Muertos parade on Sunday. She says they've celebrated the holiday for the past decade, but this is the first year that it's expanded to a week-long celebration.

"It's an event that continues to be embraced by the community," said Wintersteen, "not only through the community members and residents but also, as we said, through the local businesses, and I think that's only going to continue to grow."