A Modesto tradition honoring loved ones who have passed away is taking a new shape this year after the longtime organizer of the city's Day of the Dead festival died.

For more than a decade, Rebecca Ortega Harrington poured her heart into the celebration. Her son, Matthew Harrington, said she built the festival from the ground up, bringing culture downtown.

"It was her love letter to Modesto and Stanislaus County," Harrington said.

Each year, the celebration filled the Tenth Street Plaza with music and dancing, drawing as many as 30,000 people.

"I would always tell her, 'Mom, you got to start early.' She could put it together in a matter of three, four, maybe in five months," Harrington said.

He said his mother's passing earlier this year left a void, but her message of unity and reme

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