National Hispanic Heritage Month, which pays tribute to Hispanic and Latino American culture in the United States, kicks off fall celebrations of the harvest, history and changing seasons.

In true Bainbridge Island fashion, that means it’s time to make some art and curl up with a good book.

Here’s how BI will honor the culture from Sept. 15 through Oct 15.

Lotería Cards

The BI Public Library will be hosting a free crafting event Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon for all ages. The public can create their own lotería cards, or tablas, a form of bingo from Mexico that uses images instead of numbers. The most popular style features iconography that represents elements of the 19th century, accompanied by a short verse or pun. For example, “el melón,” or melon, has the joke “me lo das or me lo quitas,” or “give it to me or get rid of it.” Visit the BIPL webpage for details.

Día de los Muertos

While the colorful three-day festival honoring one’s ancestors takes place after Hispanic Heritage Month ends, the BI Museum of Art will be celebrating from Oct. 4 through Nov. 17. The museum will erect an “ofrenda,” an altar decorated with marigolds, candles and images of loved ones who havedied for the public to participate in, and feature exhibitions from contemporary Latino American artists from Puget Sound.

In Washington state, the first Spanish-speaking people were from Spain in the late 18th century. The Spaniards failed to colonize the land, but some of their initial nomenclature is still in use: the San Juan Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are historic evidence of Spanish presence in Puget Sound. While Hispanic and Central American populations began to grow in the early 20th century in Eastern Washington it wasn’t until the 1960s that it happened west of the Cascades. Today, about 381,000 Hispanic people live in King and Pierce counties.