The Hispanics United for Perry are shaking things up a bit with this year’s annual festival.
They’re calling it the Viva Perry Latino Festival and this year it will take place downtown.
Organizer Jon Wolseth says the name change in itself reflects that this year’s event will be different.
“Viva Perry is a great way of sort of focusing on the larger Perry community. Viva is the Spanish word for like go Perry, or hooray Perry, and it reflects the way that our community has changed since the inception of the festival almost 15 years ago. You know, I think at this point we have a community that is, in essence, very much bicultural. I think that the title for this year’s festival reflects that sort of shift.”
Organizer Rosa Gonzales says this year they are bringing back some elements that used to be featured at the festival, along with some new ones.
“In the past we would have a parade and also other events, that includes the queen for the festival, and we want to bring back those events and make it a little bit different. Also, we want to move in the direction of this becoming a festival not just for Latinos but all the diversity in our town.”
The event takes place Saturday, August 29th, starting with the parade at 11am. We’ll have more information on the various activities you can participate in as part of the festival as the date gets closer.