A cold and rainy Sunday afternoon couldn’t dampen the spirit of community during the annual ¡Viva Perry! Latino Festival.

The event was rescheduled from August 25th, and was also moved from downtown Perry to the parking lot west of the Performing Arts Center at the high school. It was once again organized by Hispanics United for Perry (HUP), which postponed the original event out of respect to the late University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. While the festival was a pared down version of the original, some of the staples were still there, including: food and other vendors; the Queen of the Festival presentation; and performances by Perry’s folkloric dance troupe, Los Laureles.

Additionally, Perry Mayor John Andorf helped HUP present the annual award for community support, which was given to the Perry Police Department and Chief Eric Vaughn. Vaughn said the department was honored to receive recognition for their work to make everyone feel welcome and safe in Perry. There was also a special screening of the documentary “Welcome to Shelbyville” inside the PAC, as part of the Hometown Heritage “Becoming American” film series. The discussion of the film was moderated by HUP representative Jon Wolseth with ISU Extension.

Wolseth felt the event was a big success, in spite of the postponement and the weather, as this year’s festival was a perfect example of how well the citizens of Perry come together in unity. “I think more than anything, it’s been the community support, both for the change of date, (and) the change of venue. We can’t really do much about the weather, but knowing that the community of Perry has our back has been really one of the best beneficial outcomes of the whole event!”

Wolseth adds, the Latino Festival has been held in one form or another for more than 20 years, and it has gained a great reputation as a fun, family event for people of all races. HUP is looking forward to hosting ¡Viva Perry! downtown once again next year, and Wolseth is confident they’ll have better weather. The Latino Festival is the biggest fundraiser every year for HUP, which goes towards their annual scholarships for graduating Perry students.