Latino Heritage Month Columbus: Parade fills Downtown streets
Part of Latino Heritage Month, a Downtown parade and festival included towering balloon floats, blaring Mariachi music and hundreds of people lining streets.
- Festival Latino is moving from Genoa Park to Columbus Commons and the Ohio Theatre this summer.
- The move aims to provide a more secure, accessible and welcoming environment for attendees.
- Scheduled for Aug. 22-23, the festival celebrates Latin American cultures with music, food, dance, and more.
Festival Latino will leave its longtime home at Genoa Park this summer, when the two-day event relocates to Columbus Commons and the Ohio Theatre.
The move will “provide a more secure, accessible, and welcoming environment,” according to a press release from the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), which hosts the festival.
The release further emphasized CAPA’s “deep commitment to ensuring the comfort, safety, and peace of mind of all attendees, performers, vendors, and partners.”
A CAPA spokesperson said no safety concerns were involved in the decision to move the event. Instead, it was a matter of “practicality,” as CAPA owns and operates the Ohio Theatre and collaborates with Columbus Commons on programming.
Festival Latino grew out of a five-hour pilot project by the city of Columbus in 1996 and debuted as a two-day event the next year. The celebration features music, local art, food, children’s activities, and dance from various Latin American cultures.
This year’s festival is set for Aug. 22-23. Details including programming, vendors and more will be announced in the coming weeks.
Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com.
