Meg Soyars Van Hauen/Sky-Hi News
Grand Latin, also known as Latinos en Grand County, and Destination Granby partnered up last year to host the first-ever organized Día de los Muertos celebration in Granby. Due to the success of that event, they’re now organizing another festive gathering set for Hispanic Heritage Month in September.
This year, in order to fully embrace the richness and diversity of all Hispanic cultures, the two groups are putting on a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration on Sunday, Sept. 21 at Polhamus Park in Granby from 12-3 p.m.
Similar to last year, this event will also feature performances, cultural displays, music, food, activities for families and vendors. Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept. 15 until Oct. 15 to incorporate the anniversaries of independence for many Latin American countries.
Silvina Spatocco is one of the founding members of Grand Latin and is working to help organize this year’s celebration. Spatocco said that by scheduling this year’s event in September, they can host it outdoors and take advantage of the final few warm days of summer.
Spatocco said that last year’s Day of the Dead event was a “lovely and amazing” event and said that attendees she spoke to had a great time enjoying music, community and cultural performances. Hispanic community members and non-Hispanics alike showed up to Middle Park High School for the event.
Cultural events are important to communities, said Spatocco. She believes that these events help celebrate and inform the community about different cultures, which ends up bringing people closer together.
“The event for the entire community, but we want Hispanics in our community to have an event where they feel seen,” Spatocco said. “We think it’s very important that they feel like ‘Oh I recognize this music!’”
In Grand County, there are little to no opportunities for various Hispanic communities to feel connected to their culture, Spatocco said. This was something that Spatocco and other members of Grand Latin sought to fix. It became a motivator for Grand Latin to organize an event like this for the community.
“We think that it is very important so that people feel, more than anything, welcome to the community,” Spatocco said.
Vendors and community organizations are invited to take part in the celebration. Space is limited and spots can be reserved online at DestinationGranby.com/events/hispanic-heritage-month-celebration. Applications for a table spot will be accepted until Sept. 10.
The group is also currently accepting sponsors and there are three sponsorship tiers available to businesses and organizations. Anyone who is interested in becoming a sponsor should email Destination Granby at Kayte@destinationgranby.com. Sponsorship commitments are required by Aug. 1.
There are other ways to contribute to the success of the event other than sponsorships. Individuals who wants to support this event can donate through Destination Granby at DestinationGranby.com/donate. To donate to this event specifically, make sure to select “2025 Hispanic Heritage” in the designation dropdown.
Source link
