FAYETTEVILLE, Ark – Hispanic Heritage month is in full swing in Northwest Arkansas as we celebrate the rich history and contributions of Hispanic Americans and their ancestors.
Sunday, September 26th the City of Fayetteville hosted a festival for Hispanic Heritage Month in the square.
The event began at 1 pm just after a three-day soccer tournament came to an end, the winners were awarded a trophy, and their families surrounded the teams taking pictures.
Sponsors from all over Northwest Arkansas came to show their support for the Hispanic community making up 9% of Fayetteville’s population.
Pailin Srisupapol, working the event with T-Mobile, was enjoying the festival Sunday afternoon, “It’s going pretty good, the weathers really nice today and then there’s a lot of people, a lot of things going on and a lot of fun stuff at the stage as well.”
The stage was filled with children singing and dancing while their parents all filmed their smiling faces, and others enjoyed some traditional Spanish shaved ice.
The festival was free to everyone, as community members from all walks of life could enjoy the free goodies from sponsor’s booths.
Festivals like this were first celebrated in America for a week at a time in 1968 until President Ronald Reagan expanded the celebrations into a month-long period in 1988.
“I really think this means a lot to our community since it seems that there is a high population for Hispanic people over here so I think this really shows appreciation and welcoming them to this community so I think this means a lot,” Pailin said while hosting her booth.
Hispanic heritage month will continue the festivities in Fayetteville with an outdoor family movie, Book Of Life at the Fayetteville Public library on October 6th
As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close on October 15th our community will continue to celebrate the diversity in Fayetteville.