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City prepares for Latino festival
Tom Joyce
Staff Reporter
Regardless of whether a first-ever Latino festival draws hundreds or thousands of people to Veterans Memorial Park Saturday, city officials say they will be ready for the event.
“It's hard to anticipate exactly how many folks will come out,” Mount Airy Police Chief Roger McCreary said Tuesday, “but we are prepared for a large or a small crowd.”
“Festival Latino 2007,” which will celebrate Mexican Independence Day with music and dance performances, a rodeo, food, fireworks, flag displays and other activities, is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the city park on Lebanon Street.
Armando Ortiz Rocha of the N.C. Mexican Consulate and Mayor Jack Loftis, who is a “special guest” of the festival, are scheduled to speak.
Initial crowd estimates have ranged from 500 to 800 people. However, that figure has been updated to “a couple of thousand or more,” McCreary says.
Organized by members of Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Boonville, the festival has been widely promoted in Northwest North Carolina. It reportedly will be broadcast over WGBT-FM, also know as La Preciosa 94.5, a Spanish-language station that serves the Piedmont Triad area.
The widespread promotion, coupled with the slated appearance by Rocha, is expected to boost attendance.
City police say they will have plenty of security available, which will include deputies with the Surry County Sheriff's Department and some off-duty officers.
Officer Carlos Garcia, the only Hispanic member of the city police force, will be among those in attendance, the chief said, along with several high-ranking members of the department. McCreary said he hopes to take in at least part of the event.
The Surry County Fair is scheduled to begin its run on Monday and some vendors may set up as early as Saturday.
“So that will be an interesting traffic day for us, for sure,” said the police chief.
McCreary said the Latino festival is an opportunity for the community to learn more about the Hispanic culture. Police will also have a booth at the celebration to provide information about the department.
“Absolutely, we feel real good about it,” McCreary said.
Staff Reporter
Regardless of whether a first-ever Latino festival draws hundreds or thousands of people to Veterans Memorial Park Saturday, city officials say they will be ready for the event.
“It's hard to anticipate exactly how many folks will come out,” Mount Airy Police Chief Roger McCreary said Tuesday, “but we are prepared for a large or a small crowd.”
“Festival Latino 2007,” which will celebrate Mexican Independence Day with music and dance performances, a rodeo, food, fireworks, flag displays and other activities, is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the city park on Lebanon Street.
Armando Ortiz Rocha of the N.C. Mexican Consulate and Mayor Jack Loftis, who is a “special guest” of the festival, are scheduled to speak.
Initial crowd estimates have ranged from 500 to 800 people. However, that figure has been updated to “a couple of thousand or more,” McCreary says.
Organized by members of Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Boonville, the festival has been widely promoted in Northwest North Carolina. It reportedly will be broadcast over WGBT-FM, also know as La Preciosa 94.5, a Spanish-language station that serves the Piedmont Triad area.
The widespread promotion, coupled with the slated appearance by Rocha, is expected to boost attendance.
City police say they will have plenty of security available, which will include deputies with the Surry County Sheriff's Department and some off-duty officers.
Officer Carlos Garcia, the only Hispanic member of the city police force, will be among those in attendance, the chief said, along with several high-ranking members of the department. McCreary said he hopes to take in at least part of the event.
The Surry County Fair is scheduled to begin its run on Monday and some vendors may set up as early as Saturday.
“So that will be an interesting traffic day for us, for sure,” said the police chief.
McCreary said the Latino festival is an opportunity for the community to learn more about the Hispanic culture. Police will also have a booth at the celebration to provide information about the department.
“Absolutely, we feel real good about it,” McCreary said.
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