Latin Fest is happening at the Multicultural Centre in Lethbridge today, July 9, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

By Drew Stremick

Lethbridge residents get treated to colour and culture at Latin Fest

Jul 9, 2022 | 5:03 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge residents were taking in everything from food to music on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at Latin Fest happening at the Multicultural Centre located on 6 Avenue South.

Jackie French is the Executive Director of the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association. She says there’s something for everyone at Latin Fest.

“We have a lot of excellent food here, all culture related. We have some fun things for kids happening obstacle courses and bouncy hats, and we have all-day music and performances inside in the nice, cool beer garden,” said French. “So it’s air-conditioned inside and it’s nice and hot, but we have lots of umbrellas and tents set up, so there’s lots of shade, but we have performances all day from cultural dances to vocal performances to Zumba demonstrations, and we also have two bands coming out of Calgary to finish off the evening.”

French adds that it’s important for members of the Latin community to showcase their culture and it’s a great way for other members of the community to learn something new.

“It’s important for them to showcase their culture, their food, their dances, their performances, and their music, and it’s important for the Latin people in the community to be able to come out [and] enjoy it because then it gives them a sense of being at home,” French said. “It’s also important for the community members of Lethbridge and surrounding area to come here and learn about the culture and enjoy it like we all do.”

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Latin Fest had around 1,500 attendees last year and French hopes this year will bring more people out to the event.

“We had just over 1,500 people last year. So we’re expecting around the same numbers,” French said. “We’re hopeful to even get more, but we’ll see how the day goes. We’ve been fairly busy and steady so far.”

The success of Latin Fest last year resulted in extending the hours of the festival this year, French mentioned.

“This year, we’ve extended to 9:00 [pm] because at 7:00 [pm] last year, people still really wanted to go in that beer gardens and enjoy the Latin band,” said French. “So we extended it this year to 9:00 p.m., and who knows, maybe we’ll even go later.”

Don’t worry if you missed out on Latin Fest, the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association (SAEA) hosts events at the Multicultural Centre once a month.

The next event being held by the SAEA is Heritage Day which is taking place on August 1, 2022.

Food vendors on site dished up authentic Latin dishes, July 9, 2022 (Photo: LNN)