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On Friday, May 3, downtown Springfield will celebrate its Mexican sister city, Tlaquepaque, during the first Friday night of the month. The evening kicks off with the ninth annual ArtsFiesta!, hosted by Springfield’s Sister Cities Association. KSMU’s Rebekah Clark has a preview.
The family-friendly event celebrates Mexican art and culture with authentic mariachi music and traditional Mexican dancing. This year, it will be held on Park Central Square and will be part of the First Friday Art Walk and Artsfest on Historic Walnut Street.
Cindy Jobe is the Sister Cities coordinator. She says that just like the past events, a professional mariachi band from the city will perform alongside local musical groups in a cultural collaboration.
“This particular band is the same one we had last year. One of those reasons is because we work these so hard when they’re here. We try to get them to as many schools as possible, and some other local places to perform. The idea is to take advantage of having such a quality group here that we use them for more than just our event. That’s one of the reasons we wanted this particular group back. They’re called Mariachi Viva Xalisco.”
ArtsFiesta! will include live dance performances from Grupo Latino Americano, bilingual storytelling for kids, and authentic Mexican food and art displays from Tlaquepaque at the ParkCentral Branch Library.
Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. The event is free and open to the public.
For KSMU News, I’m Rebekah Clark.
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The event is Friday, May 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Organizers say they will release more details about performance schedules and vendors as it gets closer to the event.