Light rain and light moods mixed at the 2018 ¡Viva Perry! Latino Festival Sunday at the Perry Performing Arts Center, with the crowd enjoying the plentiful food and fellowship.
Sponsored by Hispanics United for Perry (HUP), the annual Latino Festival usually begins with a parade along Willis Avenue, with the U.S. flag and the national flags of Mexico and many Central American countries fluttering in the morning air. Traditional and contemporary music and dancing are also regular features of the celebrations, with the crowning of the ¡Viva Perry! La Reina de la Festival or Queen of the Festival among the highlights.
The flag waving, dancing and singing were missing from this year’s scaled-back festival. HUP postponed the festival, originally scheduled for Aug. 25, out of respect for murder victim Mollie Tibbetts and over concerns that anti-immigrant sentiment might be a risk to festival goers.
But the food and fellowship remained and was enjoyed by the diverse crowd in peace and security and a steady, misty drizzle.
HUP also retained the ceremonial awarding of its annual Outstanding Citizen Award, bestowed for “exceptional service to our diverse community,” according to the wording on the award plaque.
The Perry Police Department received the HUP Outstanding Citizen Award is recognition of its role in fostering “the safe environment and the close-knit environment that we have here in Perry,” said HUP board member Jon Wolseth, who presented the award to Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn, who accepted the award on behalf of the department.
The ¡Viva Perry! Latino Festival is the primary fundraiser for HUP, with proceeds supporting scholarships for graduating seniors and continuing education. The festival has been a regular feature of Perry’s social and cultural life since 1993. In its early years, the event was originally held on or around Sept. 16 in order to mark Mexican Independence Day.
Sponsors of the 2018 festival included the Perry Chamber of Commerce, Gatehouse Media, Perry Public Library, Raccoon Valley Bank, Hy-Vee, Fareway, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Tyson Fresh Meats, Osmundson Manufacturing Co., Dallas County Hospital, Wiese Industries, Mid-Iowa Family Therapy Clinic, Hasting’s Funeral Homes, Hulgan’s Plumbing and Heating, Progressive Foundry, J. S. Peters Service Inc., Eye Care Associates PC, Roberts-Smilley Insurance, Carris Family Funeral Home and Cremation Care, Re/Max Pros on Main, Harland Ace Hardware, Finneseth, Dalen and Powell and ThePerryNews.com.
