Fiesta in Florissant Spices Up North County This Weekend

As the weather heats up so does North County with the annual Fiesta in Florissant set for this weekend.

The festival will be held at the Knights of Columbus grounds in Florissant, June 22-23. The festival celebrates the heritage of several Hispanic cultures and showcases the rising Hispanic population in North County.

According to 2010 Census data, Hispanics comprised more than 3.5 percent of the population for the state of Missouri. For Florissant specifically, more than 1,000 residents are Hispanic.

"Many of the committee members are residents or were raised in Florissant," Haniny Hillberg, one of the organizers for past festivals, said in a previous Patch article. "We thought it would be a great family-friendly place to show and share our rich Hispanic culture through music, food and crafts from different countries."

This year, the festival will showcase live Latino bands and folklore dancers from countries, including Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, such as Mateo y Los Bachateros Band and Wild Cats Mexican Band, both from Chicago.

Residents grooving to music can also partake in food, drink and other vendors attending the festival. Foods such as empanadas, tamales and other delicacies will be able to be purchased throughout the festival from South America and other Latin American countries.

"It's an opportunity for folks to get acquainted with the Latin community," added Carlos G. Jove, a past committee member of the Hispanic Festival committee. "Watching people come back year after year is very rewarding."

Several other activities will be available during the festival, too, such as folk arts and crafts, Los Niños Kids Corner with piñatas and Dora the Explorer, Exotic Petting Zoo with pony rides, inflatable rides and information booths from several cultural organizations to acquaint the public with their programs and services.  

Parking and admission is free. For more information about the festival, visit the Hispanic Festival Inc. website.