Hispanic Heritage Festival Hosts Annual Event at Lake Gwyn Park
by James Coulter
For more than a decade, the annual Hispanic Heritage Festival has allowed Winter Haven residents, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic alike, to celebrate their community’s diverse culture and representation.
In previous years, the annual festival has been hosted at the Eloise Resource Center in Winter Haven; however, due to its growth in recent years, the event has since relocated to Lake Gwyn Park for this year’s event last Saturday.
“Normally, it was hosted at the Eloise Resource Center,” explained Boris Rodriguez, Rec Coordinator 3. “But because it has received so much recognition in the past couple of years, it has outgrown its location. So, we came here to Lake Gwyn to see if we could make it bigger and better.”
This year’s festival showcased the beautiful diversity and representation of the Winter Haven community, especially of its Hispanic residents and families. The event featured live entertainment, music, games, crafts, art, and food trucks and vendors.
Throughout the day, various children from local schools and dance groups showcased their cultural heritage with musical and dance performances.
Rodriguez owes the festival’s success to the overall support from the local community. Whether they are Hispanic or not, residents have shown that they are more than willing to embrace their community’s multicultural diversity.
“[It’s because of the] diversity of people who come out. Just the families coming together, different nationalities having a great time together,” he said. “It is a well-organized event with people coming out to support themselves as families.”
