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First-time ¡Viva Vancouver! festival is full of fun

Organizers plan changes for next year's Latino celebration event

By Scott Hewitt, Columbian staff writer
Published: August 19, 2017, 9:12pm
7 Photos
Viva Vancouver, the first-ever Latino festival in Vancouver, was held Friday and Saturday at Vancovuer Landing at Terminal 1. Next year, organizers say, there’ll be more social media marketing to spread the word, and fewer eclipses to compete for people’s attention.
Viva Vancouver, the first-ever Latino festival in Vancouver, was held Friday and Saturday at Vancovuer Landing at Terminal 1. Next year, organizers say, there’ll be more social media marketing to spread the word, and fewer eclipses to compete for people’s attention. (Steve Dipaola for The Columbian) Photo Gallery

Next year, there will be children and dogs, too. There will be more social media marketing and fewer total solar eclipses.

The first-ever ¡Viva Vancouver! Festival, a two-day celebration of Latino food, drink, music and dance, was a learning experience for organizers. Nearly everything about the event was perfect, organizers Diana Avalos and Domingo Estrada said: the weather, the entertainment, the refreshments, even the beautiful boats pulling close on the waterfront to listen.

If anything was missing, it was mobs of people. A small crowd had gathered when The Columbian stopped by ¡Viva Vancouver!, late on Saturday afternoon; ticket buyers were just starting to pour into Vancouver Landing at Terminal 1, the waterfront amphitheater, at 5 p.m. as Conjunto Alegre, a big international band based in Portland, took the stage. Headliner the Pura Vida Orquestra was set for 7 p.m.

“We see this as a first time,” said Victor Magdaleno, who worked with Estrada to organizer vendors for the event.

“There’s a lot of distraction with the eclipse,” Aleida Gonzalez said.

The festival was intended to celebrate Latino culture while raising money for positive Latino youth projects — but the alcohol-friendly event was 21-and-up only. Next year, Avalos said, that may change with the addition of a “family day” on Sunday.

Also, she said, she heard from a lot of folks who wanted to bring their dogs. That may be part of the scene next year, too.

A Latino cultural festival was long overdue in Clark County, said Carmen McKibbin, a local activist and owner of the Vida Flare food truck. “This is really cool,” she said. “It takes leadership to put on an event like this. It’s a labor of love. I wish it could have been sooner, but I’m just glad to promote our beautiful Latino culture. It has to start somewhere.”

The celebration continues at a tamale festival that’s been scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 21 at Reflection Plaza in Washougal, McKibbin said.

Look out for more details to come about that festival.

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