On September 27, Knoxville's Latin community is hoping many people will say "hola!" to understanding many different types of Hispanic culture.

According to Patricia Robledo, co-chair for the Hola! Knoxville festival, the event will begin at 11 am and end at 8 pm. The festival will be held in Market Square, where people can drop by and enjoy many different attractions while they're out eating or shopping or just looking for something different to do.

"This is our third year in Market Square, which is a wonderful thing," Robledo said. "It lends itself to bring people together who normally wouldn't come together. Some people will show up who didn't know the Hola festival was there, and others will come specifically for the Hola festival. It's a great thing to bring all kinds of people together."

This year, the Hola! Knoxville Festival has been given a grant by the Southern Arts Federation to bring in Vientos del Pueblo, an Atlanta-based group, to play the music of the Andes. Robledo, who was born in Colombia, remembers hearing this kind of music in Knoxville during the 1982 World's Fair, but not too often since then. There will also be salsa dancing and a mariachi trio.

Just with the music alone, we're really making a point that there is a lot of diversity within the Latin community," Robledo said. "Everything is different. That can be seen also with the Parade of Nations. Kids and families can wear native costumes to show that even within the same country, there can be a lot of diversity."

In addition to the live music and Parade of Nations, the Hola! Knoxville Festival will also include food vendors from many different countries and a new activity for kids. This "passport" activity will allow children to visit different tables representing different Latin American countries, where the kids will be able to do arts and crafts projects, learn about the geography and culture of the different countries, and sample different kinds of treats. Some booths will have things for sale; others will be just for fun.

"The kids can ‘travel' through all the different countries," Robledo said. "They'll get a flag sticker for each individual country they visit. This is another opportunity to bring people to the same place who may not otherwise have the opportunity to share in this way. We are very excited about the children's area."

There will also be a salsa dancing competition, a Zoomba demonstration (similar to an aerobics class set to Latin music) by the YMCA, a Brazilian martial arts performance, food tables, balloons, face painting and the Zoomobile with animals to interact with. Child and Family Services will also be at the Hola! Knoxville Festival to present a puppet show called Kids on the Block. This show will address important issues such as drug use, family violence, handicaps, diversity, inclusion and the right way to deal with these things.

The festival may be centered around different Latin cultures, but Robledo wants to make sure that people understand this is a community event. Children and adults of all ethnic backgrounds are invited to attend.

"I think we'll have a great diversity in the people that will come to the festival," Robledo said. "It's for everybody - Hispanics as well as other kinds of kids and families. We've scheduled it for the only Saturday without a football game, so people will be anxious to come out and enjoy a day in the sun. This is a nice family event where people can have fun and learn something too. There will be a lot going on; it should be exciting!"

Sponsors for the Hola! Knoxville Festival include Scripps Networks, Regal Entertainment Group, Market Square District, Mercy Health Partners, Bud Light, First Tennessee Foundation, SunTrust, Knoxville Museum of Art, Children's Hospital, Mayfield, Knoxville Zoo, Southern Arts Federation, Tennessee Arts Commission, Knoxville News Sentinel, Kelly S. Johnson, Knox County, Clayton Foundation, the City of Knoxville, Kids on the Block presented by Child and Family Services, National Endowment for the Arts, WKZX 93.5 FM, Safe Kids, Pinnacle Financial Partners and 21st Mortgage Corporation.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.