Latino festival arrives in Freehold

FREEHOLD - The community is invited to share in the food and entertainment of a culture that has become a large part of Freehold Borough over the past decade.

The third annual Latino Festival to take place in Freehold Borough will be held on Oct. 6 in a parking lot across from St. Rose of Lima Church, McLean Street, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For the past two years the festival has been held in the Park Avenue Elementary School complex.

This year's festival will feature food, flamenco dancers, Caribbean and Mexican dance troupes, a mariachi band and Cuban rap artist Alvare. Area organizations will have booths set up to provide information about what they offer to the community.

"During the first two years our goal was to get the festival established," said Lazaro Cardenas, who is a member of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey. "We now feel we have enough of a base and enough recognition that we can move the festival closer to downtown and eventually bring it right to the center of town."

Plans for the 2008 Latino Festival call for it to move from the parking lot across from the church to downtown Freehold.

Festival committee co-chair Cecelia Reynolds said, "The Latino community has a lot to offer the borough and the region and we hope the festival will become small symbol of their enormous contribution. By bringing it downtown, we hope to encourage participation by all segments of the community."