Preparations for Festival Latino de Lexington underway

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — The city of Lexington is so diverse not just with its people but also with its events.
This weekend a popular festival, will be the center focus downtown.
The Festival Latino de Lexington is taking place this weekend, the organizer of the event, Jessica Piersol, the Special Events Manager with Lexington Parks and Recreation spoke on preparations for the weekend.

“Last year we drew 5,000 people per day, so a total of 10,000 people throughout the festival,” said Piersol.

For over two decades, the Festival Latino de Lexington has brought the community to the Robert Stephens Courthouse Plaza.

“It’s a year-long process, as soon as we finish the festival, we start planning for that next year. So it really is a month by month and now we are days away and all of those preparations have paid off,” added Piersol.

The Latino Festival is celebrated in the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the hispanic and latino culture.

Those with Parks and Rec say, it is their mission to be as inclusive as possible in the events the city puts together.

Piersol says, “in Parks and Recreation, special events is housed under the cultural arts umbrella. really try to represent multiple cultures, multiple entities across different celebrations all throughout Lexington.”

But its not just the variety of food… Small vendors and performances but rather their impact to the lexington economy.

“We have vendors coming from several states away, they are coming and they will start spending their money as soon as they come into Lexington. And before, they’ve paid to be a part of Festival Latino, which goes right back into our foundation of Latin American culture and arts, FLACA, our partners in the event. It also fuels local economy through hotel stays, gas, and food that they are going to consume themselves,” also says Piersol.

The event runs from Friday through Saturday.

Friday the festival starts at 5 pm and goes on until 11 p.m.

Saturday the festival starts at 4 pm and goes on until 11 pm.