51st Puerto Rican Festival kicked off this weekend

Sunday evening brings the first weekend of the 51stPuerto Rican Festival to a close. This year’s event is being held a little differently than years past. The event was being held over two weekends at two different locations due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. This weekend’s events were held at the International Plaza on North Clinton Avenue, and next weekend’s events will be held at Parcel 5 on August 21, 2021.

Event organizer Orlando Ortiz stated that “Hopefully, us having the event on the avenue gives them a chance to showcase their culture right in their community."

The Puerto Rican is an event that is set up to honor and bring together all people of Hispanic descent.

Ortiz stated “Although it is the Puerto Rican Festival, over the many years many other Latino communities have migrated to the Rochester area. Dominicans, Cubans, and others."

The Puerto Rican Festival will have food trucks along with live music events for people of all ages. They do advise that no kids under the age of 17 are allowed without an adult. There are scheduled to be local bands performing along with food, and dancing. Miles Pena headlined the events this weekend with Cuban salsa. Next weekend’s events will be headlined by Chiquito Team Band.

With the ongoing concerns of COVID-19, the Puerto Rican Festival organizers have announced that there will be on-site vaccinations. They also will be giving out facemasks along with hand sanitizer for event goers. They are asking anyone that is not vaccinated to wear a mask during the event.

To find out more information about next week's Puerto Rican Festival events, you can check out their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/1404522963253209