KNOXVILLE –The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a sponsor of the 10th annual HoLa Festival, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Market Square in downtown Knoxville.
The festival, which begins at 11 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m., is a daylong celebration of Latino culture, music, food and arts and crafts. A perennial festival favorite is the unique Parade of Nations, which highlights the varied and colorful costumes of Spain and Latin America.
Admission is free, though visitors are encouraged to donate a non-perishable food item such as rice or beans to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. There will be a nominal charge for some of the children’s activities.
Volunteers from UT’s Latin American Student Organization (LASO) are helping to staff the event. UT’s Office of Admissions also will be on hand with information on campus resources and university admission.
UT Knoxville and two of its lecturers are being honored at this year’s festival by HoLa Hora Latina, the volunteer-based, nonprofit cultural and education organization behind the event. The Unity in the Community Award, being awarded to the university and Spanish instructors Ana Luisa Salinas and Margarita Yong, celebrates individuals and organizations that strive to build cultural and communication bridges between Hispanics and the community at large.
Flamenco, tango and mariachi tunes will be featured at the event. Vientos del Pueblo will perform native folk music of the Andes Mountains of South America. The music group Kazique also will perform. Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer also will be in attendance, along with animals from the Knoxville Zoo.
HoLa Hora Latina is Knoxville’s oldest grassroots Hispanic organization, aiming to build cultural and communication bridges between Latinos and the community at large through educational, artistic and cultural activities. Information on education, health, child safety and other HoLa Hora Latina offerings will be available at the festival.
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Aside from UT, other sponsors include US Cellular, Comcast, Charter Communications, Central Business Improvement District, TVA, Regal Entertainment Group, Bush Brothers and Co., Cherokee Distributing Co., Pepsi, Target, First Tennessee Foundation, Clayton Family Foundation, City of Knoxville, Knox County, Akima Club, Mercy Health Partners, UT-Battelle, East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, Safe Kids, Home Depot, Scripps Networks, Clayton Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage, 21st Mortgage Corp., Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, AmeriChoice, International Flair, Mi Banco, Southern Arts Federation, Tennessee Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Knoxville Zoo, Market Square District Association and Sound Ventures.
Media sponsors include Knoxville News Sentinel, WBIR, Journal Broadcast Group (102.1 FM), WKZX (93.5 FM), WUOT (91.9 FM), MiVidaToday and Mundo Hispano.
For more information on the HoLa Festival, visit http://www.holafestival.org.
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C O N T A C T :
Coral Getino, HoLa Hora Latina (865-335-3358, info@holafestival.org)
Rebekah Winkler, UT Media Relations (865-974-8304, rwinkler@utk.edu)