Volunteers wanted for Warsaw festival
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on July 2, 2004 1:55 PM
Organizers of the upcoming Raza Festival in Warsaw are looking for volunteers.
Raza means "all races" in Spanish, and the organizers say the term is used all over Mexico. The people there call it "the people's festival."
This year's festival will be held from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25, in the Warsaw Veterans Park.
The first festival, held in Faison last September, had 25 booths rented by vendors and agencies providing information about their services.
Organizers said Wednesday they want to provide more attractions this year. They are looking for more agencies, nonprofit groups and vendors. They expect to provide dancers, music and foods from Mexico and Latin American countries.
The festival, sponsored by the Duplin Mexican Association, starts a month-long celebration. People from Mexico and Central and South America celebrate independence during the same month, because most of them won independence around the same time of year.
The Duplin group plans a sports tournament for Oct. 9 at Carolina Turkey Co. and a dinner and dance on Oct. 23 at the park in Rose Hill.
The association incorporated in the summer of 2003 as Amexcan Duplin, and its president is Maria Montiel, who works at the Duplin County Health Department as an interpreter. Her husband, Rigo, is also a member of the festival's planning committee.
Anyone who wants to work on one of the committees can call Alex Asbun, the chairman of the Booth Committee. He works at Duplin General Hospital and can be reached at 910-296-2942 or by e-mail at aasbun@dgh.org.
Anybody from a government agency, nonprofit organization or vendor who wants to rent a booth can reserve one by calling 910-275-1877 or 910-293-2521.