One City to host first Hispanic Heritage Festival on Saturday

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, One City will host its first-ever Hispanic Heritage Celebration on Saturday.

Hispanic restaurants including Panadería Oaxaquena will serve their signature eats, live music from local artists will play and attendees may participate in Zumba, Loteria (Mexican bingo) and dancing.

One City executive director Taylor Smith said the celebration plays into One City's mission to bring people of all cultures, races and socioeconomic statuses together.

"We've done a really good job of doing that, but there's a really big Hispanic population here that we haven't done anything for yet," Smith said.

In addition to several local restaurants, Hispanic vendors and business representatives from throughout the area will also attend to sell their products and talk about their work.

Activities -- from soccer to piñata burstings — will take place throughout the afternoon, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at One City, 610 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau.

While the event is meant to be a day of fun, One City hopes it will also be a time of education, according to Smith.

"We want people to come and eat the food and go to the vendors, but we also want them to ask questions and learn about the heritage of each person," Smith said.

Smith said the Hispanic Heritage Celebration is the first in a line of future events One City will host centered on Hispanic culture.

"We're talking to different people here in the Hispanic community on ways we can do more than an event once a year," Smith said. "We're looking at different cultural traditions Hispanic people celebrate, and potentially hosting some of that here."

One City's Hispanic Heritage Celebration is a free event and requires no pre-registration. Find more information on One City's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/onecityunite.