Celebra
te Cinco De Mayo in Denver
The Mile High City’s Latino community throws a weekend long fiesta every May, celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Latino culture with food, drink, music, crafts and much more. Held in Civic Center Park, this is a BIG festival – make no mistake about it. Last year attracted close to 450,000 revelers, and organizers expect even bigger numbers this year. It’s by far the biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the U.S. and one of the biggest in the world, which makes sense, considering that the population of the Mile High City is now 20 percent Hispanic. This year’s fiesta takes place Saturday, May 3 and Sunday, May 4. Admission is free.
The festival gets off to a grand start with the annual Celebrate Culture parade at 10 a.m. Saturday at 12th and Welton streets. Dozens of dancers and musicians wind their way to 17th Street before hitting Lincoln and ending at Civic Center. Put on some green, white and red colors (the colors of the Mexican flag) and cheer them on.
The festival grounds open each day at 10 a.m. – and you’ll definitely want to arrive bright and early, since there are so many performers to see, spicy foods to taste and Latino culture to soak up. The festival’s musical offerings are always fantastic, with a lively mix of mariachi, Tejano-style pop and traditional singers. Expect to see plenty of dancers as well, strutting their stuff in a wide array of styles, from tango to salsa dancing and beyond. More than 350 vendors will be selling their wares – be sure to pick up a handcrafted souvenir, a one-of-a-kind artwork or a piece of colorful clothing. If you’re bringing kids, head over to the children’s area along Colfax, where your young ones will find pony rides, a petting zoo and other fun carnival-type attractions.
New to the festival this year is the sure-to-be-hotly-contested Green Chile Cook-Off, which will feature Denver’s best restaurants entering their best bowl of Green Chili for a cash prize – and plenty of fame and glory as well. Denver is the proud birthplace of Green Chili, so Denverites take this particular culinary concoction very seriously.
The Cinco de Mayo “Celebrate Culture” Festival was first produced in 1988, as a neighborhood street fair to showcase Mexican heritage while promoting the economic turnaround of the neighborhoods along the Santa Fe Drive corridor. By 1995, the wildly popular festival had outgrown its location and moved a few blocks to Denver's Historic Civic Center Park where it took its place among Colorado's top four outdoor food and entertainment events.
Don’t Miss!
In case your kids haven’t had enough Cinco de Mayo revelry after two days at the Civic Center Park, take them over to La Alma Recreation Center (1325 W. 11th Ave.) on Monday, May 5th for a free celebration beginning at 5 p.m. There will be arts, crafts and activities for kids ages four and up.