Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Festival to highlight Latino culture and traditions at Vail-Leavitt Music Hall

For the first time in Riverhead, several local organizations and community members are coming together to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in a two-day celebration that looks to highlight Latino traditions and culture through music, art, dance, food and fun.

The First Annual Hispanic/Latino Heritage Celebration will take place Oct. 12 and 13 at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in downtown Riverhead and has been organized by local individuals, as well as representatives of the Vail-Leavitt, Riverhead Free Library, SEPA Mujer, East End Arts. North Fork Spanish Apostolate, Neighbors in Support of Immigrants, Riverhead Central School District and the Riverhead United Methodist Church.

Vail-Leavitt Music Hall board member and event coordinator Angela De Vito said that the idea of a celebration first came up as a way to do something that involved the whole community for National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed every year since 1968 from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

“We have to bring the various communities together. We live side by side with each other. We may see each other in the store, on the street or in church, but we know very little about each other,” De Vito said.

“This is a way to begin to understand about people who are in the community and get past our prejudice or fear as non-Hispanic individuals so we can break down the artificial barriers that we have built.”

The organizing committee, which De Vito said is “very enthusiastic and excited” has been working to plan the event since July, devising strategies to attract as many people as possible. From reaching out to schools and local youth to creating a diverse program that engages local artists, performers, church groups and more.

De Vito also said that the Vail-Leavitt was the perfect venue, because as Long Island’s oldest theater, part of its mission is to create cultural events that are representative of the community they serve.

The festival will be funded through an omnibus grant for the arts the theater receives every year, as well as various donations from local businesses and individuals, De Vito said.

The festivities will kick off Friday Oct. 12 at 5 p.m. with face-painting and gift bags for the children, followed at 6 p.m. by the screening of the movie “Book of Life.” The PG-rated, animated movie is a musical adventure about a Mexican young man who embarks on a fantastical quest in the afterlife, where he faces his greatest fears and follows his heart.

Attendees will then be able to enjoy finger foods from different countries in an intermission that will precede the music and dance.

Around 8 p.m. the Vail-Leavitt second floor stage will be transformed into a multicultural event where dance troupes, flute players and magicians will entertain guests. The final performance, and one of the most anticipated, will be given by Chilean performer, drummer and visual artist Carolina Fuentes and her father, who is also a musician. A bilingual DJ will be entertaining throughout the evening, De Vito said.

The next day (Saturday), local students will take center stage. De Vito said that one of the key goals for the organizing committee was to engage the youth in the community.

In order to bring local students on board, the committee approached the Riverhead Central School District and Hampton Bays School District during the summer and created three school-sponsored contests divided by age and categories in visual arts, writing/poetry and music.

Students in grades 2-5, 6-8 and 9-12 have been submitting entries to the contest during this month, thanks to the help of teachers and school staff, who have guided them through the whole process, De Vito said.

The organizing committee created a series of prompts for each category and age group, allowing students to choose the medium they want to participate with and how they want to highlight Hispanic/Latino heritage.

As an example, in the visual arts category, students from grades 2-5 can create a two-dimensional art piece about their favorite animal or fruit from Mexico, Central or South America, or draw a piñata design.

In the writing category, students in grades 6-8 can write a paragraph, a poem, a short story or an essay about their favorite Latino tradition and explain why they chose it. They can also write about a Latino person, living or dead, who they would want to spend a day with and why.

In the music category, students grade 9-12 can perform a song, vocal or instrumental, written by a Latino artist or they can also compose their own original song inspired by a Latino genre.

The deadline to submit new entries is no later than Oct. 3, De Vito said. Music entries have to be submitted in MP3 or WAV formats to __vlmusichall@gmail.com.__

All student entries will be displayed, played or viewed at the Vail Leavitt Music Hall throughout the celebration event.

Each student submission will be judged by a special panel of artists, writers, and musicians from the community on Oct. 6. Winners and prizes will be announced for each age group and category at 11 a.m. on Saturday Oct. 13. Winners will be invited to say a few words about their pieces then.

After the contest winners have been announced, attendees will be able to participate in a crafts fair or watch the second screening of the movie “Book of Life.” The event will end at 4 p.m.

“We’re hoping people in the community will come and pack the place and see it’s an event for everyone to enjoy,” De Vito said. “We want to do this every year and have the Vail-Leavitt be a welcoming place for all.”

For more information, please visit the Vail-Leavitt’s website or send an email.