¡Viva Carnaval!

We welcomed around 400 of our friends and neighbors to IFC’s first ever Carnval de Colores at the Village Green in Cashiers on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Along with our partnering host, Vecinos, we celebrated to start of Hispanic Heritage Month with a family carnival that featured music, dancing, games, and, yes, a TON of great food! Our goal was simple: create an opportunity to build community and celebrate our local Hispanic communities in Western North Carolina. By all accounts, we met our goal.

Much of the Carnaval’s success was due to our amazing community partners. Over one dozen local agencies and organizations set up games, gave out prizes, and helped us to celebrate with the communities we serve everyday. These partners included, Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC, Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau, Pisgah Legal, Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library, La Alianza, The Collective, Unete, Unidxs WNC, Blue Ridge Free Dental Clinic, Centro Comunitario of Macon County, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, Latinx Appreciation Student Organization of WCU, and Friends of Panthertown. We offer our thanks and gratitude to these amazing partners!

Finally, we have to thank some of our amazing volunteers from our local Hispanic communities who helped with everything from set-up to food prep to clean up at the end of the evening. We were even blessed with donations of tamales, elotes, and cakes! Thanks to their generosity, the everyone who attended was well-fed and welcomed warmly into the celebration. We are already discussing next year’s event, which will be held in Highlands in 2023!