¡CARNAVAL!

Mariachi Internacional entertains the audience at this year's Carnaval Cultural.

Carnaval returned to Cashiers on Thursday, September 19th at the Village Green! Nearly 300 local residents braved the sporadic sun showers for a an evening of music, dance, and amazing food!

Festival-goers were delighted by the music of Mariachi Internacional, who played two, one-hour sets of traditional mariachi favorites from Mexico. In between sets, the dancers from Zochiquetzalli of Franklin, NC, dazzled the audience with a trio of traditional dances from across Mexico and Latin America. As the music played and the dancers danced, folks enjoyed hot bowls of pozole, tamales fresh from the steam pots, and elotes (grilled street corn) right from the grill, all served up by volunteers, staff, and board members from the IFC.

Also joining us in the celebration were nearly 20 local nonprofits who hosted games and information booths. These community partners included, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina, Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau, Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library, Unete, Unidxs WNC, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, NC Medicaid, WCU LASO, Pisgah Legal, AWAKE Children's Advocacy Center, Sol & Son Dual Language Academy, Summit Charter School, Circles Cashiers-Glenville, Region A Partnership for Children, Center For Domestic Peace, Blue Ridge Health, Highlands Biological Foundation, Mountain Projects Inc., and Friends of Panthertown.

We thank all of those who participated and look forward to seeing you again next year as we take the party back to Highlands!