52nd Annual Puerto Rican Parade & Festival

- A celebration of Puerto Rican-American arts and culture has been observed by the Greater Cleveland community each summer since 1969. Its purpose has been to bring together the city's residents, highlighting its rich diversity, and educating the community about the many contributions to the city’s history and beyond.

- A two day outdoor event with traditional food, local artisans, cultural presentations and live folkloric performances in the heart of the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, the most densely Hispanic populated enclave in the state of Ohio.

- An intentional effort to address social determinants of health include our partnership with leading agencies to provide two days of onsite access to minority health screenings and services. These include Covid-19 testing and vaccination, HIV testing, voter registration and literacy, housing assistance, lead abatement programs, financial literacy, job opportunities and more.

- The event attracts many visitors from Northeast Ohio and inspires local residents into entrepreneurship as first time vendors, fostering new economic development in the neighborhood and eliminating economic barriers.

- The second day kicks off with a one-mile community building caravan of visual arts, culture, and creative floats, led by the city’s Mayor and other civic leaders, while showcasing the diversity among Latino organizations, businesses, and civic groups that contribute to the development of Northeast Ohio. 

1. The planning committee, made up of local residents, will strategically convene periodically to plan event logistics and strategy. All necessary city permits for both the parade and the festival will be pulled during the planning process.
2. Event announcements are made to residents to market the event and recruit volunteers via the printing of flyers and social media.
3. A pre-event project is hosted in advance so that participants are able to create folk masks and costumes they will use to perform.
4. Visual Arts materials are purchased to use on creative floats during parade and to educate during festival.
5. Partners are identified to offer on site access to community building resources in the health, finance, and employment fields. 
6. Tents, crowd barricades, tables, and other equipment will be confirmed for rental prior to event day with local event supply companies.
7. Local, regional, and international music artists as well as local artisans, makers, and vendors will be recruited prior to the event.  

Planning members have a desire to use health, arts and culture as an opportunity to educate and preserve this historic event which highlights diversity, equity and inclusion. Identifying this as an invaluable opportunity to partner with community stakeholders and civic leaders to reach the needs of the residents we proudly serve, we can all unite to address disparities that exist in underserved communities and bring happiness to families.