Gilroy Mariachi Band to Be Featured at Second Annual Mole and Mariachi Festival

Announcement from Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks (Open Post)

The popular Mole & Mariachi Festival returns to Santa Cruz Mission Adobe State Historic Park on Sept. 20 with a mole competition, live music and dancing.

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining the legacy of our local state parks and beaches, will host the festival 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at the park, 144 School St., in downtown Santa Cruz.

Two bands — Mariachi Gilroy and Mariachi Sonora — will headline the event with festive Mexican folk music. Playing violins, trumpets, guitars and other Mexican varieties of European instruments, Mariachi members sing choruses together and alternate as lead singer.

Children and adults alike will be delighted by the pageantry of the mojigangas performance – and may remember them from last year’s Mole & Mariachi Festival. The brightly painted giant puppets wiggle and dance. Mojigangas, with heads and busts made of papier-mâché, date back to the middle ages in Spain. They were brought to Mexico around 1600, and are popular at celebrations, parades and festivals.

Estrellas de Esperanza, a children’s Mexican folklorico dance group from Watsonville, also will return for their second year performing at the Mole & Mariachi Festival.

A diverse array of artists will display and sell work at the Mole & Mariachi Festival, including Day of the Dead artist Summer Rhee-Pizano and Kelly Keegan of Soft Like Stone Bells, who make hand-painted silk art and glass art. Alebrijes, household decorations and table clothes from San Martin Tilcajaete, Mexico, will be sold. Traditional Mexican apparel and accessories, both hand-made by One Wish (Un Deseo) and imported from Mexico, also will be available.

Local chefs will prepare mole (a traditional Mexican sauce, sometimes made using chocolate). Mole sauces will be judged by event attendees and by a panel of local celebrity judges. 2014 Mole & Mariachi Festival guests may purchase great local food, beverages and raffle tickets. Free activities include live music, folklorico, tortilla making, crafts and other children’s activities.

Launched in 2013, the first Mole & Mariachi Festival attracted more than 1,000 attendees. Admission to the second annual Mole & Mariachi Festival is free; tasting kits will cost $10. The event is a benefit for Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks in support of Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park restoration projects, educational programming for school children and community cultural events at the park.

For more information about how to get involved in the Mole & Mariachi Festival, as a mole chef, artist, food vendor or sponsor, email Festival@ThatsMyPark.org or visit http://www.thatsmypark.org/projects/santa-cruz-mission/mole-andmariachi-festival

More about mole: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)

About Santa Cruz Mission Adobe State Historic Park

The Santa Cruz Mission Adobe State Historic Park is home to the oldest building in Santa Cruz County. Built between 1822 and 1824 by local Ohlonean and Yokuts Indians, the park’s signature adobe is the only remaining structure from Mission Santa Cruz, founded in 1791. One of just four adobe buildings left in Santa Cruz County—and sometimes confused with the nearby replica mission chapel—it is the only building of its kind preserved as a museum in the State of California. The adobe served as housing for Neophyte families who lived and worked at the Mission, which operated until 1834 when it was secularized. After decades of private ownership, the adobe was sold to the State of California, extensively restored and finally opened in 1991 to the public as the Santa Cruz Mission SHP.

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks saved Santa Cruz Mission Adobe SHP from closure in 2012. Friends’ funding for the Mission has supported maintenance and operations at the park, as well as operation of the Mission ParkStore and a commitment to partner with the community and work with California State Parks to make needed improvements. Key improvements that have already been implemented include the opening of new interpretive exhibits, renovated outdoor cooking facilities and new hours of operation to serve local school children. The park is supported by the Mission Adobe Committee, members of which include representatives of Friends, State Parks and dedicated community volunteers.

About Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks is an entrepreneurial nonprofit sustaining the legacy of our state parks and beaches. Through an innovative partnership with California State Parks, and by leveraging local community support, Friends has provided millions of dollars of funding for educational programs, visitor services and capital projects. Founded in 1976, Friends is passionately dedicated to the preservation of our spectacular natural environment and rich cultural history. Friends also operates six ParkStores, offering nature- and history-themed merchandise for sale to benefit local parks and beaches. Learn more about Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks at ThatsMyPark.org or via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.