Latino Festival Set To Celebrate Food, Music And Culture This Weekend

Lakewood, NJ — Food, games for the kids, prizes and music are among the highlights of Saturday's third annual Garden State Latino Cultural Festival, organizers said.

The festival, which is expected to draw 3,000 to 4,000 people, will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lake Terrace, 1690 Oak St., Lakewood.

Admission to the event, being held in a large indoor facility, is free, organizers said. People attending should bring spending money for food and raffles. (Food vendors’ prices are capped at $7 a plate.) Half a dozen different bands will perform throughout the day, according to a report by Victoria Lord for Ocean County's government website. The event blends and highlights various Latin American cultures, including countries of South and Central America, Mexico and Cuba.

The festival raises several thousand dollars to support the work of the National Association For The Advancement Of Latino People, which assists Latinos who are in need, putting them in contact with the right resources, from meal assistance to mental health services to other services, said Jorge Rod, who started NAALP with his wife, Betty, in 2014.

The Rods have lived on Ocean County 48 years, both in Lakewood and Jackson; Jorge served on the Lacey Township Committee for three consecutive terms and held the office of mayor in 1981. He served two terms in the state Assembly and was the state’s first Hispanic legislator, Lord reported.

Jorge Rod also publishes Latinos Unidos de Nueva Jersey – a Spanish language newspaper started in 2003 with distribution now numbering near 42,000 monthly, in 80 towns and 37 schools (lunj.net) – and The
Jewish Journal (ocjj.net), Lord reported.

The Hispanic population is growing, with 65,000 in Ocean County and 80,000 in Monmouth County, according to Rod, and the festival aims to educate youngsters who may not be as in touch with their heritage about their roots, while also sharing the culture with those who are not Hispanic, Rod told Lord.

For more information please call 908-216-6235 or email lunjpr@optonline.net.

Photo credit: National Association for the Advancement of Latino People; used with permission