An event that began with a small group of local Spanish-speaking families is about to turn 10 years old later this month.
The 10th anniversary of Vamos a Pescar — Let’s Go Fishing — will be held Saturday, August 29th at the Prophet Aquatic Research and Outreach Center. For the past several years, the event has welcomed families from all walks of life for a day of activities all centered around the great outdoors.
While this is the standard for Vamos now, organizers, who recently joined KVOE’s Talk of Emporia to preview the 10th anniversary event, recalled the early days of the event, which began with a dozen local families at Camp Alexander in 2016. Patricia Saenz-Reyes of USD 253 Emporia Public Schools says the idea came about at a time when they were seeing many Hispanic families and children were “Not taking advantage of all the opportunities that Kansas has” in the great outdoors, specifically when it comes to fishing.
Sally Sanchez of Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow says in addition to getting families outdoors, it was important to organizers to provide as much education as possible on the laws and requirements for fishing.
Over the years, the event has had multiple locations, including at Peter Pan Park for a time before moving to its current host site of PAROC for the last five years. Phil Taunton of What’s in Outdoors, another of the original organizers, says with education being the key of the event, it only made sense to partner with Emporia State University.
PAROC Outreach Director Alex Hayes says they have loved hosting the event the past several years, calling it a natural fit.
Laura Budke of PAROC says the 10th anniversary event will see another large list of activities for the community to enjoy, including some brand new additions to the lineup.
The event will also see another large turnout of local and state organizations, food, music and more as part of the 10th anniversary celebration, which, again, is open to the entire community. Activities will run from 9 am to 1 pm and there will be a slight change to parking than in year’s past, according to Hayes.
This year, East 18th Avenue, the road that leads to PAROC, will be closed to public parking to allow room for the various vendors and organizations planning to attend. Parking will be available at the ESU Student Recreation Center Parking lot and on Highland Street next to the Art Annex, with shuttles/hay rides provided for attendees to the event site.
For more information, find Vamos a Pescar on Facebook or contact PAROC by calling 620-341-5727.
