The third annual Latino Awards Adelante, coming up next month, will be the final..
That’s according to organizers who joined KVOE’s Talk of Emporia Friday morning to discuss the event, which will take place Saturday, September 27, inside the Lyon County History Center. According to Gilbert Rodriguez of the Emporia Brown Express, the awards are all about promoting education and knowledge of the history of Latinos in the Emporia community, dating back to the early 1900s.
Rodriguez says he believes they have accomplished that goal over the last three years, and that is one of the main reasons why the event will be ending next month. Speaking of next month, Rodriguez says the focus of this year’s event will be the past, present, and future.
Rodriguez says this theme will be reflected by a new exhibit in the history center that will contain close to 60 panels of photos and images highlighting Latino families in Emporia from as early as 1905. Rodriguez says one of the main activities during the event will be a ribbon-cutting for the exhibit.
Several organizations are coming together to help put on the event, including Emporia Spanish Speakers, the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce, Lyon County History Center and Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow, who were represented Friday by President Mike Torres. When asked his thoughts on the upcoming display, Torres stated he believes it is very important to honor the past in the present to have a better vision towards the future.
In addition to the ribbon cutting, which will take place at noon on the day of the event, there will also be entertainment and two raffle drawings for a variety of prizes, including the grand prize, two round-trip tickets to Las Vegas. Tickets for the grand prize drawing are $20 or two for $35, with all other raffle tickets costing $5 a piece.
For more information, contact Rodriguez by emailing Gilrod7@Yahoo.com or by calling 620-340-0353
