HispanicBusiness

Spring is shaping up to be quite a busy time for the City of Cullman, including the area's first public Cinco De Mayo celebration.

A planning committee, made up by several members of the Cullman Rotary Club, along with various other organizations around town, met Monday afternoon to continue to plan for the inaugural Cinco De Mayo festival to be held May 5 at Sportsman Lake Park. The news about the event comes almost two weeks after it was announced that the city would hold the Rock the South music festival, featuring country artists Dierks Bentley and former American Idol star Kellie Pickler at Heritage Park on April 27 to commemorate the anniversary of the tornadoes that devastated much of the state a year ago.

Cullman Rotary member Joe Holmes is the one credited for coming up with the Cinco De Mayo event. Cinco De Mayo is celebrated in the United States primarily as a recognition of ancestral pride.

"With the immigration law that was passed, I felt like we were slighting the Hispanic community," Holmes said. "So, I thought it was time we show some appreciation to them by joining the Hispanic and Anglo communities together."

The festival, which will be held from 1 to 6 p.m., is going to be free to the public. Food, most of which will be provided by three local Mexican restaurants around town, will also be available at no cost. In addition, hot dogs and drinks will be available as well.

Three bands are scheduled to provide entertainment. Zumba instructors will conduct a brief class in between each performance. More activities are currently in the works.

"The Hispanics are very important to our community and we need to show them some respect. I want us to be one community, not two." Holmes said.

While the annual Cullman County Relay For Life is scheduled for the same weekend, organizers of the Cinco De Mayo event say everything from Relay For Life should be torn down by the time the festival is scheduled to begin.