Natalie Karina, 6, smiles as she and other performers in a Parque Padrinos group finish their folkloric dance number at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. El Dia Del Nino, or Children's Day, is a national children's holiday celebrated in Mexico. The group's vests were also custom from Mexico. This year's event was part of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival and included performances, informational booths, food, health resources, prizes, and kids activities.
Wenatchee Valley College nursing student Jessica Avila listens intently to Paula Solorio while checking Paula's blood pressure during the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. Appointment scheduling, health resources, vaccinations, and screenings were available. The health fair also celebrated El Dia Del Nino, or Children's Day.
Patty Cuevas, far right, of Wenatchee, browses the Community for the Advancement of Family Education booth with her daughters Janelly, 11, and Victoria, 8, at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. Cuevas was looking for resources and information for her daughters and to maybe spike Victoria's interest in folkloric dancing that was performed at the fair.
David Martinez, 11, balances on one foot after jumping across a rope from the green side to the blue side while playing the game Mar y Tierra at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. Mar y Tierra is a traditional Spanish game often played at recess.
People browse health and informational booths while at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park.
Natalie Karina, 6, smiles as she and other performers in a Parque Padrinos group finish their folkloric dance number at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. El Dia Del Nino, or Children's Day, is a national children's holiday celebrated in Mexico. The group's vests were also custom from Mexico. This year's event was part of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival and included performances, informational booths, food, health resources, prizes, and kids activities.
WENATCHEE — The second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair at Methow Park brought together large crowds of mostly Latin American families on Sunday to celebrate Children’s Day. Mexico celebrates the holiday on April 30, while other countries reserve different days.
The event was a partnership between Parque Padrinos, a grassroots community organization that advocates for Methow Park and the south Wenatchee community, as well as Confluence Health.
Wenatchee Valley College nursing student Jessica Avila listens intently to Paula Solorio while checking Paula's blood pressure during the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. Appointment scheduling, health resources, vaccinations, and screenings were available. The health fair also celebrated El Dia Del Nino, or Children's Day.
“So this event was started because back in Mexico. This is something that is celebrated every year and we wanted to bring a little bit of Mexico here to Methow Park and really celebrate Children’s Day,” said Liz Oropeza, the event organizer.
Patty Cuevas, far right, of Wenatchee, browses the Community for the Advancement of Family Education booth with her daughters Janelly, 11, and Victoria, 8, at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. Cuevas was looking for resources and information for her daughters and to maybe spike Victoria's interest in folkloric dancing that was performed at the fair.
Oropeza is also a board member for Parque Padrinos and an insurance navigator for Confluence Health.
“We wanted to make sure that children feel special on a specific day, but we also brought in the health booths because we thought in order to have a healthy child you need to have a healthy family, healthy parents,” Oropeza said. “So we collaborated with Confluence Health and we have our health booths and other community resources here to make sure families are getting all the resources available from the community.”
“Even though this is an Apple Blossom event, we wanted to make sure that we brought it to the south end of Wenatchee so that families (of south Wenatchee) feel important on this day,” Oropreza continued.
David Martinez, 11, balances on one foot after jumping across a rope from the green side to the blue side while playing the game Mar y Tierra at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park. Mar y Tierra is a traditional Spanish game often played at recess.
Performances from Parque Padrinos’ own children’s mariachi and folkloric dance teams took the stage at the gazebo, ranging from elementary to high school age.
People browse health and informational booths while at the second annual Be Well-Stay Well Community Health Fair on El Dia Del Nino, Sunday, at Methow Park.
Some of the dancers wore traditional rancher attire from the state of Baja California, Mexico. The outfits with cowboy hats, vests, and boots were custom made for the children with real leather and imported from Mexico, Oropeza said.
Other regional dances performed by the children hailed from Mexican states, like Nuevo Leon, Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Aguascalientes.
Six-year-old dancer Natalie Karina had a smile on her face the whole time she performed the Calabaceado, a traditional dance from Baja California.
“I love to show my (dance) teacher what I know,” Karina said.
Another dancer, Raul Escalante, 6, said his favorite moment dancing was when he stuck out his tongue.
The fair was filled with wellness booths with different health information in English and Spanish, and small prizes, activities, and healthy snacks for kids. Also included were booths checking blood pressure and delivering free COVID-19 vaccines.
Jessica Avila is a first-year nursing student at Wenatchee Valley College. She was checking people’s blood pressure and asking questions in Spanish for those who only spoke the language.
“I think that they feel very comfortable (asking in Spanish) and to have somebody they can talk to and say how they feel,” Avila said. “It’s really nice to provide that information for them if they are unable to obtain it elsewhere.”
One of the people Avila took blood pressure for was 44-year-old Paula Solorio. She said her experience with Avila was a good one.
“I told her I had been feeling tired lately and she told me my blood pressure was a little high and it could maybe be due to that and she told me that I should go see the doctor about it,” Solorio said in Spanish.
Helping people like Solorio was a goal for the CAFÉ, Community for the Advancement of Family Education, booth at the event, organizers said.
“South Wenatchee is always known to be out of the loop of all the resources out there,” said Olga Jimenez, outreach coordinator for CAFÉ.
The non–profit helps connect families with resources available in Spanish, Jimenez said.
“We’re sort of like the research hub for everything for our community,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez said CAFÉ’s booth at the event was important.
“For the Latino-Hispanic community, it feels like a safe place they can come and trust who’s here to get those resources because they may not go to places like Pybus (Public) Market or another area that is not home to them,” Jimenez said.
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