3rd Annual Salsa Festival offers family fun, food and Maricopa’s first ever fireworks

This year’s Maricopa Salsa Festival presented by inmaricopa.com will be the third event of its kind and the first one to be held at Pacana Park on Porter Road. The fun, food, fireworks – and salsa judging begin at 11 a.m. this Saturday.

The first two events were held at the high school football field, attracting 650 people the first year and more than 2,300 the second year.

“We’re expecting from 4,000 to 5,000 people for this year’s Salsa Festival,” noted Parks, Recreation and Libraries (PRL) Director Marty McDonald at a recent city council meeting. The size of the anticipated crowd makes Pacana Park the perfect site for the event.

Making Maricopa’s Salsa Festival the largest in the western states is the ultimate goal for the PRL department. Although that may take a while, this year is off to a great start. Salsa Row will host 49 entrants with 21 different types of salsa, some bean dips and guacamole.

Festival goers, who will receive tortilla chips when they arrive, judge all entries, picking the “best” in several categories like mild, hot and most unusual salsas for $500 prizes, the Best Guacamole and Best Bean Dip for $300 each and the coveted Best Overall Salsa for a $1,000 cash prize.

For the first time this year Pat Kieny and Native New Yorker will provide a beer garden. Kieny will donate 30 percent of the proceeds to the local library and cultural center and its programs.

Kids can enjoy the bounce houses and games in the Kidz Zone, and free snow cones will be available courtesy of Calvary Chapel.

There will be food and entertainment, including bands, dance demonstrations, salsa dancing lessons and a magic show.

The grand finale will be a firework spectacular at 7:30 p.m.–Maricopa’s first display ever.

Admission to the Salsa Festival is free, and gates open at 11 a.m. An event map, indicating parking and attractions, is available at www.maricopasalsafestival.com.

Scheduled events for the day include:

11:00 a.m. Gates open to public; beer garden, Vendor Village, Kidz Zone open
11:30 Music: The Big Zephyr
1:00 p.m. Robert Stephens Magic Show (at inmaricopa.com booth)
2:00 Community dance demonstrations
2:30 Music: Neoprimitive–salsa band
3:30 Robert Stephens Magic Show (at the inmaricopa.com booth)
4:00 Salsa Dance lessons (sign up at booth 8)
4:30 Music: Anarbor–alternative band
5:45 2007 Maricopa Salsa Festival winners announced
6:00 Musical headliner: Freddie Duran Plan
7:30 Fireworks Spectacular – Presented by Maricopa Properties

Don’t miss Maricopa’s 3rd annual Salsa Festival presented by inmaricopa.com. It offers fun, food – and fireworks for everyone!

Archived photos from inmaricopa.com