Passing along this announcement on behalf of a family member who is helping to organize the event.
Jason Stone Diamond Lake * * * Mercado Central 5th Anniversary Celebration & Festival An event with music, activities, prizes and food for the whole family Saturday July 31, 2004 12:00pm - 9:00pm On Lake Street between Bloomington Avenue and 14th Street in the City of Minneapolis Description of Event The Cooperativa Mercado Central, Inc. will celebrate its fifth anniversary on July 31, 2004. This celebration will be a showcase of Hispanic traditions and talents. It is meant to provide a space to thank the customers of the Mercado Central and the organizations that have assisted it during its five-year journey and as a way of bringing new life and new attention to the commercial center and the Bloomington and Lake commercial area in general. The event will include two stages with a variety of live performances, a variety of food and retail vendors, a family activity area with games and art activities for children of all ages, a sports area with competitions, and showcases of local talent. Schedule of Musical & Dance Performances Bloomington Avenue & Lake Street Stage 12:00pm Sonido Chino 1:00pm Mariachi Flor y Canto 2:00pm Fuego Latino Dancers 3:00pm Los Jefes 4:00pm Grupo Fugaz 5:00pm Grupo Caval 6:00pm Grupo Corazon Latino 7:00pm Grupo Estimulo 8:00pm Los Imperiales 14th Avenue & Lake Street Stage 12:00pm Sonido Merlyn 1:00pm Ecuador Manta 2:00pm Grupo Timbal 3:00pm Mexico Lindo 4:00pm Salsa del Soul 5:00pm Danza Azteca Quetzalcoatl 6:00pm Banda Lucero 7:00pm Ecuador Tierra Viva 8:00pm Texano 2000 y Su Nueva Onda Event Attendance Profile The Cooperativa Mercado Central, Inc., fifth anniversary celebration, which will be open to the public, will be attended by the following: � the Latino community from throughout the 5 county metro area and beyond (the Mercado Central draws customers from all over the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin); � the greater Minneapolis community; � elected officials; � leaders from neighborhood and metro-wide community organizations (NDC, PPL, WCDC, McKnight Foundation, PPN, BCLCA, etc); � media representatives, including live coverage on local news stations and Radio Rey. Estimated attendance is approximately 8,000 to 10,000 throughout the day. Location & Hours of the Event The celebration will occur both inside the Mercado Central, located at 1515 E. Lake Street, Minneapolis, and on Lake Street between Bloomington Avenue South and 14th Avenue South. The event will be open to the public from 12:00pm to 9:00pm on Saturday, July 31, 2004. History & Description of the Mercado Central The Cooperativa Mercado Central, located at Bloomington Avenue and East Lake Street in Minneapolis, opened for business on July 31, 1999. More than three years in development, the Mercado was a collaborative economic development project developed by Project for Pride in Living, Interfaith Action/Catholic Charities, Whittier Community Development Corporation, and the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC). The Mercado is a cooperatively-owned retail incubator with 45 member-vendors, the majority of whom are graduates of NDC�s Spanish language training classes. The Mercado has become a vibrant gathering place for the Twin Cities, drawing hundreds of visitors of diverse ethnicity, nationality, and language every day. Called a �model of community collaboration� (Leonard Inskip, Star Tribune), the Mercado has been recognized in the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, City Pages, La Voz Latina and other media for its powerful positive impact on the Bloomington-Lake area. Most recently, the Mercado Central was featured in the latest workbook in the Asset Based Community Development Series, �Building the Mercado Central�. The book tells the Mercado Central�s story-- a story of a Latino community in Minneapolis that believed in its own capacity to transform its collective vision of home and neighborhood into reality. The resulting retail business cooperative and incubator reflects the Latino tradition of a centrally located public marketplace that provides opportunities for meeting and civic engagement, economic activity and entrepreneurship, and cultural _expression through the arts and dance. The Mercado Central is located in South Minneapolis in the heart of the largest Latino population in the state of Minnesota. In addition to being the primary community gathering space for this local Latino population, the Mercado has been known to draw Latinos from all over the state, regularly getting Latino visitors from Long Prairie, Willmar, and Owatonna. More than 30,000 people come through the doors of the Mercado Central each month; seventy-five percent of those are Latinos, many of whom are recent immigrants. Mercado Central question s should be directed to: Patricia Brown Cooperativa Mercado Central, Inc. 1515 E. Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel: (612) 728-5485 Fax: (612) 728-5402 Cell: (612) 801-5537 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
