L.A. County Sup. Gloria Molina joined scores of children and families this weekend to host the county’s inaugural ‘El Día del Niño – The Day of the Child’ celebration. Held at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes – which is dedicated both to the founding of Los Angeles and the history of Mexican Americans in the region – the afternoon fiesta event doubled as a one-year birthday celebration for the museum, with a slice of cake for everyone in attendance!
“Since the 1920s, ‘El Día del Niño’ has been observed globally to remind society that children must be treasured and revered,” Sup. Molina said. “Throughout the world, children are celebrated through storytelling, reading, writing and events at local libraries, schools and neighborhoods. In the United States, we already celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Hopefully, Los Angeles County can join the global community with a new tradition – a day for honoring children, where we share activities with them and recognize their special talents.”
As the festivities began, Sylvia Vasquez Lawrence entertained families outdoors with stories of the Americas while, later in the day, more storytelling followed at the “Calle Principal” exhibit within the museum. Throughout the afternoon, children created and decorated family cookbooks, learned to plant an urban garden, made herb sachets, enjoyed a puppet show, and watched guest chef John Rivera Sedlar open LA Plaza’s Culinary Arts Program with a live cooking demonstration. Families were kept entertained with singing by the Harmonies Girls Choir, Latin American dancing by the Tierra Blanca Dance Company, African martial arts performed by Os Malandros DeMestre Touro Los Angeles, Mexican folklórico dance performance by Plaza de la Raza, and Hawaiian dances by Ballet CoCo.
For more information on LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, visit http://www.lapca.org/.
For more information on multicultural “El Día del Niño – The Day of the Child” literacy and arts programming at 31 county public libraries and 13 county parks being held now through May 19th, visit http://molina.lacounty.gov/diadelnino.html.
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