TELEMUNDO ORLANDO’S FIFTH ANNUAL LA FERIA DE LA FAMILIA EXPERIENCES RECORD PARTICIPATION
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 15:26
Over 21,000 people attended WTMO Telemundo Orlando's La Feria de la Familia this past Saturday. La Feria de la Familia is a one-of-a-kind family fair, now in its fifth year serving the Hispanic community of Central Florida. With over 150 participating vendors, this year's Feria offered a variety of entertainment, resources, information, and activities for the entire family. The free all-day fair was held at Osceola Heritage Park’s Exhibition Building in Kissimmee on August 22nd.
The event commenced with a ribbon cutting ceremony where community leaders praised La Feria de la Familia for its continued commitment and service to the community. Participants included John Quiñones, District 2 Commissioner and Chairman of Osceola County Board of Commissioners, Kissimmee City Commissioners Carlos Irizarry and Art Otero, along with Osceola County School Board member Julius Melendez.
One of the highlights of this year's La Feria de la Familia was the entertainment stage. Raymond Arrieta, comedian and personality from Telemundo's morning show Levántate, kept the crowd laughing with his amusing stand-up act. Vanessa Hauc of Al Rojo Vivo and Jessie Camacho of Descontrol signed autographs and interacted with fans. The Telenoticias Orlando news team reported live from the event and the Entre Nos team motivated the crowd. Musical performers included Grupo Mania, energized the crowd with their infectious merengue and their dance tribute to Michael Jackson. Xtreme, bachata duo and stars of Mun2's Xtreme On the Verge, had everyone singing along to their hits. P1, Latin Wave and Prodigio Claudio also participated alongside the McDonald's Ice Breakers.
As in years past, the Osceola County Health Department gave free back to school immunizations. Event attendees started waiting in line at 8 a.m. for this popular service. Florida's Blood Centers reported strong participation at their blood donation booth. There were a variety of booths offering free health screenings including eye exams, diabetes screenings, cholesterol checks, and HIV testing. Special guests included Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Marcos Rubio, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, and Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater. Publix Sabor and holaciudad! presented Mi Pronóstico Del Tiempo, where participants taped their own versions of a
weather report. Major sponsors for this year's La Feria de la Familia included Advance Auto Parts, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dairy Farmers, JetBlue Airways, Martinez Manglardi Abogados, Publix Supermarkets, and Tobacco Free Florida.
Larry De La Rosa, General Manager of WTMO thanked Central Florida. "Telemundo Orlando would like to express our sincere appreciation to our viewers, partners and participants for making this year's La Feria an enormous success. For the past 5 years our event has provided information, resources and entertainment for free to the Hispanic community of Central Florida. That is why we believe that La Feria de la Familia has become the summer tradition that everyone looks forward to."
