2023 Iowa’s Latino Heritage Festival

As Iowa’s Latino population grows, so too does the footprint of our community’s annual festival.

We are excited to share that Iowa’s Latino Heritage Festival will now encompass an additional block – 13^th Street between Locust Street and Grand Avenue – to create an event better experience for festival attendees.

This festival is our community’s showcase of our culture through music, art, dance, and food. It also educates the greater Des Moines community on the contributions the Latino community has made to our city, state, and country.

The 2020 U.S. Census shows us that Iowa’s Hispanic community is growing. We now comprise almost 216,000 Iowans. We represent 22 countries.

Our festival falls in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and celebrates and highlights our culture, traditions, and contributions of our ancestries that trace back to the Caribbean Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and Spain.

Locally, one way to celebrate is by attending Iowa’s Latino Heritage Festival this year.

We are excited to bring more offerings. Latino Resources Inc. is the umbrella organization that oversees the festival, but we couldn’t offer this two-day event to the 15,000 people who attend without the help of close to 40 sponsors.

This year’s festival is from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 23 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 24 in Western Gateway Park, 1330 Grand Ave. in downtown Des Moines. Free parking is available on the Nationwide ramp at 1100 Walnut St.

Attendees can taste Latino American foods and experience a variety of entertainment from martial arts performers to folkloric dancers and displays about the history of Latin American cultures. There will be musical entertainment both days, as well as cooking demonstrations of Latino meals. 

The cost to attend the festival is $5 for adults; children 12 and younger are free.

For more information, visit www.latinoheritagefestival.org.