Giveaways, music mark Día del Niño celebration in Las Vegas
Long lines and thousands of visitors descended on Springs Preserve on Saturday afternoon, showcasing the popularity of Dia del Niño.
Coordinator Diana Diaz said the event, in its eighth year locally, is internationally celebrated in Latin America, so it was only natural that the celebration would find a place in diverse Las Vegas.
“We have Father’s Day to celebrate fathers and we have Mother’s Day for mothers,” Diaz said. “So now we have Children’s Day, too.”
Part of the tradition of Dia del Niño is giving away toys to children. Several vendors gave trinkets and snacks to families that passed by, often pushing strollers or pulling wagons with children in tow.
“It’s like Christmas for them,” Diaz said of the youngsters.
Vendors sold tacos and other food, and there was face painting, a petting zoo, cooking and music demonstrations. Nevada Health Link, Station Casinos, Discovery Children’s Museum and Community Services of Nevada were among organizations with information booths.
Estelina Garnett works for Community Services of Nevada, a nonprofit providing home loan counseling, education and tax services for low- to moderate-income people. Her group brought toys and gave away raffle tickets for bicycles.
An annual toy drive at Christmas yielded more items than usual, so Community Services representatives brought the leftovers, she said.
“We wanted to make sure it was a special day for them,” Garnett said, adding that her group was a first-time event participant.
Ashani Lee and her friend Schetema Nealy came to Dia del Niño with their daughters.
“We were excited to come. I liked the spirit of it,” Lee said. “But I did not anticipate it to be so crowded. It’s overwhelming,”
Shouting above the sound of a woman singing in Spanish from the main stage, Nealy said, “I’m glad that they’re here, though. I’m glad that it happened.”
Betty Jenson said the lines didn’t detract from the event, as she and her family enjoyed a concert with dancing. As a Latina, Jenson said she enjoyed watching the styles of Mexican dancing she grew up with.
“I think it’s really nice to bring out the culture to teach other people,” she said.
Contact Brooke Wanser at bwanser@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Bwanser_LVRJ on Twitter.
ABOUT CHILDREN'S DAY
Children's Day is a holiday around the globe and has spawned multiple variations, including Universal Children's Day, sponsored by the United Nations on Nov. 20, 1954.
Rev. Charles Leonard, a preacher at the First Universalist Church in Chelsea, Massachusetts, claimed to celebrate the first Children's Day in 1856.
But El Día del Niño, or Children's Day, is a holiday that originated in Mexico in the 1920s and is celebrated each year on April 30th.
Tradition dictates that the day focus on activities for youth, and the Springs Preserve toed the line, bringing in dozens of vendors.
At different stations, children could get their faces painted, pet a baby goat, pot a plant, learn to play an instrument or laugh at a man on stilts.
