Yellow Pages
Language will no longer be a barrier to business if the Burlington Chamber of Commerce has its way.
With that in mind, the chamber will be playing host to a new, multicultural festival this weekend.
“Fiesta Unidos,” or United Festival, will take place Saturday on Fairhaven Avenue in downtown Burlington. Organizers of the event hope to reach out to the Hispanic community to encourage participation in the chamber.
“Our idea was to put together a festival that celebrates the Hispanic culture and allows them to see what the chamber is all about,” said Navor Tercero, co-chair of the organizing committee.
The idea for the festival stems from discussions Tercero, a former Latino business of the year award winner, had with his co-chair, Ryan Sakuma, retired Burlington Chamber CEO Dick Irwin and current Mount Vernon chamber CEO and president Kristen Whitener.
Despite there being a large number of businesses catering to Hispanic customers in the county, Tercero said the two chamber leaders were interested in bridging the gap between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking business owners.
“It’s not for lack of desire for the board(s) of directors and the chambers themselves,” he said. “Everybody is scratching their heads wondering what’s happening.”
He said a survey was passed out to Hispanic business owners in Skagit County recently of what a chamber means to them.
Overwhelmingly, many owners view the chamber as a social or country club — there’s not a connection between the chamber and promotion their businesses.
Nine months after those initial discussions, the Burlington chamber is holding the event to change those perceptions. The day-long celebration will feature vendor and exhibit booths, live Mariachi music, a fashion show, children’s activities and a Reina competition, in which community girls raise money through pledges.
The girls receiving the most pledge dollars will be recognized, and their funds will go toward some sort of scholarship in the future, Tercero said.
“I know it’s going to be $3,000 to $4,000,” Tercero said. “For a first-time scholarship, that’s not bad.”
Tercero said he hopes the event will appeal to speakers of all languages. He said he knows many English-speaking businesses are looking to widen their customer base, and vice-versa.
He said festival organizers are still looking for volunteers at the event and raffle prizes from various local businesses. For more information, contact the Burlington chamber at 360-757-0994.
