Cinco de Mayo hits downtown next week

The inaugural Festival de Cinco de Mayo de Graham, held as a collaboration between local businesses, will liven up the downtown square next weekend with food, entertainment, children’s activities and more.

The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 4 on Fourth Street and Oak Street. Owner of Neri’s on the Square, Neri Gonzalez, who is part of the Cinco de Mayo committee and Graham Downtown Business Association coordinating the event, said the event will be filled with activities.

“We have live entertainment for five hours and then we also have... (a mariachi band and) a traditional Mexican dance and we have two sets of those happening,” she said. “...On Oak Street, we're setting up three bounce houses, a lot of things for the kids (such as) snow cones and then on Fourth Street is where we're setting up all the vendors.”

Businesses on Fourth Street and Oak Street will also have sidewalk sales available during the event which will be available with vendors.

“Just in the last few weeks we had a lot of sponsors, even from our square, because they want this to happen,” Gonzalez said. “...I feel like what gives us that push is to see how everybody that we have approached about this has been very positive and supportive in many ways. Whether we need a stage, we need a tent, we need trash cans, whatever we need. I mean, it's been really, really nice to see that. I feel like this is going to be a good opportunity for people to come and see our square in a different way.”

Gonzalez said along with the organization hosting the event, other local downtown businesses are coming together that week in celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

“That whole weekend starting on Friday through Sunday, our local movie theater, (the National Theatre) is playing 'Selena' for Cinco de Mayo. I know Middle Sister and Neri's we're coordinating together to have drink specials. And also I know Brickhouse… they're going to have another special so I feel like we have a really good team of different business owners working together to bring people to our downtown,” she said.

While not within the bounds of downtown, Dos Leones will also join in the weekend of celebration for Cinco de Mayo and will have a party at the restaurant from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 5.

Gonzalez said the goal of the Graham Downtown Business Association is to bring people to the square to promote activity and make business on the downtown square successful.

“I know people in Wichita Falls are excited (for the event), I know people in Breckenridge and Olney that are coming and all of the towns around here,” she said. “…We hope that this is just the beginning of something that we can do every year. We want this to be beneficial for all the businesses, not just for whoever is setting up.”