Lorain's Puerto Rican Day Festival and Parade returns Aug. 17

LORAIN — Lorain's Puerto Rican Day Festival and Parade returns at 2 p.m. Aug. 17 at Oakwood Park. The second annual festival at Oakwood Park will highlight Puerto Rican culture and honor local individuals who have contributed to the community, organizers said Wednesday. John Berrios said this year has seen several challenges for the group — with scheduling complications among organizers and fears of inclement weather pushing the festival up from October to August. This year's goal, Berrios said, is to have a variety of entertainment and a number of parade marshals honoring individuals involved in Lorain's Puerto Rican community. "This year we're going to showcase a few things different from last year, but I think it's going to be at a bigger scale," Berrios said. The festival and parade returned in 2023 after a 13-year hiatus, taking over a portion of Oakwood Park. Nearly 30 percent of Lorain's more than 65,000 residents are Hispanic or Latino, according to 2020 Census data, with the city's Puerto Rican population making up a large portion, alongside residents who can trace their roots back to Mexico and parts of Central America. Puerto Ricans first arrived in Lorain in the late 1940s, with 500 men coming to work at U.S. Steel in 1947. The Puerto Rican Welfare League was formed that year, and the El Hogar Puerto Rican Home was organized less than a decade later, according to the Latino Lorain History Project. The Puerto Rican Home closed in 2017. Over the years, more families have come from the island territory to the lakefront city — some coming for work, others fleeing failing infrastructure after natural disasters. Vivian Garcia, owner of El Borimex Bar and Grill and Southerners Bar, said organizing the festivities continues to be a learning experience and agreed the committee faced challenges in getting this year's event organized. Like the festival, this year's parade will represent different aspects of Puerto Rican culture, Garcia said, including sports and entertainment. This year's parade route will start at 1 p.m. Aug. 17 from the Boys and Girls Club on Pearl Avenue, Antonio Barrios said, and travel north on Pearl Avenue, East on East 31st Street, then turn right onto Oakwood Street and wind through Oakwood Park. The organizing committee is still looking for volunteers for the festival and parade. Those interested in volunteering can contact Antonio Barrios at (440) 320-0295. Those interested in participating in the parade can contact Garcia at (440) 458-1858. The deadline to register for the parade is Aug. 15. Registration is $25 and a group can have up to five vehicles in the procession. Vendor registration runs through Aug. 3. Food vendors cost $200; non-food vendors cost $150 and nonprofits cost $50. For more information, or to register as a vendor, email Berrios at berrios.john64@gmail.com. All checks may be made payable to the Friends of South Lorain. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.