The annual Cinco de Mayo parade and festivities will be Saturday, May 8, at the Guadalupe Center in Scottsbluff.
The cultural event was put on hold last year with Covid-19, but since October of this year, the events group has been planning.
“Not knowing where the needle was going to go and hoping and praying it would go down lower. We were already getting vendors and talking to people for the parade,” said Mary Anne Shockley. “It was a process in the making, but I had a lot of support and good community support.”
The scholarship pageant will choose a Cinco de Mayo King and Queen on Friday, May 7, at the Guadalupe Center. Each one will receive a $500 award to put towards their college education. Many of the seniors in Los Guadalupanos Shockley’s dance group compete for the scholarship and the crown.
One of Los Guadaluponos dancers Jaqueline Lara-Patino, a senior, became interested in the group when she was helping out with a dinner at the Guadalupe Center.
“At first, it was very difficult to learn the steps because I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. It was a lot of footwork,” Lara Patino said. “Then being upstage in front of people, it’s really helped with my anxiety, it’s been a challenge I’ve overcome over the years.”
Cinco de Mayo festivities begin on Saturday, May 8, with the Grand Marshall presentation and parade down East Overland with the lineup at 9 a.m. and parade at 10 a.m., followed by food and entertainment at the Guadalupe Center.
Admission is free, and there will be food vendors, informational booths, and a silent auction to benefit the scholarship fund.
