Maryvale Prep Spring Fiesta Celebra Su Cultura (Celebrates Culture)

Maryvale Preparatory Academy celebrated with their 11th annual Spring Fiesta. The “after-hours” event took place on the campus, which was alive with music, food, art, and activities as the school community gathered for a lively, family-centered event.

“It’s just a really exciting event where people can come and spend some time with our community, and with our teachers, and staff, too,” said Alexia Ames, the academy’s enrollment outreach coordinator. “Over the past three years, I have personally seen the growth of the event and the excitement it brings to our families. The PSO (Parent Service Organization) does an exceptional job at planning and executing the event.”

As you can imagine, an event this scale takes a lot of volunteers to help with the carnival games, sell raffle tickets, supervise the petting zoo, and the brave few who volunteer for the dunk tank. Tatiana Carrillo-Ruiz, one of the event organizers, emphasized the significance of volunteers for the success of the fiesta, highlighting how they form meaningful connections both among themselves and with the school. “We build relationships with the other parents. We make sure they’re part of the school, and not just parents dropping off their students,” she said. “It just really forms a family. I have many volunteers that have been volunteering with me for over eight years and I have new volunteers that have just started this year, and it really forms a great tight family that we have here.”

Ames said the original idea was to have a space where families could come together and get to know each other outside of the normal school hours. “It’s really turned into such a big, beautiful event,” she said. “We have a really high percentage of Hispanic families in our community and so this is an event that’s really dear to them because we have their culture highlighted, and it’s just beautiful.”

This event not only celebrates the rich culture and tradition of the community but also the beginning of spring, welcoming the outdoor activities with amazing food, live music, entertainment, and an immersive petting zoo.

One of the most captivating moments of the evening is perhaps when families gather in clusters on the large lawn and watch performances from the Folklorico group, who performed several different traditional dances featuring dancers of all ages.

“I hope that new families who come to Maryvale Prep’s Spring Fiesta will feel embraced by our community and will find a sense of belonging in our academy,” said Ames.

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