Fiesta kicks off tonight in downtown Culpeper

Civil War soldiers, piñatas, music and all kinds of food will fill the streets downtown this weekend as the Culpeper Fiesta and Culpeper Day street festivals return for another year.

Culpeper Fiesta will kick off tonight at 6 p.m. with Latin music, food, stories, dance.

Saturday, Culpeper Day will begin at 10 a.m. More than 150 local and regional vendors and community organizations are expected there. Both events are free and open to everyone.

Culpeper Fiesta began five years ago as an opportunity to celebrate diversity and fun times, regardless of culture said organizer Marilyn Dunphy.

The Hispanic Committee of Culpeper wanted to have a fiesta that would bridge the cultural gap—we wanted all the different cultures to know each other better,” she said.

“We’ll have lots of children’s activities outside,” Dunphy said. Kids will have a chance to make jewelry, bookmarks and tambourines, to name a few items. “We’ll have all kinds of Latin food including sopas, tamales, corn on the cob and fresh fruit.” And, “piñatas will be set up off the corner of the Depot.” Throughout the evening, representatives of area human services agencies will also be on hand to offer information to adults.

“We try to get a little bit of everything,” Dunphy said. “It’s really a nice environment—something about having a party at night is more festive.”

Saturday will mark the 28th year for Culpeper Day, said organizer John Croft. “It’s free admission, come in, get in shop—we want people to check out the local shops.”

Organized by the Culpeper Ruritans, “we’ve had it for five or six years,” Croft said. The festival had “been passed down from organization to organization.”

Civil War re-enactors will also make camp in the Culpeper County Courthouse courtyard on Davis Street and moon bounces and other kids activities will be offered by jumpworks.com all day.

And, “the Lion’s Club bus is going to be there, the Sheriff’s Office is going to be doing kids identification and fingerprinting,” Croft said. He said money raised from the event will fund scholarships for local high school students and other projects.

The Ruritans, a nationwide service club whose goals are to achieve fellowship, goodwill and community service, trace their beginnings to 1928 in Suffolk. Croft said the Culpeper club is about 55 years old and has 30 members.

Croft expressed appreciation for everyone’s participation, including the Town of Culpeper for donating electricity to run the event, which will take place rain or shine.

“It’s a busy time downtown this weekend,” he said.

Nate Delesline III can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 110 or .

Downtown streets closed for weekend festivals
To accommodate this weekend’s festivals, the following street closings will be in effect, said Culpeper police Sgt. Jason Deal:
Friday—Commerce Street from Davis to Culpeper Street will be closed from 5-10 p.m.
Saturday—Davis Street will be closed from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Culpeper Fiesta schedule—tonight
6:30 p.m.—Pinata at the Depot
7 p.m.—Bilingual story hour
7:30 p.m.—Pinata at the Depot
8 p.m.—Folkloric dances by Ariana
8:45 p.m. Cumbia folk dance with Cristina
9:30 Pinata at the Depot

Culpeper Day entertainment schedule—Saturday
10 a.m.—Bolivian folk music
11:15-12:15 p.m.—AON
12:30-1:30 p.m.—County Troubadours
1:45-2:45 p.m.—David Gilmore
3-4 p.m.—Chesham Creek
4:15-5 p.m.—Possum Ridge String Band