Dia Del Niño event to be held Saturday

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cashiers-Highlands will be hosting Día del Niño (Children’s Day), in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau and the International Friendship Center of Highlands on June 4 at the Cashiers Recreation Center.

Día del Niño is an annual Latin American celebration, especially in Mexico, that is meant to serve as a day to honor and uplift the children of a community.

“They celebrate it every year, and it’s a celebration of the gifts of children in the community and what they bring to the community,” program coordinator Danielle Hernandez said. “It’s usually celebrated on April 30, in Mexico, but for the sake of planning efforts, and to come together as a collaborative group, between the three organizations that we have working on this, we pushed it back until June 4.”

The event will take place from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and will be held on the recreation center’s soccer field.

“So, it’s gonna have the vibe of like a field day,” Hernandez said. “And so like, if you think about all the old school kind of games that we used to play when we were little, like the three-legged races, or like sack races, things like that, it’s going to look and feel very much like that.”

There will also be multiple opportunities to engage with and learn about different aspects of Latin American culture, including different types of Mexican street food and a crafting station.   

“We’re also we’re gonna have a lot of culturally sensitive and inclusive components to it,’’ Hernandez said. “So, we’ll have like pinatas, there’s gonna be a Mexican Cultural crafting table, we’re gonna have different characters that’ll be dressed out that are, you know, culturally sensitive or related to like Disney characters that are more Latin American based. We’re also going to be serving tamales and elote, it’s just like a grilled corn kind of thing. And all kinds of great stuff like that. It’s going to be awesome.”

In addition to uplifting and supporting the children of the Cashiers-Highlands area, providing opportunities for inclusivity and education is a large part of BBBS’ values.

“One of my passions is ensuring that we are building bridges and bridging a gap that might be present,” Hernandez said. “And in doing this project, I have found that there are others who share just as much of a passion for this as I do. And it’s important that you know, we are demonstrating to the children in our community, and to any of our community members, that it’s important that we include everyone here. Everyone has a part, and everybody brings something to the table, and getting to know other cultures and making sure that there’s an inclusive component to our communities, is only going to make it stronger.”

According to Hernandez, the community of the Cashiers-Highlands area has already been extremely supportive and open to not only the event but to the BBBS organization in general. She expressed her gratitude to the community and hopes to see the event continue for years to come.

“The differences such as culture, where we come from, all of those things is what makes our area as awesome and as beautiful as what it is,” Hernandez said.  “So, we want to make sure that there’s something here for everyone. And the feedback that we’ve gotten from community members so far has been really heartwarming. So, I’m excited to see how the event turns out and definitely excited to have this be the first of many years to come doing this.”

In addition to expressing her gratitude to the Cashiers-Highlands community, Hernandez is also grateful to the Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau, the International Friendship Center and Eric Farmer at the Cashiers Recreation Center for their collaboration and help with the event.

“It really is an honor just to be able to do this collaboratively and be able to start leveraging our resources across our plateau,” Hernandez said. “Because I know we talked about cashiers being one community and Highlands being another, but we’re six miles apart. And so, coming together as one and being able to serve communities with partnerships is a wonderful thing. So definitely excited to be able to work with the other organizations and to make leaps and bounds in serving the kids and families in our area.”

International Friendship Center executive director T.J. Smith said one of the primary goals of our organization is to help build a sense of community throughout Macon and Jackson Counties that involves everyone living and working here.

“We feel that an event like Dia del Niño provides us and our partners an opportunity to center the Hispanic community - its culture and traditions - in a way that is joyful and positive and creates moments for folks to come together,” Smith said. “Perhaps even more importantly, in light of the recent tragedy in Texas, this event gives a chance to celebrate childhood and, maybe, spark some discussion around social justice issues related to children and what it means to be a child in this country at this point in time.”

The event is completely free and Hernandez encourages everyone to come out and enjoy the activities, food, and games that will be provided. For more information on BBBS of Cashiers-Highlands, visit bbbswnc.org/tag/cashiers-highlands.

- By Kaylee Cook