Oro Valley is teaming with the folks behind Tucson Meet Yourself to present a new festival that celebrates the town’s culture and heritage.
The family-friendly festival takes place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at The Oro Valley Marketplace, 12155 N. Oracle Road.
Modeled after the Tucson Meet Yourself Festival, organizers say the new effort celebrates the traditions of families living and working in Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, Rancho Vistoso and surrounding communities.
“Oro Valley has often been viewed as being one-dimensional without a lot of culture,” Oro Valley Mayor Satish Hiremath, said in a press release. “While this may have been the case at one point, I can assure you that this is no longer true.”
Maribel Alvarez is the executive program director of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, the parent organization of Tucson Meet Yourself.
“This festival, in the common practice of the Smithsonian folklife concept, began with a study of the community done by a cultural anthropologist,” Alvarez said in a prepared statement. “One of the most surprising findings was that some pretty well known masters of traditional arts make Oro Valley their home.”
One of them is Julie Gallego, who will demonstrate and discuss Folklorico dance.
“I don’t think too many people really understand the diversity that is in Oro Valley,” said Gallego, a choreographer and educator who founded Ballet Folklorico San Juan. She has lived in the town nearly 20 years.
Gallego said her folklorico group’s performance at the festival will have elements of a Mardi Gras celebration, inspired by the Mexican state of Sinaloa. It will be similar to what the group’s performed at Tucson Meet Yourself last fall.
Gallego offers instruction on mariachi, Mexican folklorico, ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop for students ages 3 and up at her Viva Performing Arts Center at 4563 S. Park Ave. She also teaches zumba to adults.
