If you’re looking for a way to get active and involved in the community as the summer comes to a close, the “First Sport and Recreational Fair: Friends of La Voz” is the event for you. The recreational fair, free to the public, will take place on Sunday, August 27 at Lynn Tech’s McManus Field and is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
La Voz, The Daily Item’s Spanish publication, is a free newspaper that represents an innovative way of informing the residents of Lynn, Peabody, Revere and Salem. La Voz includes local news, sports, politics, business and entertainment news.
Carolina Trujillo, Director of La Voz, is hoping that the recreational fair will serve as a positive platform to bring the community together in Lynn while providing those who participate with a way to celebrate the end of the summer.
“It’s a family-oriented event that not only wants to congregate the Latino community but also other communities in Lynn as a celebration of the end of the summer,” Trujillo, who stepped into her current role as La Voz’s director last August, said.
The event will also serve as a fundraiser for La Voz, which kicked off with its first bi-weekly edition last November. Trujillo’s aiming to make the recreational fair an annual event while keeping the visibility of La Voz and the needs of the community in mind.
“We want to bring visibility to La Voz and strengthen our communities,” Trujillo said. “We have a committee of followers of the newspaper so this is a community-oriented event organized by community members. These are people that want to make sure the newspaper stays and becomes a stronger brand.”
Trujillo added, “People who follow the newspaper contacted me and said they really wanted to strengthen the brand. They really wanted to make an effort to strengthen the newspaper.”
The idea for the recreational fair came about when an organizing member of La Voz initially made mention of a soccer tournament to benefit the newspaper. From there, other members pitched in with a variety of ideas that added up to the event’s culmination.
“It started with an idea for a soccer tournament,” Trujillo recalled. “Another member then raised the idea of a softball tournament. Another member then mentioned the idea of a more cultural event to bring the kids together, that included dancing. From there, one of the members mentioned the idea of donation a bouncing castle.
“It’s a good way of bringing a business together with the community,” Trujillo added.
Trujillo acknowledged that Sunday’s fair couldn’t have been possible without a true team effort. Keeping La Voz on track was the common goal along the way.
“One of our organizing members, Magalie Rowe, said, ‘Boston has El Mundo and Chelsea has El Planeta,” Trujillo said. “Lynn, Peabody, Salem and Revere all have La Voz and we need to make sure it stays because it’s our paper. All of the event’s proceeds are going towards the sustainment of the paper to make sure it stays on track.”
The fundraising event will include soccer and softball tournaments, an awards ceremony for the best players, a resource fair, a bouncing castle, food and music by DJ Flaco.
A total of 23 sponsors have signed up to pitch in for the event’s running. They are LHAND, KIPP Academy, North Shore Latino Business Association, Dan Cahill, Brendan Crighton, Tom McGee, EDIC, Eastern Bank-Community Grant, Stars Advertising, Landry Hire a Tool, Lynnway Lounge and Restaurant, Law Office of Michael Cerulli, Upside Media LLC, La Vida Scholars, Mi Guatemala Bakery, Taso Nikolakopoulos- Councilor At Large, Jaime Figueroa, Latina Center MARIA, Congressman Seth Moulton, Jared Nicholson, Lynn Museum, Lynn Community Television, Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, Huascar Beato-Aflac Agent and The Daily Item.
