People gathered at Grape Day Park in Escondido on Saturday for the first ever Indigenous Culture & Art Festival. The event was organized by the city as well as the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.
"All land in the United States inhabited is Native American land first, but especially the city of Escondido is Kumeyaay land," said Keith Vasquez with the Native Youth Foundation, one of the organizations that also helped organize the festival.
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WATCH HEREThe festival featured rich sights and sounds, food stands and numerous vendors selling indigenous art. While this event was the first of its kind in the city of Escondido, city leaders hope this was the first of many more to come in the future.
"This just really shows the community how important and impactful they have been to our lives here and our culture," said Judy Fitzgerald, an Escondido City Councilmember who represents District 4. "This event is just about honoring a culture that has been here for thousands of years," she added.
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SIGN UP Vasquez also said the organization's mission is to empower the next generation, and teach them about indigenous art and culture. The nonprofit was established in 2021, and serves the communities of San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles Counties.
"Free outlets, free programs. We started doing free MMA workshops and from there we built a free flag football program for boys and girls. This last year, we dove into culture and fashion to try and give native youth better outlets to be better individuals," said Vasquez.
The San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay Indians provided $10,000 for the festival, while the City Council voted to provide nearly $62,000 earlier this month.
