N@N

Delaware River Waterfront Corporation: Viva México! La Independencia de México! The Mexican Independence Day Festival

^{Published on 2009-09-02 08:46:26 - Market Wire}
 

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - September 2, 2009) - Celebrate Mexican culture at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing (Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street) on Sunday, September 13, 2009 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Mexican Independence Day Festival! The fiesta will include music, dancing, food, crafts and entertainment for all ages. The Mexican Independence Day Festival is just one of many summer events sponsored by PECO and produced by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and the Mexican Cultural Center of Philadelphia.

The Great Plaza at Penn's Landing will be transformed into a great fiesta to commemorate the 15th annual Mexican Independence Day Festival in Philadelphia. The fiesta will feature the "Grito de Independencia" (Cry of Independence) led by the Honorable Enrique Ruiz Sánchez which commemorates the historical event on September 16, 1810 when the Mexican people began their 11-year fight for freedom against Spanish colonial domination. This annual event is an important event for the organizers to publicize the importance of the Mexican community in the Philadelphia region and generate cultural awareness.

The Mexican Independence Day Fiesta, one of the largest attended cultural celebrations of Penn's Landing Multicultural Series, promises to be another record-breaking event with a stellar line-up of talent including: a show of traditional costumes by San Mateo Carnavalero's costumed parade; dances by Folkloric Ballet Yaretzi; mariachi music by Mariachi Flores; as well as cumbia rhythms by Fuego Nuevo Aztec Dance Group.

The program will also feature Latin Rock by the hot, young musical sensation RIKO, and Mexican dance music by the popular Banda La Morena. Visitors will also have the chance to see a larger-than-life puppet of Frida Kahlo from Puppets on Parade as well as meet celebrities such as Univision's Illia García, Philadelphia KiXX Soccer Players, and the DJs of La Super 1360 AM Radio who will be broadcasting live from the Festival.

The festival's Kid's Corner is a must-see for children to participate in activities such as face painting, balloons, and giveaways. The children's area will also feature a special interactive art exhibition by Mexican muralist Cesar Viveros-Herrera who will invite children to paint their visions of Mexico on sections of a giant mural.

Admission is FREE for all PECO Multicultural Series events. PECO presents a series of free Multicultural festivals throughout the summer season at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing. The Mexican Independence Day Festival is the final event of the series. For more information about the Mexican Cultural Center of Philadelphia, visit: [ www.mexicanculturalcenter.org ].

Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: [ EXC ]). PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and employs about 2,500 people in the region. PECO delivered 78.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 39.9 billion kilowatt-hours-hours of electricity in 2007. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations. Supporting the region's diversity has been a longstanding goal for PECO, who has sponsored the multicultural festivals at Penn's Landing for the past twelve years. "All of us at PECO are thrilled to return again to the waterfront to support the multicultural festivals," said Denis O'Brien, PECO president and CEO. "Penn's Landing is a Philadelphia summertime tradition and the PECO Multicultural Series is a fun way for us to celebrate the wide range of diversity represented in our service territory."

The 2009 Summer Program of Events at Penn's Landing is funded and produced by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC). All events produced by DRWC are FREE to the public on the Great Plaza, the heart of Penn's Landing, Philadelphia's premier Delaware riverfront entertainment destination.

Public Programming at Penn's Landing would not be possible without the continued support of corporate partners such as PECO, the Pennsylvania Lottery, Bank of America, Live Nation, the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, all of whom are committed to serving the Greater Philadelphia community.

For more information and event details, please call (215) 922-2FUN or visit [ www.delawareriverevents.com ], a virtual resource for the waterfront which helps visitors plan to easily park, play and stay all day at Penn's Landing.