Highlights from Fiesta of Hope '22
Fiesta of Hope, Adelante Mujeres’s annual gala, was held last Saturday on Main Street in Forest Grove, Oregon. The evening was filled with music and dancing, food, community, and most of all, generosity. Adelante’s first-ever hybrid event (in-person and virtual) was attended by 246 people, supported by 20 volunteers, and a total of $161,268 was raised!
This year’s theme was focused on celebrating the culture of Guatemala. During the event’s happy hour, guests wandered through a Guatemalan Rainforest Experience room, shopped at Casa Qui, and were taken on guided tours of the newly remodeled Adelante Mujeres building by our staff.
Dinner was catered by Empresas Program graduates, La Popular, and Topos, as well as Tamale Boy — YUM. And tasty wine and beer, provided by our generous beverage sponsors, was served up to guests mingling before the program began.
MC’d by Verónika Núñez, our Director of Leadership and Advocacy Programs, the live program was also transmitted to our virtual audience members watching from home.
The program began with a Guatemalan dance group, followed by speeches from Gabriela Grussi, Bridget Cooke, Petrona Dominguez Francisco, and Evelyn Cantoral. We also heard from Louis Fontenot, Vice President of Development Management at Trammel Crow Company, this year’s Presenting Sponsor!
The program also included the premiere of an Adelante produced video telling the story of the Guatemala civil war and its impact on indigenous Guatemalans.
And to close out the program, Olga Acuña Castillo received this year’s Latina Leadership Award. Olga is a determined community advocate for our Latinx children and their families. As Hillsboro School District’s Director of Federal Programs, she builds real partnerships based on respect and a shared vision of hope for our children and families. Congratulations, Olga!
Marimba Latidos provided us with great music all night long and the evening closed out with a full dance floor.
This annual fiesta truly fills us with hope. When we see our community show up, pouring their support into the work of empowering Latinas, we can’t help but be hopeful for the future. And this hope is a potent fuel to keep moving forward — to keep fighting for a more just society for all.
Thank you, again, to each and every one of you who was a part of Fiesta of Hope this year. This fight for a just society is only possible when we work together, and we are honored to have so many wonderful people supporting these efforts.
P.S. If you missed the program, you can watch the virtual recording HERE.