for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com OCTOBER 29, 2015 • times 23 QUEENS BY KELLY MARIE MANCUSO editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com @KellyMMancuso Adults and children of all ages gathered at Maria Hernandez Park on Nov. 1 to enjoy Calabazafest, a colorful cross-cultural celebration combining Day of the Dead, Halloween and harvest fair traditions. The festival featured music and food, as well as pumpkin carving, face painting and a costume contest. One of the highlights of Calabazafest included live music and dance performances in both Spanish and English. Ximena Roca, 12, serenaded the audience with traditional Latin ballads and duets sung with her father, German Roca. The Academia de Mariachi Nuevo Amanecer, a Mariachi group comprised of local children and teens, delighted the crowd with their musical performance. Dancers from Ballet Mazarte, a New York-based dance troupe dedicated to promoting and preserving the art and culture of indigenous Mexican communities, took to the stage in traditional dress to perform several lively f olk dances. They were later followed by the young trio La Dinastia Eulogio, who performed traditional Mexican songs and dances. The 2015 Calabazafest performance program was organized by musical director Alvaro Paulino Jr. of the New York-based group Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino. Other collaborators included Alexandria Hodgkins of Arts in Bushwick, Mayday Space and El Puente’s Bushwick Leadership Center. The free event was hosted by EcoStation NY, a Bushwick-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable urban agriculture education. The group also oversees other neighborhood-based agricultural projects throughout the year, including the Bushwick Farmer’s Market, located a t Broadway and Boyland St., as well as the Bushwick Campus Farm and Greenhouse. In an effort to promoted nutrition and raise awareness about urban farming, locally grown organic produce from the Pavia Family Farm and the Bushwick Campus Farm, located at Bushwick High School, was available to purchase. Members of the Department of Health’s Stellar Farmers’ Markets program hosted a cooking demonstration of their “Farmers’ Market Stew” using locally grown, seasonal root vegetables, spice blends and, of course, pumpkins. Prepared festival food was also available. A food truck from Peruvian-fusion eatery Morocho featured delectable dishes, such as tacos, pork belly sandwiches and their Aji de Gallina, a savory mix of pulled chicken in a parmesan cheese sauce blended with Peruvian yellow pepper, cilantro, onion, Jasmine rice and Peruvian corn. Calabazafest was made possible through a partnership between EcoStation NY, Councilman Antonio Reynoso, Lauren Sylvester of the New York City Parks Department and the Parks Equity Initiative. Day of the dead in Bushwick RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Kelly Marie Mancuso
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