Folklórico, Pan Dulce and a Día de los Muertos Corner: The Zoo’s Hispanic Heritage Festival Is Saturday
For one Saturday a year, the soundtrack at Nashville Zoo changes. Somewhere between the flamingos and the giraffe barn, a violin picks up a melody, a ballet folklórico troupe swirls into view in skirts the color of marigolds, and the smell of elote drifts across the paths. The zoo's fourth annual Hispanic Heritage Festival arrives Saturday, Sept. 26, and runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The festival is included with general admission or a zoo membership, so there is no separate ticket. General admission is $28 for guests 13 and older and $24 for children ages 2 through 12. Children under 2 get in free.
What is on the program
The main stage carries the day, with performances that include violinist Joshua Guaz, Ballet Folklórico Sol de México, mariachi and danza azteca, plus La Muñequita Show and a puppet show from the Nashville Public Library. Around the grounds you will find community organizations and interactive booths, a craft tent, pan dulce samples while they last, and keeper chats and animal encounters on the regular zoo schedule.
New this year is a Kids Play Zone near the festival area, supported by the Nashville Sounds and Nashville Soccer Club. Over at Exhibition Peru, roaming Catrina performers set the mood in a Día de los Muertos celebration area, a nice early look at the holiday that arrives on Nov. 1 and 2.
Bring an appetite. The special concessions menu includes steak empanadas, elotes, a barbacoa torta, paletas, horchata and margaritas for the grown-ups.
Who is behind it
The festival is presented by Twice Daily and produced in partnership with Conexión Américas, the Nashville nonprofit that has spent more than two decades helping Latino families put down roots in Middle Tennessee through small-business training, English classes and homeownership programs. Its headquarters, Casa Azafrán on Nolensville Pike, sits in the heart of the city's international corridor, which makes a zoo off that same road a natural host.
The timing is deliberate. National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, a window chosen because it lines up with independence days in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua on Sept. 15, followed by Mexico on the 16th and Chile on the 18th.
Make a day of it
The zoo sits on the historic Grassmere property off Nolensville Pike, a short drive from downtown. Go early for parking and shade, and plan for a long visit, because the festival and the regular exhibits together easily fill a day. If the weekend has you hungry for more, our 25+ family things around Nashville this week has plenty, and the zoo's own Boo at the Zoo is coming up for Halloween.
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