Our Lady of Guadalupe’s La Feria Guadalupana drew a large crowd Saturday to participate in its festivities.
Diana Diaz Barriga, one of the coordinators, said the La Feria Guadalupana is Our Lady of Guadalupe’s annual fundraising event “that has helped our parish grow over the years. And it has really become a community event for us to be able to share our culture with the community.”

    Gailiea Hernandez, from Chicago, sings during the La Feria Guadalupana Saturday. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union
  

La Feria Guadalupana started as a smaller group getting together as a parish, but “then we realized there was a huge opportunity for us to invite everyone else,” she said, noting the fair was also about coming together, celebrating what they bring and celebrating cultures.
La Feria Guadalupana is in celebration of the church’s patron saint, but is a fundraising event. It’s a cultural way for the church to raise money, she said. Any money raised goes to improve the church in the structure of the building or other improvements the church needs. The church pays local businesses to do the improvements.
There were 19 food vendors with multiple types of food and 17 service booths including banks, nonprofits and different organizations the community has to offer.
“So this is a really good event to touch a different sector of the community, so we invite as many people as we can that’s willing to come to celebrate and promote what services are available,” Diaz Barriga said.
People from other areas like Elkhart came to Saturday’s event. Some of those people wore pink shirts in remembrance of people with breast cancer.

    Karla Ortega (C) was crowned queen at La Feria Guadalupana Saturday. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union