RiseBoro Community Partnership is proud to present the triumphant return of ¡CalabazaFest!, the colorful outdoor, cross-cultural, family-friendly, fun and free costume party celebrating the season and Day of the Dead, Halloween, and harvest festival traditions.
¡CalabazaFest! has become an eagerly-awaited highlight of autumn in Bushwick, bringing together local community and arts organizations, all working in concert to create a joyous day celebrating community, creativity, diversity, and cultural expression.
Held in Maria Hernandez Park, ¡CalabazaFest! features a fantastic live stage show of music, mariachi, and dance performances, a special edition RB Farmers Market, pumpkin carving, and a creative face mask and costume contest.
Creative Face Mask & Costume Contest: Beginning at 2:00pm, this year’s Halloween costume contest will be unique: entrants must be wearing a costume that creatively incorporates a Covid 19-protective face mask into their costume. Costumes should be original in nature and not store-bought.
CalabazaFest! 2021 Schedule (subject to change)
| 12:00pm: | L Train Brass Band |
| 12:30pm: | Mazarte Dance Company |
| 1:00pm: | Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino |
| 1:30pm: | Mariachi Juvenil Tapatio De Alvaro Paulino |
| 2:00pm: | Creative Face Mask & Costume Contest |
| 2:30pm: | Mazarte Dance Company |
| 3:00pm: | Wawakuna |
¡CalabazaFest! Behind the Scenes
RiseBoro Community Partnership, a multi-service nonprofit organization with over 40 years of service to the community, is proud to present the triumphant return of ¡CalabazaFest!, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019.
Alvaro Paulino, Jr. (of The New York City Mariachi, Inc.), is an internationally renowned, fifth-generation mariachi band leader (and Bushwick resident), serves as Music Director for ¡CalabazaFest!. He will be onstage with his own Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino, who will be followed by Mariachi Juvenil Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino – young protegees from his New York City Mariachi Conservatory.
Mazarte Dance Company, led by founder and director Martha Nora Zarate-Alvarez, has become an integral part of ¡CalabazaFest!, presenting thrilling performances in fabulous traditional costume.
Local artist/designer Sean-Michael Fleming, creator of ¡CalabazaFest!, serves as Creative Director, lending his years of graphic, event, and theater design experience to the event.
