STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Hailey Public Library will launch Hispanic Heritage Month with a family friendly kickoff from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at Town Center West.

Father and son duo Quinta Generacion will provide songs and music. Lago Azul, a Salvadorian restaurant across the street, will serve up food with the first 50 meals free.

There will be face painting, tissue paper flowers and pinatas for the kids, capped by rousing rounds of Loteria, a tradition Mexican game similar to bingo but played with pinto beans as markers on special cards.

A StoryWalk will be set up on one corner featuring the rhyming bilingual book “We are All Connected/Todos Estamos Conectados: Caring for Each Other and the Earth by Gabi Garcia. The StoryWalk will be on display outside Town Center West through Oct. 15.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, ProjecToolSuccess will follow up with an afternoon of music and dancing.

The schedule:

Noon-Welcome from Herbert Romero

12:15 p.m. National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance featuring Wood River High School’s Colla Voce Choir

12:30 p.m. Music by Quinta Generacion

1:15 p.m. Guest speakers and recognitions

1:30 p.m. Crossing Bridges, Jerome High School Dancers

2:30 p.m. Sol Del Valle Peruvian Band

3:30 p.m. Music by The Driven

5:30 p.m. Carolina Marin L.A. Show Band

The event is presented by ProjecToolSuccess with the support of a long list of sponsors including H Property Service, La Cabanita, Crisis Hotline, Cox, Despo’s, La Perrona, Power Engineers, Hailey Public Library, Kiwanis Club, The Chamber, Papoose Club, Rotary, St. Luke’s Wood River and Idaho Central Credit union.

The theme of this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month is “Honoring Heritage,” said Kristin Fletcher, programs manager for the Hailey Public Library. In that vein, the library will have a new window display “Honor Your Heritage” featuring stories, poems, photographs, and drawings that community members have submitted honoring their family’s heritage or heritages.

The Library will also feature national flags from Mexico and many Central and South American countries.

Hispanic Heritage Month was established in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson. It runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and recognizes the anniversaries of independence of several Latin American countries.