Cinco de Mayo celebration returns bigger, brighter in year two

By Camille DeVaul · Mon May 11 2026

Community, culture, and collaboration shine in City Park gathering

PASO ROBLES — Building on the success of its inaugural event last year, Paso Robles’ official Cinco de Mayo celebration returned to City Park on Sunday, May 3, drawing hundreds for a lively afternoon of culture, connection, and community pride.

Hosted by the Hispanic Business Association (HBA), the second annual event expanded in both size and organization, reflecting lessons learned from its 2025 debut. Last year’s celebration marked the first city-recognized Cinco de Mayo event in the downtown park, setting the stage for what organizers hoped would become a lasting tradition.

This year, that vision came into sharper focus.

“This year, for me, was more organized, for sure ... I moved all the audience under the trees. That helped out a lot. Everybody was in the shade," said Maria Garcia, program director of the Central Coast Hispanic Business Association. "We got more entertainment. Everybody wanted to participate because of last year. We actually had a live band and three dance groups. The whole entertainment, everybody donated their time. That was amazing. Sponsorship was a lot better this year.”

One of the major sponsorship contributions came from Leticia Gomez, owner of First Class Cleaning, who supported sanitation services throughout the day and was recognized during the event with a plaque of appreciation.

“She sponsored all the trash pickup, the trash cans, the dumpster," Garcia shared. "She sponsored someone from her business who was cleaning the bathrooms all day long because that was some of the things that the feedback from some of the events were that the bathrooms are always messy, when there's big events, or trash is all over the place.”

Garcia said addressing those concerns helped improve the overall experience and strengthened the relationship with city partners.

Despite a brief bout of morning drizzle that had vendors and organizers on edge, the weather quickly cleared.

“It was a little rainy at the beginning in the morning," said Garcia. "It kind of scared me. It was drizzling steady. So as the vendors were putting up their pop-ups, we were all nervous and scared. But by 11 o'clock, the sun came out, everything dried up.”

Attendance appeared to surpass last year’s turnout, with vendor spaces completely sold out and strong participation across the board. Garcia credited increased outreach and growing awareness for the event’s momentum.

Garcia also highlighted the involvement of local students and community organizations, including 12 Paso Robles High School students from Spanish classes and the MEChA group, who volunteered throughout the event.

“I had 12 Paso High School students from the Spanish class and the MEChA group come out and help,” Garcia said. “We really saw increased participation this year, and I sold out all of the vendor spaces.”

City and community support played a visible role throughout the day. Paso Robles City Councilmember Kris Beal attended the event and helped open the ceremony.

Garcia shared, “We had Kris Beal from the City Council, come by, and she spoke perfect Spanish, and just kind of opened up the ceremony for us.”

For Garcia, one of the most meaningful parts of the celebration was seeing generations come together to enjoy cultural traditions.

“It was very heartfelt to see the Hispanic seniors come out," said Garcia. "I sat with a couple of them in the audience. And they love to see the kids, and they love seeing their culture still in action after so many years.”

She added that the event carried added emotional significance for many attendees.

“With everything going on with the scare of the undocumented, they were happy," Garcia said. "They were happy to see people come out and people enjoy themselves and see traditional dances from different regions of Mexico.”

The event also included health and community resources, raffles, piñata giveaways, and informational booths from organizations such as CHC and SLO Noor. Garcia said the goal was to blend celebration with access to support services for families.

As the second annual Cinco de Mayo celebration concludes, organizers are already looking ahead to future community events, including Día de los Muertos, which is scheduled for the weekend before Halloween.

For Garcia and the HBA, this year’s event reinforced a growing sense of community connection in Paso Robles — one built on culture, collaboration, and shared celebration.

Feature Image courtesy of Maria Garcia