A summer of fun Monday Night activities concluded on Sept. 23 with the Latino Heritage Night held at Legacy Park. Coupled with the Monday Night Food Trucks and Vendor Fair, residents got to enjoy cuisine, music and crafts.

This was the second year that Latino Heritage Night has been held in North Salt Lake as part of its “Unity in the Community” series. It was one of three “themed” activities held this year in conjunction with the food truck events. Previously the city held Juneteenth and Pride events.

“The Latinos in Action group at Mueller Park Jr. High partners with the city to help host our Latino Heritage Night,” said City Councilmember Alisa Van Langeveld, who chaired the event. “The students come down and run the kids activity booth. Tonight the students are painting rocks and helping younger children have a fun activity. They also helped coordinate with some of the vendors and with a dance company performing tonight. This is our second year partnering with them.”

The event is significant to the city, which has a fairly large Hispanic population. Foxboro Elementary has a minority student population of 33 percent, and Adelaide Elementary’s student body is 47 percent minority.

“It’s important to celebrate the diversity of cultures in our city,” Van Langeveld said. “As always, we have traditional vendors offering jewelry, crafts and some small bakery items. We’ve also invited specific vendors to be part of Latino Heritage Night, such as Utah Foster Cares, the Davis County Health Department, and the Ladies of Charity Center of Hope Food Pantry.”

“We love the whole concept of unity in our community,” Mayor Brian Horrocks said. “A large part of our population is Hispanic, so this is our largest minority demographic. We’ve had just some wonderful nights out here with different groups. These are always great events here in the park.”

It ties in nicely with National Hispanic Heritage Month that began Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15. The observation began as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was extended to the full month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. According to the official National Hispanic Heritage Month website, the month “traditionally honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans as we celebrate heritage rooted in all Latin American countries.” Many Latin American countries, including Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, celebrate their independence days throughout this month, and the month is a celebration of both independence and unity. 

As of September 2024, an estimated 11.1 percent of Davis County residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to the United States Census Bureau.