Colombian Festival to Benefit Rehab Center

The 6th Annual Colombia Independence Day Festival is scheduled for 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 22, at the , according to an announcement from the Rotary Club of Madison.

Members of the Fundacion Unidos por Filandia (United for Filandia Foundation) and Quindianos Unidos por Colombia (United Quindianos for Colombia) have organized volunteers for the family event.

The celebration features soccer games for the adults, face-painting for the kids and piñatas.

A feast of Colombian food favorites, such as empanadas, avenas, mosarepas, chuzos, chorizos and helados, is on the menu.

Entertainment will include a children’s folkdancing troupe, Colombian dance music, and a special performance by MASKAO, a popular 9-member dance band who specialize in merengue, salsa, and vallenato music.

Most of Madison’s Colombian residents are originally from the towns of Filandia and Armenia in the state of Quindio, an area known for its natural beauty, rural tourism and coffee production, the announcement says.

Proceeds raised at the event will benefit the reconstruction and expansion of a rehabilitation center in Filandia for developmentally disabled children, according to the announcement.

For more information call 973-879-4206.