One of the largest community-based festivals in San Diego will once again bring entertainment and a variety of resources to Barrio Logan.

Fiesta del Sol 2014 takes place on Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, on Logan Avenue, between César Chávez and 26th St., in Barrio Logan. The event is in its ninth year and organizers expect more than 30,000 visitors during the two-day festival.

Just like when it was founded in 2006, Fiesta del Sol continues to be a family-oriented, alcohol and tobacco-free event that offers something for everyone.

“One of the goals of the festival is to create that diverse environment where we all can find something of interest,” said festival coordinator Marilyn Armenta. “It is not targeting one specific group. It is a festival for all ages and ethnic groups.”

The entertainment part of the festival is highlighted this year by NASA’s Destination Station, an interactive, multimedia exhibition that’s traveling around the country that makes its only San Diego stop at Fiesta del Sol.

The exhibition includes opportunities to touch a Moon rock brought back in 1972 aboard Apollo 17, the last time astronauts landed on the Moon. Visitors will also be able to take pictures in a life-sized space suit.

On Saturday, there will be what’s being promoted as San Diego’s largest zumba call out in the county. Also, children can enjoy a lucha libre show, with some of the most popular luchadores from Oddity Wrestling Alliance, considered the “premier lucha libre promotion in San Diego.”

“You will see the very best you’ve ever seen in the area in years,” said José Alaniz, from Oddity Wrestling Alliance. “I am very confident to state that you will see some of the best talent in the world” of lucha libre.

The festival also includes a large roster of local musical talents, from norteño and sonidero, to rock en español and pop.

“We continue to be a showcase for local talents,” Armenta said. “These are bands, singers, that don’t have a label, a manager, behind them. We give them the opportunity no one else gives them.”

The music side is topped by Angel Lopez, former singer of pop band Son By Four.

Since it was founded, Fiesta del Sol has always been a perfect balance between entertainment and social issues, where people can have fun while finding help for their problems, whether it is immigration, health, or education. This time it is no different.

At Fiesta del Sol you can find solutions to your issues, said Christina Gonzales, executive director for Justice Overcoming Boundaries, the organization behind the festival.

“People describe it as a resource fair,” she said. “Here, you can find information on immigration issues, on affordable housing, on health care, on education opportunities. These are resources that maybe you didn’t know existed but are very close to your community.”

One of the most popular areas in Fiesta del Sol is The Civic Participation Pavilion, which features civil, and human rights information, citizenship application information and assistance, legal non-profit resources, voter registration, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform information and advocacy opportunities.

“It is a one-stop shop for all the social needs,” Armenta said. “Our festival is not only a place where you go to have fun: You also learn of new ways to improve your family’s life.”

Fiesta del Sol is put together by an army of loyal volunteers that every year spends several months planning and managing the festival.

“Our volunteers believe in Fiesta del Sol because they see the good it brings to the community,” Armenta said.
Organized by the nonprofit Justice Overcoming Boundaries-San Diego, Fiesta del Sol-San Diego is modeled after Fiesta del Sol-Chicago.

Fiesta del Sol 2014 will be on Saturday July 12th and Sunday July 13th, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days on Historic Logan Ave., between César Chávez and 26th St., in San Diego.