Cinco de Mayo doesn’t have to be all about the tequila. You can have a family-friendly holiday that’s fun for everyone if you visit one of these six destinations.
Denver serves up great family-friendly fun on Cinco de Mayo, including a parade, live music, chihuahua races and plenty of great food. There are, yes, less spicy culinary options for kiddos. A free festival takes place in Civic Center Park. Think you can eat more tacos than your friends? Don’t miss the taco eating contest. There are also tons of arts and crafts vendors on exhibit.
In Reno, Cinco de Mayo takes place over two days and it all centers around Grand Sierra Resort, attracting tens of thousands of people as the largest celebration of Latino heritage in northern Nevada. Expect carnival rides, a children’s area, arts and crafts, plenty of food and dancing horse performances.
Washington, D.C.
Cinco de Mayo Festival in Washington, D.C. Photo: Richard Gunion – Dreamstime.com
Washington, D.C.’s National Cinco de Mayo Festival includes dance performances, live music, children’s arts and crafts, games, cultural presentations and more. The annual event is free and takes place on the National Mall.
In Portland, Oregon, the annual Cinco de Mayo Fiesta in Tom McCall Waterfront Park is the largest multicultural festival in Oregon all year long. Over the course of several days, you and your family can enjoy plenty of Mexican food, arts and crafts, live music, amateur boxing and wrestling and even a mass service. Admission to the festival is only a few dollars per person.
San Francisco hosts a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Dolores Park and (gasp!) it’s totally alcohol free, meaning you may have to give up on the tequila to attend, but you can at least rest assured t it’s guaranteed family friendly. There’s food, live entertainment and a kids area with crafts all day long to cater to the thousands of attendees.
St. Paul, Minnesota, hosts a pretty great Cinco de Mayo festival. The Cinco de Mayo West Side fest includes a family run, parade, live music and more. There’s a marketplace where you can pick up handmade crafts, art, jewelry and clothing. For the motor heads in your family, there’s an auto show. Instead of a taco-eating contest like you’ll find in Denver, there’s a jalapeño-eating contest.
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