SPOKANE, Wash. — The Tacos y Tequila Festival wraps up on Sunday, August 25 at 10 p.m.
Organizers say turnout for the event has significantly surpassed previous years.
"We had a turnout that was equivalent to the last 3 years in the amount of people," said Fernanda Mazcot, the executive director of Nuestras Raices Centro Comunitario (NRCC).
NRCC is an organization designed to raise positive awareness for members of the Hispanic and Latino communities through events like Tacos y Tequila that aim to share and celebrate culture.
Mazcot says the event is run by about 32 volunteers who put everything together for the weekend, not including the local businesses that make food and drinks for festival-goers.
"I'm in charge of making sure things are clean, so I am putting plastic bags on the buckets and changing them whenever they get full," said Olga Lucia Herrera, a volunteer who has dedicated her time to be at every Tacos y Tequila Festival for the last four years.
Herrera says the turnout is a reflection of community support.
"You see what people waste but also how much people have bought and how much food was sold and since this is a fundraiser, I was happy to see that," said Herrera. "The more money they fund, the more we can help young people go to college and that's the ultimate goal."
Mazcot says the money raised by the two-day event goes right back to the community center and 10% of the money goes toward youth scholarships.
"Our volunteers that are doing their diligence, their work, they're doing it proudly because they are giving back to their community, and they're giving back to their community center," said Mazcot.