By Kathy L. Collins
The Good Samaritan Mission is hosting its Fourth Annual Family Salsa Festival on Saturday, March 19 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The Good Samaritan Mission is located at 14920 Balm Wimauma Rd. in Wimauma. Admission and parking is free, and the public is invited to come out and enjoy family activities, arts and crafts and sample all types of foods. All proceeds benefit Good Samaritan Mission.
The Fourth Annual Family Salsa Festival is a fun filled day of tasting and sampling salsa and other food. Reverend William Cruz is the Executive Director of Good Samaritan Mission and has been involved with the organization since it began in 1984 under the directive of his parents, Bill and Dora Cruz.
Reverend Cruz said, “The Fourth Annual Family Salsa Festival is an excellent opportunity for neighbors, vendors and community service providers to meet in one place while enjoying the family friendly atmosphere. We will have entertainment and children’s activities.”
Entertainment for the event will include Luis Molina as DJ, Joel Walters of The Bible Fellowship Church, Hoola for Happiness, the Balm Baptist Church Praise Band, the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center Praise Band, Chili Pepper Hunt, and Gus Adams and the JSA Salsa Dancers.
Sponsors for the event include Mail Box Store (Sun City Center), Chris’s Plumbing Service, the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center, Stanford’s Jerky, Sun Towers, In Faith Designs, Nozzle Nose Exterior Cleaning Service, Balm Baptist Church, The Bible Fellowship Church, RJS Law Group and Sweet Bay Nursery. Commercial vendor booth rentals and sponsorships are available.
The Good Samaritan Mission provides a variety of classes including cooking/nutrition, financial literacy, parenting, computer skills, sewing, ESL and health literacy to those in need who live in Wimauma, Ruskin, Apollo Beach, Gibsonton, Lithia, Sun City Center and Riverview. Classes are offered in both English and Spanish. Upon completion of each class, students are given tokens which they can use to shop in “Ann’s Shop” where they can find a variety of food items, toiletries and diapers.
According to Reverend Cruz, “We have been ministering for over three decades. Our mission statement reads: Through knowledge, we inspire the community to find physical, emotional and spiritual healing.” Visit www.gsmission.org or call 634-7136.
