The Cesar Chávez Community Celebration Committee is hosting a special event on Sunday, April 7 in Modesto to honor César Chávez and Dolores Huerta and to initiate National Farmworker Awareness Month.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The celebration starts at 1 p.m. Sunday with a march from César E. Chávez Park at Fourth and F streets, Modesto.

Led by the Azteca Dancers of Casa Cultural, participants will march from the park to the Red Event Center, 921 Eighth St., Modesto. The march pays tribute to farmworkers who in 1966 marched over 300 miles from Delano to Sacramento, claiming the right to form a union and demanding living wages, decent housing and just working conditions.

In 2022, farmworkers marched the same route to petition Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a bill providing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections. He signed the bill.

Scheduled from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, the event will feature a full program of speakers and music at the Red Event Center. California State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil will address the audience on the topic of the importance of farmworkers to the State of California and to the nation and the role played by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta in the farmworker struggle for a just workplace and decent working conditions.

Special homage will be paid to Herlinda Gonzales from Patterson and a long-time advocate for farmworkers and their families.

Mexican dances will be performed by the Azteca Dancers of Casa Cultural, the Ballet Folklórico los Falcones, and the Westside Fiesta Mexicana of Newman.

Throughout the afternoon, music for listening and dancing will be provided by DJ Equis, Mariachi la Unión, La Onda Band, and singer Olivia Esquivez.

The Red Event Center will have a variety of beverages and Mexican dishes for sale.

Sponsors of the event have helped provide much of the funding, coming from contributions by several community businesses, organizations, and individuals.

The César Chávez Committee continues to seek donations to help defray the expenses for this event and for its activities on behalf of farmworkers throughout the year. Activities include the sponsorship of musical and dance groups of students from area schools, the production and dissemination of educational materials about farmworkers for community groups and for students at all levels, and the yearly Farmworker Awareness Gala.