Dear potential sponsor,
We are excited to share with you that we are now organizing our Fifth Annual Festival del Nopal (Cactus Festival) and we need your help. BACKGROUND: For hundreds of years, the cactus, particularly the prickly pear cactus, has long been a staple in the diet of many Mexican and Latin American people. Also revered as a source of national pride in Mexico, the prickly pear cac
tus is featured on the Mexican flag with an eagle standing atop the cactus and a serpent caught in its beak to symbolize the location where the ancient Aztecs were instructed by their gods to build the great City of Tenochtitlan, where Mexico City now stands. The cactus has several different culinary, medicinal, and cultural uses and is traditionally considered a basic part of the diet of indigenous, mestizo & working class Mexican people and is now part of everyday mainstream consumption throughout Mexico, Latin America, and the United States, which is a source of great pride for many. Like many varieties of cacti, the prickly pear cactus easily adapts itself to any environment and can be successfully grown and harvested anywhere, including Santa Cruz, and is therefore not tied to any particular region. The Santa Cruz community has therefore adopted the nopal (prickly pear cactus) for the past four years and we are once again organizing a great celebration of this important crop. Therefore, we are planning this innovative event to accomplish the following community & economic goals:
1. Bring the community & families together to learn about the nopal through cuisine, dance, & culture
2. Host a pride-inspiring event for the Latino Community and form a greater connection with the City.
3. Fundraise for low-income youth scholarships to participate in local youth programs
4. Encourage healthy lifestyles with nopal recipes and cultural presentations
5. Increase nopal & nopal-related products consumption in the Northern California market
EVENT INFORMATION: The Festival del Nopal is planned for 10am-6pm, Sunday, July 27, 2014, at 176 Lincoln Street, in Santa Cruz, CA 95060, in the same location as the weekly downtown Santa Cruz Farmers Market. No alcohol will be sold or served at this event. With the help of the highly experienced and successful VIVE OAXACA! Guelaguetza leaders, our Festival del Nopal Planning Committee (co-chaired by former Santa Cruz City Councilmember Madrigal & Nereida Robles) expects to draw well over 12,000 people to this event and admission will be free to the community. In 2013, we had over 12,000 visitors to the 4th Annual Santa Cruz Festival del Nopal in downtown. We plan to, again, attract local and statewide participation by including best recipe contests, cultural dances, cultural art & crafts vendors, and various different food vendors that sell various cactus dishes much like the Castroville Artichoke Festival or the Gilroy Garlic Festival sells different dishes centered around their regional crop. In addition, the Committee plans to continue the hugely energizing and pride-inspiring youth component to the Festival by holding a contest for “Reina del Festival de Nopal” (Cactus Festival Queen) whereby student contestants (all ages) who sell the most $1 raffle tickets will win, with proceeds going to the winners and runners-up for scholarships. Also back by popular demand, the nopal recipe contests for best cactus dishes will once again elicit several entries because recipes are often seen as a source of family pride, and the winners will be awarded cash prizes for the most votes. To make this year’s recipe contest even better, a local nopal company El Bajio Produce has again offered to donate all the fresh nopales needed for cooking to any recipe contestants to help ease their financial burden and ensure they can enter the contest. FESTIVAL DEL NOPAL SPONSORSHIP LEVELS & RECOGNITION:
The following are the financial sponsorship levels and recognition benefits each sponsor will receive:
o PRESENTING FAMILIA SPONSOR: $7,500+ (logo on flyer, premium* listing as presenting sponsor in program, allowed to distribute info at event, banner, announced as presenting sponsor in all program presentations, & free information booth)
o PLATINUM SPONSOR: $5,000+ (logo on flyer, premium* listing in program, allowed to distribute info at event, banner, announce sponsor for 3 program presentations, & free information booth)
o GOLD SPONSOR: $2,500+ (logo on flyer, premium* listing in program, allowed to distribute info at event, banner, & announce sponsor for 2 program presentation)
o SILVER SPONSOR: $1000+ (logo on flyer, prominent listing in program, allowed to distribute info at event, banner, & announce sponsor for 1 program presentation)
o COLLABORATOR SPONSOR: $750+ (logo on flyer, prominent listing in program, allowed to distribute info at event, & banner)
o COMMUNITY SPONSOR: $500+ (logo on flyer, prominent listing in program, & allowed to distribute info at event)
o FRIEND SPONSOR: $250+ (logo on flyer, and listing in program)
o SUPPORTER SPONSOR: $100+ (name listed on event sponsors listing in program)
We request that you to financially sponsor our 5th Annual Santa Cruz Festival del Nopal at the highest level you can. Sponsorship checks should be made out to our non-profit fiscal agent:
Community Bridges
236 Santa Cruz Avenue
Aptos, CA 95003
Non-profit tax identification number: 94-2460211
Please write “Cactus Festival” in the check memo line. We are excited about our 5th Annual Santa Cruz Festival del Nopal and thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (209) 579-4776 or via email at [email protected]. for a successful Festival del Nopal,
Tony Madrigal
Coordinator, Festival del Nopal
Former Councilmember, City of Santa Cruz
