Sharon Osborne, President/CEO of Children's Home Society of Washington, was honored with a citizen’s award on September 15 at Fiestas Mexicanas for her service and passionate leadership empowering children and families in Washington State and around the country.

“I am thrilled to receive this honor and celebrate with the Wenatchee community,” said Osborne. “This award is for all the hard work CHSW does every day with the wonderful children and families we serve in central Washington.”

Residents of Wenatchee and surrounding communities gathered with excitement to participate in Fiestas Mexicanas, an annual celebration to support diversity and cultural awareness and to support National Hispanic Heritage Month and Latin America Independence Day.

The festival features prominent Hispanic musical and dance performers as well as comedy. More than a dozen performers headlined this year with some traveling to Wenatchee from as far as Mexico. Families also enjoyed rich traditional food and a chance to connect. Scholarship awards were also presented at the festival to three youth for their academic achievements and community volunteer efforts.

“We wanted to give families a chance to do something special together and we invite everyone to participate,” said Alejandra Gonzalez, community director for services in Chelan and Douglas counties and event chair for the past nine years. “We invite government officials to participate, which gives them the opportunity to learn and meet the families and their culture.”

Fiestas Mexicanas’ mission is to support diverse cultural backgrounds and values while striving to provide cultural awareness and education about the history, lifestyle and people of Mexico.

Jennifer Parsons is the marketing communications manager for CHSW.