Oct. 16—VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Latino Association closed out Hispanic Heritage Month with the annual festival, Expo Latino.

Expo Latino serves as a hub where different businesses and organizations around Valdosta provide information and services for health care, literacy and education, said Mary King, bilingual career specialist at Goodwill of the Southern Rivers, Inc.

"It's a culture and resource fair. The Valdosta Latino Association works with different places and agencies, and we encourage everyone to go to every booth here and use what the community has to offer. We have them start by getting registered with Goodwill to sign up for events, education and other services," she said.

The organization partnered with the South Georgia Regional Library to feature exhibits, educational activities for children and food, representing different varieties of Spanish-language culture.

The 2022 expo included live music with Mariachis Mensajeros de Jalisco, a mariachi band that took to performing a multitude of songs at all of the booths.

Dora Harding, an agent with REMAX, said the band was one of the highlights of her day at Expo Latino.

"It's not at every event that my booth gets serenaded by a mariachi band," she said.

She said she was happy to have entertainment to go along with her speaking to different members of the community about educational services on investments such as home ownership.

"I'm a new agent with REMAX of Valdosta and am the only bilingual agent. When I found out about VLA and Expo Latino, I wanted to get involved to better serve my current and future clients. Most of them speak Spanish, and while several of them are also bilingual, many have expressed to me that they feel more comfortable speaking about business and home buying in their first language," she said.

"In the seven years I've been here at least, I've noticed an increase of Hispanic people in the area. I want to help everyone I can by meeting new people at events like these and helping create a more inclusive community."

Vendors included Lee Container, Georgia Power, the United Way, Great American Cobbler, Trejo, Barnes Healthcare Services, Valdosta North Rotary Club, Amerigroup Real Solutions, Farmers and Merchants Bank and Ace Electric, who donated $750 to the VLA in August.