By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: The crowds were already building up by the time the Liberty Fest was opening at 4pm on Sunday, June 28, despite it being a sweltering afternoon. By the time the Liberty Fest, a Signature event for the Southwest Management District, ended after fireworks about 9:30, the crowd had grown to several thousand.
They came for the early July 4th celebration that is held at the site of the PlazAmericas (formerly the Sharpstown Mall) on the Sunday before the actual holiday so as not to compete with the City of Houston’s celebration, this year marking the nation’s 250th Birthday.
This is the fifth year that the SWMD has held the family-oriented event which serves no alcohol. There were 122 booths – more than previous years – serving food, clothing and wares from different ethnicities as well as politicians and nonprofits promoting their causes.
There were a lot of activities for kids, like a train ride, putt-putt golf, bounce houses, rock climbing and this year even a Tesla Cybertruck which everyone had a chance to write on the side panels with washable color markers.
As in previous years, there was non-stop stage entertainment from Chinese Dragon dances, to Vietnamese dances, Indian classical dances, country music, Tejano music, and Mariachi bands. Once again this year, the feature show was She Wolf, a high energy Shakira tribute band, and Paul Wall, a hugely popular local rap artist entertainer.
An estimated record 15,000 people of many ethnic backgrounds attended the event, which once again had no entrance fee and a small vendor fee, all thanks to the support of generous sponsors. Harris County Pct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones’ office offered a cooling off bus and Houston City Councilman Edward Pollard, whose District J includes the Sharpstown area, attended the event.
Southwest Management District Board Directors – Chair Kenneth Li, Peter Acquaro, Safety Vice-Chair; Raj Adnani, Blu Baillio and David Peters and others, as well as the staff and countless volunteers – were at the festival throughout the event, meeting and greeting people.
They plan for an even better event next year. Those interested in sponsoring next year’s event should contact the SWMD at https://www.Southwestdistrict.org.
