A weekend packed with family oriented activities. Filled with culture, art, and traditions!
Event description — Holiday Saludos Weekend 2023
Saludos Encuentros, Saludos Hallaca Festival, and Holiday Saludos Bazaar
We are very excited to bring back our Holiday Saludos Weekend.
In 2022, Saludos Encuentros and Holiday Saludos Bazaar became a weekend experience, launching the first ever Saludos Hallaca Festival.
With these three events combined into a weekend experience, we are nurturing a welcoming environment for the inviting you to participate in Saludos Connection’s programs.
The heart of this weekend is building a community and creating a social space revolving around Venezuelan culture.
Our goal is to provide opportunities for our guests to benefit from local creativity, Venezuelan traditions, and social engagements during the Holiday Saludos Weekend.
SALUDOS HALLACA FESTIVAL * HOLIDAY SALUDOS BAZAAR * SALUDOS ENCUENTROS
Holiday Saludos Bazaar has become a tradition since it began in 2016.
On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, it has provided opportunities for the diverse community that follows us to come together. It has invited the participants to enjoy and interact with the Venezuelan holiday traditions through their expressions in typical food, music, and crafts.
Imagine the scene in Venezuela, when holiday music such as aguinaldos and gaitas start to play on the radio or public places, hallacas, pan-de-jamón and other delicacies make their appearance on the counters and dining tables. Bazaars pop up with beautiful crafts, and the invitation to get in the holiday gift-giving mood comes alive with sounds, smells, flavors, colors, and emotions.
These are cherished Christmas traditions that are lived in most communities all over Venezuela. They bring us to our childhood memories around family and friends. They bring us closer and highlight shared experiences. Here in Houston, entrepreneurs and artisans have started their businesses after participating in our bazaar as proof of concept for their creations. The Holiday Saludos Bazaar has grown its impact in the local community, and is the motor behind our mission both in Houston and in Venezuela.
Saludos Encuentros has allowed us to share cultural experiences outside established traditions. Connecting the community with art expressions, and productions. We have provided a window into different perspectives of current events, represented by local and visiting talents.
Saludos Encuentros builds on artistic creativity. Our aim is to carve access to local artists, engage in conversations open to the public, and promote creativity through open call contests, all while creating a marketplace for the artists’ work.
With Saludos Encuentros we are building and nurturing connections with the local creative community, local organizations promoting art, and the community in general to raise awareness and attention to local talent.
Saludos Hallaca Festival builds on Venezuelan Christmas Culinary traditions, identity, and family. Our aim is to promote the Hallaca making tradition and share its legacy trhough showcasing the process, creating an hallaca contest, and inviting participants to be judges.
The theme that connects all events is the traditional hallaca as a primary recognizable culinary expression of Christmas Venezuelan traditions. We started our first bazaar introducing the hallaca to our diverse guests, and now we are shining a light into its cultural richness. We propose a journey into learning about the history of the hallaca, inviting guests to taste a variety of hallaca recipes, and to participate in the hallaca contest as judges.
Each event offers an opportunity in their own space—to learn about the causes we care about and to feel inspired to be a part of the mission and support it. This is a space to enjoy and learn while participating in a cultural experience open for the whole family.
