By Delarita Ford
Mail | Twitter: @AzNewsmedia

Two familiar events are returning to Scottsdale this October, with event funding assistance from Scottsdale City Council.

During a Sept. 20 meeting, City Council authorized one year agreements for both the Scottsdale Taste of Italy and Music Festival and the Dia de los Muertos event.

Allocated from a portion of the fiscal year 2022-23 Tourism Development Fund designated for event retention and development, the Italian Association will receive funding capped at $66,000 to produce the Scottsdale Taste of Italy and Music Festival; and Lore Southwest Media will receive up to $70,000 for the Dia de los Muertos.

The Scottsdale Taste of Italy and Music Festival, held at the Scottsdale Waterfront, will occur Oct. 15-16. About 10,000 people are estimated to attend the event that features Italian culture, food and music. The cultural celebration has participated in prior fiscal year Community Event Funding programs and received $61,500, according to a city staff report.

Meanwhile, the Scottsdale Dia De Los Muertos is set to happen Oct. 22-Nov. 2 with an estimated attendance of over 10,000 people, according to the city staff report. The event, which features food, art, and the tradition of remembering family members who have passed away, will include interactive art, traditional alter displays, Folkloric dancers, educational lectures, and musical acts.

This event is expected to be promoted locally, internationally, regionally, using all forms of media, according to the report, which detailed projected expenses. The event participated in the Community Event and New Event Development Programs before and received $13,000 and $135,000, respectively, noted the staff report.

Both event agreements include putting funds toward the promotion of Scottsdale as a destination prior to their scheduled dates.

Delarita Ford
Lead Reporter | Surprise
@AzNewsmedia

dford@iniusa.org

Meet Delarita
Delarita Ford originally joined Independent Newspapers Incorporated, now Independent Newsmedia, Inc. USA in 1997, as a general assignment reporter for the Delaware State News daily paper after starting her journalism career in Maryland in 1994, where she honed her skills by writing obituaries, covering community news from births to deaths, education to legislation and more. As a reporter, she has had the opportunity to cover sitting and former U.S. presidential visits in Baltimore, Delaware, and Arizona.

Community: One of the few seasoned journalists who still enjoys covering community events, she can be found with a reporter’s pad taking notes, her phone taking pictures while capturing life’s moments to memorialize them in print for the local newspapers and for the active-adult community where she lives. She maintains a presence with the Black media and the National Association of Black Journalists to encourage peers, socialize, and mentor younger writers.

Education: Life learner who learns from life. Aside from the collegiate education received, she got the best training from on-the-job experience with former editors who went through copy with a red pen and demanded the best writing for hard news and feature stories. 

Random Fact: While a Delaware State News reporter, she could call then Sen. Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, usually late at night if a quote or input was needed for varying topics, including legislation and education.

Hobbies: Adopt rescue dogs and give them a nice home. Continuously read and critique news stories from various platforms.