Midvale » In 1987, late Mayor Everett Dahl wanted to create a festival to bring Latino and other communities together.

He shared his idea with Fausto Rivas, a Midvale business owner and retired miner. A year later, Fausto and his family organized the city's first Cinco de Mayo festival on Main Street.

Rivas' wife, Dolores, was the only vendor, selling homemade tamales and chile verde, and she ran out of food by 6 p.m. Organizers recall performers outnumbered the roughly 30 guests who celebrated the Mexican Army's May 5, 1862, victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla.

"People didn't come out because they didn't know what Cinco de Mayo was," Dolores said.

But the Rivas family and volunteers kept organizing the festival year after year, making it a strong family tradition that outgrew Main Street in 1994. They expect 7,500 people Saturday at the 23rd Annual Cinco de Mayo celebration in Midvale City Park.

The event's biggest challenge comes from the sky. It hailed, snowed and rained last year, organizers said. "It all depends on the weather," said Suzanne Rivas-Valle, one of Rivas' six grown children, who has volunteered for years.

Fausto, 74, said he's proud his family is part of the festival and glad it is enjoyed by people from all ethnic backgrounds. "As the years pass, I get happier and happier," he said. "This festival is for everybody."

Fausto spends most of the day in a mariachi outfit, singing and walking around the park. Dolores sells raffle tickets. And using a golf cart, Suzanne makes sure everything is going as planned.

Fausto, a native of Michoacan, Mexico, crossed into Texas when he was 14 and worked on farms in Texas and California before moving to Bingham Canyon in 1948. He started working at Kennecott mine in 1952 and married Dolores two years later.

The couple opened Rivas Cafe in West Jordan in 1968. After it burned down in 1977, they opened El Sombrero, 742 W. Center St. in Midvale, which closed in 1991. They still own the building, now La Chaca Mexican Grill.

Of the nine people organizing this year's event, only three are not related to the Rivas family. The group has met weekly at Fausto and Dolores' home since January.

The Midvale Cinco de Mayo became a nonprofit about seven years ago, and any profits are used for event expenses, Suzanne said. Nedra Farrington of Midvale, the committee's treasurer and a retired banker, believes the event is a great way for Latinos to share their cultures and for neighbors to get to know each other. She also enjoys working with the Rivas family because "there's a sense of togetherness."

Suzanne said seeing people enjoying the event makes "it all worth it. ... I see my dad's dreams come true."

jsanchez@sltrib.com

If you go

23rd Annual Midvale Cinco de Mayo

10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday

Midvale City Park, 445 W. 7500 South

The free festival starts with a parade and includes music and dance performances; carnival rides; food and other booths.

Go to the parade

Midvale's annual Cinco De Mayo parade begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at Main and Center streets in Midvale.