Mariachi Northwest Festival

Mariachi Northwest Festival takes on a Higher Education Focus.
This year’s theme for the festival is “Pathways to College.”

Washington State is projecting a 72% increased in the number of Washingtonians reaching retirement age by the year 2030. Already we import significant more college graduates from other states and foreign countries to meet the skilled labor demands our Washington industries face. Currently, less than 40% of high school graduates in Washington go on to college!

Washington has the second highest average income in the nation behind Illinois! This is because our state’s industries require a high skilled well educated workforce to compete in the “knowledge economy” of the future. We need to prepare more of our Washington youth to take on these well paid careers in our state and the Annual Northwest Festival is partnering with higher education institutions and participating school districts to make this more possible.

In addition to learning music skills from the best in the Mariachi Music industry, students at the Northwest Mariachi Festival will be exposed to powerful messages from partner colleges and universities. This connection with higher education institutions will facilitate pathways to opportunities for higher learning. Additionally, the Northwest Mariachi Festival will be establishing an annual scholarship to further support this important purpose.

Come learn from the best of Mariachi Music and hear from the presidents of Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University and Wenatchee Valley College as well as meet representatives from these institutions during the workshops and the two concerts. Your support of the Northwest Mariachi Festival will help spread the message and inspire more youth to pursue higher education and prepare to strengthen the knowledge economy our state needs to remain competitive.

Join us at the 13th Annual Northwest Mariachi Festival
“Pathways to College”
May 26-28, 2011