Puerto Rican Festival in Rochester returns this week: What's new, concerts and more
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Rochester's Puerto Rican Festival this week returns to Frontier Field for the first time since 2019.
The 52nd annual Puerto Rican Festival, to be held in Frontier Field's VIP Parking Lot from Thursday to Saturday, will also feature a new schedule.
What's new for 2022
The three-day festival this year will begin Thursday, which is a shift in the previous festival format of Friday to Sunday. The schedule change was announced in 2020, before COVID, following conversations from city and county officials and community members. The change is in part, a response to the post-festival activities that in previous years have gone late into Sunday nights and have drawn a police presence.
Because of the pandemic, the 2020 festival was canceled like so many other events that summer and fall. Last year, a scaled down version of the festival was held over two summer weekends: one at The International Plaza on North Clinton Avenue and the second at Parcel 5 on East Main Street.
The annual event is the longest running cultural festival in Monroe County, now in its 52nd year. It averages a daily attendance of approximately 7,000 people, according to festival organizers.
"The event is a family event and we get support from many different backgrounds," said Orlando Ortiz, president of the Puerto Rican Festival Inc. "Although it's the Puerto Rican Festival, it's not exclusive to Puerto Ricans. This is something we've been proud of hosting for 52 years."
Live Music
Each night, live music will be featured on the festival's main stage. Performances by numerous well known artists include:
Thursday, Aug. 4: Puerto Rican Power
Friday, Aug. 5: ELYSANIJ and Manny Manuel
Saturday, Aug. 6: Victoria Sanabria, Gerardo Rivas and Vico C
Live musical performances will begin at 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at noon on Saturday.
More: Details on the musical lineup at the Puerto Rican Festival
Parade
The Puerto Rican parade will also return to Rochester this year. A brief ceremony at City Hall is set for 10 a.m. Saturday and the parade will follow at 11 a.m. The parade will follow a brief route from City Hall, north on Fitzhugh Street to Main Street then to Plymouth Avenue and Morrie Silver Way, ending at the festival site by Frontier Field, according to the Office of Special Events at City Hall.
Festival hours
4 to 11 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 4: Free admission all evening
4 to 11 p.m., Friday, Aug. 5
Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6: (Free admission from 12 to 2 p.m.)
Tickets
Tickets are available for purchase at Burgos Income Tax, 1816 N. Clinton Ave., El Pilon Criollo, 973 N. Clinton Ave., Frontier Field, 1 Morrie Silver Way, and at prfestival.com.
Advance tickets: Free admission Thursday; $10 per day on Friday and Saturday
Purchased at door: $15 on Friday and Saturday
Seniors and children ages 6 to 12: $5 on Friday and Saturday
Children ages 5 and younger: Free admission all three days
VIP tickets: $50 per day and includes re-entry privileges, two drink tickets, VIP seating at the front of stage and a festival T-shirt.
More information is available at the Puerto Rican Festival page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PRFEST/
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Puerto Rican Festival 2022 in Rochester NY: Concerts, times, tickets
