Vanilla Sugar Clothing

Fiesta KC

On May 14-16, thousands flocked to Crown Center for Fiesta Kansas City, an annual Latino festival sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The courtyard facing the Crown Center Shops along Grand Boulevard was brimming with live music, street vendors, food and bold, vibrant colors.

The three-day event marks the 12th annual fiesta held by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Two stages featured live music, dancing and even tortilla rolling and gritos (shouting) contests.

The Fiesta Pavilion Stage, located outside Hall’s Department Store, was the larger of the two and opened Friday evening with the national anthem and color guard, followed by a mariachi band and Tejano singer Gary Hobbs.

A smaller stage, the Heartland Stage, was set up along Grand Boulevard, which was closed to traffic during the event. The Heartland Stage featured several up-and-coming local bands, like Making Movies and MRM.

Although I missed Making Movies’ performance, I have seen the group perform before, and was instantly impressed by their immense talent, catchy reggae rhythms, rock ‘n’ roll flare and seamless transition between English and Spanish lyrics.

The event was a vibrant blend of two cultures: traditional Latin American culture and Hispanic-American culture, which contains elements of both U.S. and Latin American cultures.

This was evident in both the clothing items sold and the music selections chosen to perform.

Mariachi bands and colorful traditional clothing and blankets gave way to “Hecho en México” baseball caps and bilingual performers like Making Movies and MRM.

The dozen-or-so food vendors sold homemade horchata (a traditional drink made from milk, ground rice, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla), fresh-squeezed limeade, tortas (sandwiches), burritos, tacos, churros (twisted, dough-baked cinnamon sticks), helado (ice cream) and more indulgent, spicy, mouthwatering plates than I have fingers to count.

Also noteworthy were the presence of corporate sponsors and advertisers, which included Hallmark cards, a car dealership, insurance agents and cell phone companies. A bellwether of the growing market share of Latino buyers, I was glad to see sponsors outside of the Latino community have not ignored Fiesta KC.

The event was predominately attended by Latinos, although there were people of all cultures and ethnicities represented.

Homemade Organic Lavender Vanilla Sugar Body Scrub

: You have some different choices when it comes to vanilla…

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB WITH WHOLE VANILLA BEANS:

1. Place 1 to 2 whole vanilla beans in 1 cup dry organic white or brown sugar.

2. Cover and let sit for a week or two – the longer it sits the better the smell. You can experiment with vanilla bean intensity. I like strongly scented scrubs, so I err on the side of more is better, however, use less for a lighter scent.

3. Remove your beans.

4. Saturate (but don’t over-saturate) your sugar with carrier oil. It should be totally moist, but there shouldn’t be a huge layer of liquid on top of the sugar.

5. Add two-four drops of lavender essential oil. Smell your mix, and add more lavender if you want a stronger scent.

6. Place in a reusable container with a lid. TIP : If you use a glass container, it won’t end up smelling like lavender forever, like a reusable plastic container will.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB WITHOUT WHOLE VANILLA BEANS:

HOW TO USE YOUR SUGAR SCRUB:

Although it seems odd, you won’t be sticky after using this sugar scrub. All you need to do is rinse with warm water. No soap is necessary. This scrub will not dry your skin out and is perfect for troublesome dry areas.

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