Listos Preschool holds Butterfly Festival celebration and fundraiser

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(ABC 6 News) – After a fire destroyed the home to Listo’s preschool back in April – the Spanish immersion school is fundraising, and celebrating culture with a butterfly festival and social.

While the Monarch Butterfly is certainly a beautiful thing to look at, it is much more than that. For one community, they represent a connection between Minn. and Mexico. Some believe the butterflies represent the souls of our ancestors.

This is why butterflies were strewn throughout Peace Plaza in downtown Rochester, as families gathered downtown for fun games, performances and a great cause.

"To really celebrate the culture and community so children and families can learn and bring people together," said Christina Valdez, the executive director of Listos Preschool and Childcare. "Learn about the community too and the butterfly and the culture so it’s a learning event, but fun too."

After the festival, a fundraising event took place in Chateau Theater, with Mexican bingo and fun prizes. The money is used to provide scholarships for families in need that are on the waiting list for the preschool, and help ease the financial burden of tuition. Also, it is being used to repair fire damage to Peace United Church in Rochester, where the preschool used to be held.

Families say, it’s important for children to understand their roots and be surrounded by many different cultures.

"The families in Listos who are mixed like my children – I’m Puerto Rican and they’re Italian American mix – but there are other families there that are mixed. They’re Caucasian, they want their kids to learn a different culture, a different language and I think this being out there for the whole community to see that and connect has been really powerful," said Enid Rivera-Chiauzzi, a mom with multiple children attending the preschool.

While this is not the only Latina festival, it is certainly one of the biggest, with almost 500 people attending Saturday.

If you are interested in donating to Listos Preschool and Daycare, click here.