Art and Community at Día del Niño

Clark College celebrates families and Latiné culture at annual event

On Friday, April 24, Clark College hosted Día del Niño, an annual event celebrating children and families. The Student Center was packed with community members of all ages, filling the room with gleeful energy. In addition to enjoying a delicious meal of enchiladas, children engaged in fun, hands-on activities at the colorful tables that lined the walls of the room: pipe cleaner butterflies, puzzles, face painting, rock painting, puppet shows, button making, hula hooping, and a reading corner.

Another game had participants bobbing for apples that were hung by strings from a low beam. Kids tried to catch the fruit in their mouths without using their hands, which was no easy feat. One little girl found a loophole — she nosed the apple against the ladder that was propping up the beam, allowing her to hold it still as she took a juicy bite. 

After completing each activity, kids received a stamp in a passport; when they turned in their passport at the end of the event, they got to take home a free book. 

There were also performances throughout the evening:  

• • Angel Ocasio, a comedian who wowed his littlest audience members with magic tricks 
  • Mariachi Tradición, a high school mariachi band 
  • Ballet Folklorico del Suroeste de Washington (Folkloric Ballet of Southwest Washington), which performed traditional dances in colorful costumes, highlighting regional Mexican cultures

The Heart of Día del Niño

Event planning was led by Michelle Golder, Event Services Manager, and the Día del Niño committee — including Rosalba Pitkin, Associate Director of Student Equity and Inclusion, and Spanish professors Elizabeth Ubiergo, Felipe Montoya, and Erika Nava — and many volunteers were from Clark’s Spanish Club. 

Rosalba Pitkin, the Associate Director of Student Equity and Inclusion, has been part of the planning committee for the past 15 years, and it continues to be one of the most meaningful experiences of her work.  

The activities the event offers for the children vary, she explained. Each year, the planning committee brings something innovative and inspiring to the table. But what remains the same, she noted, is the way the children engage in the activities with openness, curiosity, and joy.  

“They are captivated by the dancers, moving closer, watching with wonder, sometimes even joining in,” Rosalba said. “They light up when they receive books, eagerly flipping through pages, discovering stories in their own way. Their excitement is genuine and contagious, and it transforms the entire space.” 

Seeing this joy is Rosalba’s favorite part of the event. “Seeing them effortlessly come together is deeply moving. It’s inspiring to watch how they share the space without hesitation or bias, connecting through play, laughter, and curiosity. In those moments, you can see the kind of world we hope to build, one where joy, acceptance, and human connection come naturally.” 

The event brings together students and members of the community: English as a Second Language students, Career and Academic Program students, college-level programs, children of all ages, and even continuing education students and community members. Rosalba emphasized that the event is a shared space of belonging, where everyone is welcomed and valued. 

 A Visual Celebration

On display at the event was a paneled mural, created in collaboration between Clark’s second-year Spanish classes and local artist Christian Barrios.  

The piece, sponsored by Fourth Plain Forward, was inspired by a book that Professor Erika Nava’s class reads every year, Cajas de Cartón by Francisco Jiménez. Translated literally, the autobiography’s title means “cardboard boxes,” and it follows Francisco’s journey as a young immigrant child in the United States during the mid-20th century. “It’s a learning experience for my students,” Erika said, “We talk a lot about the story being a mirror or a window, depending on what your experience is.” 

To make the story come alive, her class met with Christian to brainstorm which images should be featured in the piece and determined the outline based on the story’s most important elements. They were joined by other Spanish classes to collaboratively paint the panels with Christian, who then gave the painting its final touches. 

The mural, which now hangs in Erika’s classroom, was unveiled to the community at Día del Niño — a culmination of the themes at the heart of the event: literacy, childhood, art, and cultural identity. 

Christian, who owns the local gallery La Casita and is a Clark alum, previously collaborated with Clark College for the mural “Coming Together for Art and Peace,” which is currently on display in Joan Stout Hall. 

Photos: Clark College/Malena Goerl

Story by Malena Goerl, Staff Writer, Communications and Marketing