Heated Council Meeting Laments Lack of International Festival

In a heated meeting last night members lamented their inaction on planning this year’s

Councilman Carlos Lizanne (Ward 4) brought up the issue toward the end of the meeting.

“The International Festival is a tradition that brings everyone together,” he said.

He blamed the council for ignoring Ward 4 and the International Street Festival because many of its residents are poor and ethnic.

Other members were fuzzy on why the festival was forgotten.

From what Mayor Marc Tartaro remembered, , the former recreation and arts director, left the position in July. He said Yeskulsky left no plans for the festival, leaving acting director Abby Sandel empty handed.

Hyattsville already has a busy September with the city’s 125th Anniversary party on Sept. 23 and the Fourth Annual Downtown Hyattsville Arts Festival on Sept. 24.

“I’m afraid this is Monday morning quarterbacking,” Tartaro said.

Council members remembered problems with festival planning were brought to them in June, but none of them, or the mayor, made any motion to push planning forward.

“We prioritized wrong,” said Councilwoman Nicole Hinds-Mofor (Ward 5).

Lizanne said that the city should push the festival to another month. The council plans to look at the past record to see what happened and discuss options for future International Street Festivals.