If you’re looking for something to do in Wilmington, NC the second weekend in November, head to the Amigos International Festival Latino, a two-day Latino festival in Ogden Park. It celebrates Latino culture, countries, and has some of the best food you’ll find in town.
For more help planning your trip, check out all of our posts about Wilmington.
We went to Puerto Rico over the summer and I was so excited to eat all the food. We had the tastiest plantain cups, mofongo, and empanadas off the street that I still think about on a daily basis. So of course I wanted to go to the Festival Latino.
It’s an annual festival in Ogden Park, which celebrates Latino culture. This year was the 24th annual festival, although it was our first time there.
Quick note: This is not to be confused with the Cape Fear Latinos Festival held in September (which is Hispanic Heritage month) at Live Oak Bank Pavilion in downtown Wilmington. That’s a similar, but different festival put on by a different group.
This isn’t the only festival in Wilmington. There are so many. For more, check out our Guide To Festivals In Wilmington, NC to mark your calendar to make sure you don’t miss any.
Festival Latino in Wilmington, NC: Everything you need to know
Amigos International started the festival back in 2000 as a way for the Latino Immigrant community to come together, but also as a way for those who were not native English speakers to have accessible resources to them. I think that’s why now, scattered throughout the vendor area, there is a health and human service fair, with a large array of exhibitors with community resources.
There’s a large range of vendors selling a ton of wares, with everything from sarapes to ceramics.
That’s just one section of the festival.
My favorite part, of course, was the International Food Court, packed with food trucks and vendors selling all sorts of delicious food.
We got an order of empanadas and a patacon y pollo from the Colombian vendors.
We also got an order of pupusas from the vendors for El Salvador.
We skipped the Wilmi Ricans food truck, arguably the most popular Latino food truck in the area. But, that’s exactly why. We see the truck out and about in town often, so we have more of a chance to get food from there than the other vendors.
After we ate, we got to dance our calories off.
There’s a huge dance floor set up in front of a stage where a Latin folklore dance group performs throughout the day. Between their routines, Latin music comes through the speakers, opening the dance floor to anyone who wants to get their groove on.
That stage is also graced by musicians playing live music as well. When we got to the festival, there was a man covering Johnny Cash on stage.
There’s also a section for kids (the kids fiesta area) with a piñata and a Great Mexican Hat Race each hour. We weren’t in that section at the right time because we missed both of those.
There were also giant inflatable rides in the kids section, which looked like fun. I heard there were supposed to be carnival games and a petting zoo for the kids too, but we didn’t stumble over those sections. We did get there almost as soon as the event opened on Saturday, so those might not have been set up yet (or we just completely missed them because Ogden Park is really large).
Those won’t be there if you go to the event on the second day of the festival. That’s almost more quiet, with just music, food, free entertainment, and dancing that day.
Amigos International Festival Latino in Wilmington: Frequently Asked Questions
615 Ogden Park Drive; Wilmington, North Carolina
The festival is always the second weekend in November.
For 2025, that will be November 8 and 9.
Saturday: 11 am to 8 pm
Sunday: noon to 6 pm
Nope. It’s a free event that’s open to the public. You will have to pay for food and anything you buy from the vendors, though.
It’s free parking. The lot fills up quickly, but people park on the side of the road as well.
There are bathrooms at the entrance of the food festival.
Porta potties are also set up around the festival grounds.
Have you been to the Amigos International Festival Latino in Wilmington, NC? Let us know what your favorite part was in the comments.