Latin ballroom enthusiasts flocked to Wilmington for the Fourth Annual Port City Salsa Splash May 29-31. The three-day festival included group lessons and outdoor dance parties.
One party took place on the strand near Wrightsville’s Public Beach Access No. 10. On Saturday, May 30, 2-5 p.m., speakers blasted salsa, bachata and meringue music as hundreds of attendees danced barefoot. Many of the songs were in Spanish; however, beach hits like Bob Marley’s “I Wanna Love You” were also included in the mix.
Jamíl Musa traveled from Augusta, Ga., to attend the festival.
“I’ve had an awesome time,” he said. “It’s a little bit hard to dance in the sand, but it’s so beautiful out here. Everyone is having fun.”
Dance instructors also traveled from afar to participate in Salsa Splash. Isabel Freiberger traveled from New York City to instruct a pachanga lesson. Instructors from Fuego y Hielo Dance Company in Atlanta, Ga., taught a bachata class.
The festival was organized by Summer McPherson, owner of Wilmington Latin Dance.
McPherson said, “We just went out there and had fun,” she said. “It’s like a regular, beach-going crowd. They all happen to know each other and love music and love to dance. … Nobody stopped us. Nobody interfered.”
McPherson made sure the speakers were facing the ocean, and she made sure attendees didn’t leave their trash on the beach.
“We rolled a trash can closer to the party,” she said.
McPherson’s favorite event of the weekend was a party on the USS North Carolina Battleship that took place Saturday until midnight.
“The battleship is my favorite because people get so excited,” she said. Afterwards, an after-party was held at the gazebo in Battleship Park. McPherson estimates more than 600 people attended the battleship fiesta.
‘The biggest challenge we had was finding a venue,” McPherson said. “Our parties go until 2 a.m.”
The opening party took place at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Burney Center on Friday, May 29.
“We were thankful to be able to find the Burney Center at the UNCW and the battleship,” McPherson said.
McPherson enjoyed sharing her passion for Latin ballroom dancing on a historic landmark, she said.
“It’s nice to be able to incorporate what makes Wilmington unique into the festival,” she said.
McPherson is already planning the 2016 festival. She wants to incorporate a shuttle on Wrightsville Beach to take people to and from the dance party.
“I don’t want anybody to miss out,” she said.
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