Despite a slow economy and difficult year of fundraising and obstacles, the Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida is announcing its 10th Annual Back-To-School Festival & School Supply Giveaway, more commonly known as “The BIG Backpack Event,” will be held on Sunday, August 2, from 11 a.m. 2 p.m. at Harborside Event Center.

This year’s event will feature even more giveaways than in years past, a diverse selection of youth entertainment, appearances by Ronald McDonald and Swampee, local celebrities, NBC-2’s Craig Wolfe and FOX4’s Patrick Nolan, and lots of fun activities, said Connie Ramos-Williams, thw event’s chairman.

All families are invited to attend the event at no cost. The Multicultural Centre of Southwest Florida organizes and provides this event each year as a way to bring everyone in our community together for a day of celebration and giving.

The first 2,000 kids ages 5-12 will receive a hand stamp and ticket as they enter the event at Harborside, Ramos-Williams said. These children will then be able to receive free backpacks, school supplies, breakfast bars, gift card for a free kids meal at Jason’s Deli, and one admission ticket to a Florida Everblades hockey game. Some 30 children at random will also find a surprise $25 Target gift card – redeemable toward the purchase of back-to-school uniforms, and another 140 plus children will receive fleece jackets.

Vendors at the event will also provide free haircuts, vision screenings, fingerprinting, and facepainting. While other vendors will giveaway items that include folders, pencils, highlighters, coloring books, and tickets to the Shell Factory. Kids will also get to enjoy a huge combo bounce house, inflatable slide, and live performances by youth entertainers, she said.

The Harborside Event Centre is located at 1375 Monroe Street in downtown Fort Myers. For more information about the event contact, Leonardo Garcia at 239.561.7345, multicultural@juno.com or visit www.multiculturalcentre.org.