As soon as the weather breaks each year, weekends around North Clinton Avenue belong to the International Plaza.
From the opening ceremony on May 3 this year through the close of the season October 11, the Plaza will host more than a dozen festivals and celebrations on Saturdays and Sundays, all with music, food and local vendors.
The International Plaza, which sits on North Clinton Avenue between Sullivan and Hoeltzer Streets, is a vibrant market and greenspace developed by the City of Rochester. It opened to the public in 2020 and is jointly operated by the Rochester Public Market and the Ibero-American Development Corporation. Local food vendors post up weekly throughout the season, Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with market days on Sundays 1 to 5 p.m.
Most of the weekend events attract at least a few hundred attendees, said Jason Barber, site manager of the Plaza. But the four signature events – Roc con Poder, Dominican Day, International Day of Salsa and Roc the Plaza with Grand Tone – can pull in thousands.
“This year we’re changing things up,” Barber said. “We’re doing a bit more.”
There’s a Latinx Pride day and drag pageant that’s been scheduled closer to Rochester Pride, a Juneteenth celebration, a back-to-school event, Mother’s and Father’s Day celebrations, Gospel in the Plaza, a Cuban cruise-in car show and a Memorial Day block party. Diversifying the festival lineup helps draw in a wider crowd and welcome more people from the community.
Victor Antoinetti, local musician and director of marketing for Rochester’s Poder 97.1 Latin radio station, has performed at the Plaza and is helping to organize local and international music talent for Roc con Poder on July 11. It’s the station’s fourth annual event, and the second time it will take place at the Plaza. A big part of this year’s Roc con Poder lineup will be a tribute to New York salsa legend Willie Colón, who passed away in February.
“It’s been a fun journey growing with the Plaza from where it started,” said Antonetti. “I’m excited to be a part of that and be included.”
Even when there are no big events happening at the International Plaza, it’s still a bustling little oasis, Barber said, which has a huge impact on the rejuvenation of the neighborhood.
“It is always full of life,” Barber said. “Music’s playing, people bring their speakers. People chill, they get coffee, they eat empanadas, alcapurrias, tamales, pastelitos; they eat all this amazing food. They just enjoy each other’s company and it’s such a unique environment.”
Like countless immigrants from the American South, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominica and other Latino regions, Barber’s mother came to Rochester from Cuba in the late ‘60s, finding home on North Clinton Avenue. Barber knows the stories of the neighborhood from back in the day: the patchwork Black and Latino communities working, creating and celebrating together with big block parties.
Antonetti recalls North Clinton being the hub of Latino culture and buying all his records at La Mina when he was growing up in Rochester. To have the International Plaza, a dedicated space where the community can gather, connect, eat, dance and celebrate, helps re-establish those old connective tissues.
“For Latinos, this is our home base. This is our hometown,” Barber said. “This is the neighborhood that shaped all of us.”
Not only is the Plaza a gathering and performance space for the community, it’s also a business incubator. Vending fees are only $40 ($20 for non-profits). Other festival tabling fees can reach as high as several hundred dollars, giving vendors at the International Plaza a much more equitable cost of entry. Re-purposed shipping containers at the Plaza provide space and infrastructure for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and Barber said this year they’re working with The Commissary, a shared commercial kitchen space in the Sibley Building that also opened in 2020.
“We have bakeries, we have a Cuban sandwich shop, Ecuadorian grocery store, Puerto Rican food, Mexican and Colombian food,” Barber said. “We even have our own little ice cream parlor.”
For Antonetti, the cultural melting pot makes the Plaza special.
“Just to try the different experiences in the different cultures, I think it’s great,” he said. “From what [the Plaza] used to be — a vacant lot — to all these things that bring that neighborhood back to life. I’m really happy.” cityofrochester.gov/internationalplaza
Kellen Beck is a Rochester-based writer who has covered science, tech and entertainment since joining Fairport High School’s newspaper “The Lampion” in 2010, among other publications. Email him at kellentbeck@gmail.com.
May 2026
May 3 – Opening Ceremony
Sunday, May 10 – Mother’s Day Celebration
Sunday, May 17 – Malcolm X Celebration
Sunday, May 24 – Memorial Day Block Party
June 2026
Sunday, June 7 – Zumba con El Clave
Sunday, June 14 – Father’s Day Celebration
Sunday, June 28 – Ibero Pride Day
July 2026
Saturday, July 11 – Roc Con Poder (Signature Event)
Sunday, July 19 – Festival de Barrio (Neighborhood Event)
Sunday, July 26 – El Calle Ocho Cruise-In Car Show
August 2026
Sunday, August 9 – Arts at the Plaza
Sunday, August 16 – Dominican Day (Signature Event)
Sunday, August 23 – International Salsa Day (Signature Event)
Sunday, August 30 – Back to School at the Plaza
September 2026
Sunday, September 6 – Gospel in the Plaza
Sunday, September 13 – Hispanic Heritage Kickoff
Saturday, September 19 – Fringe with Europa
Sunday, September 20 – Bachata event
Sunday, September 27 – ROC the Plaza (Signature Event)
October 2026
Sunday, October 4 – Latin American Festival
Sunday, October 11 – Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration & Plaza Closing
