Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs to Kick off Newton Heritage Festivals

Newton Mayor Setti Warren will join members of his cultural affairs staff Friday to kick off a series of "heritage festivals" to be held in the city over the next two months. 

The new program is part of the city's "" campaign and aims to celebrate cultural diversity in Newton as well as build partnerships with the local business community, Warren's office said in a press release.

The Newton Heritage Festivals include a series of events around French, Chinese, Latin American and Russian cultures.

To kick off the festivals, Warren will hold a press conference Friday afternoon at Cafe St. Petersburg in Newton Centre. Warren will be joined by Director of Mayor's Office for Cultural Affairs Linda Plaut as well as local business and community leaders. 

The Newton Heritage Festivals will begin on Saturday, March 2 with a French festival. The full schedule is as follows:

• French Heritage Festival - Sat., March 2, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 
• Chinese Cultural Festival - Sat., March 9, 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Latin American Fiesta - Sat., March 23, 3 p.m. - 9 p.m.
• Russian Festival - Fri.-Sun., April 19-21; Friday 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday noon - 6 p.m.
  (All heritage festivals are held at the Newton Cultural Center). 

[Correction: The Russian Festival was incorrectly listed as the Indian Cultural Festival in the original version of this story.]