The Cultural Arts Center was alive with color, pageantry and music as they brought celebration for Dia de Los Reyes — the Day of the Kings — to the city of Douglasville.

While many of the Christian faith observe Epiphany on Jan. 6 as the day commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the Three Magi, or Three Kings, Dia de Los Reyes is celebrated on a much larger scale by the Latino community.

Saturday marked the seventh festival hosted by the Cultural Arts Center, explained executive director Laura Lieberman.

“We serve very traditional foods, including rosca cake — similar to the Kings’ Cake during Mardi Gras — but more of a sweet bread decorated with candied fruit with a small ‘baby’ representing Baby Jesus inside,” she said.

Also featured were traditional drinks horchata, or rice water, Jamaica and tamarindo and tamales.

A colorful parade was led by Mariachi Latino, featuring local residents portraying the Three Kings — Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar — an array of guests, and a small delegation of horses, led by members of the Douglas County 4-H Horse Club.

Members of the Douglas County High School and Turner Middle School Spanish honor societies helped entertain children by playing a pinata game and writing deseos, or wishes, to the Three Kings, attaching them to balloons and sending them skyward.