The Latino Community Roundtable and Central Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are holding a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at World Tile Design Showroom, 728 S. Center St., in Turlock.

The free community event will feature music, food and a performance from Grupo Folklorico Los Luceros from Osborn Elementary School.

Hispanic Heritage Month, observed from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on Sept. 15. The day of Sept. 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, respectively.