With just a little over a week until the annual Dominican Day Parade takes to the streets organizers held their fundraising gala Thursday night in Midtown.

They say one of the key themes of this year's parade is "Educational and Economic Empowerment."

Their goal is to raise $250,000 for underprivileged youth.

They say the parade will celebrate Dominican pride.

"People should expect a beautiful display of our culture, of our richness, of our honorees, who come from all walks of life and are really the pride and joy of our culture," said Dominican Day Parade Chair Angela Fernandez.

"It's really an exciting moment in the Dominican community, this new, empowered board has organized a parade for August 9th that the entire city is gonna be part of, and I'm very excited," said City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

NY1 Noticias is a sponsor of the parade which runs up Sixth Avenue from 38th to 54th streets.

It takes place Sunday, August 9.

To learn more, visit dominicanparadeinc.org.