This post documents my experience on September 13, 2014.
I arrived at the North YMCA just an hour after the start…
…of the New American Festival (see NOTE at end).
The festival celebrated the city’s culture and heritage through the immigrants and refugees that came here from such countries as…
…Eritrea…
…Burma…
…Ghana and more.
Each community was set up in a booth…
…where they displayed various artifacts from their homeland…
…had large amounts of covered food on the tables (I should have arrived later!)…
…and even sold art inspired by their culture (Bol Aweng).
Near the cluster of community booths were other booths…
…hosted by the US Attorney‘s Office…
…and service organizations to help immigrants and refugees (US/ETSS/CRIS).
Kids could play at the playground…
…join artistic children’s activities…
…practice their soccer skills (The Crew)…
…or learn about fire safety (Division of Fire).
Meanwhile, both adults and children alike could sit back to enjoy the entertainment stage…
…or benefit from the Health Fair (Molina).
I, instead, took advantage of the food truck (Don Pedro 2)…
…and I got myself two delicious chicken tacos before heading out…
…but not before grabbing a free bag for myself…
…where I found the festival program, some literature and a bottle of water.
AUTHOR’S NOTE – Since I arrived only an hour after the festival started, there weren’t that many people yet at the festival. But, even though parking was fairly tight when I arrived at 10 AM, I don’t think people really started arriving until after 11. Even as I was just pulling out, a bus let off a large group of African women and children, telling me that lunchtime or later would be an ideal time to attend this festival.
PS – I also took advantage of the chalk art and added my own square.