What to Expect During Welcoming Week 2019

It runs September 13-22

FARGO, N.D. — Ten years ago, cities across the country started making more of an effort in welcoming immigrants, refugees and newcomers to the states.

But it wasn’t until five years ago that Fargo–Moorhead got on board.

“I can’t imagine living in a world where everybody is the same and we all do the same thing, we don’t ever learn anything, we don’t ever try anything new. I just think that there’s so much to learn from each other and so much color, so much spice,” said Cassie Wiste, with the F-M Cultural Diversity Resources.

This year you can expect even more spice from Welcoming Week which runs from the 13th through the 22nd.

A community table event on Thursday will unofficially launch the week of 14 fun–filled festivities.

“It’s a giant potluck. People are bringing food from their own cultures and we’ll have some ethnic dancers and Red River Market is also going to have dancers from around the world so that would be a great one to check out as well,” Wiste said.

The rest of the week’s events include everything from a diversity job fair to teaching English to new Americans.

Concordia College will have its first panel on issues at the southern border.

“Nationally, we’ve seen a lot of conversation about immigration, some of the struggles and things that go along with it. But there’s also been a lot of data on the impact of diversity in workplaces, having diverse ideas. I think we’ve had some of the greatest accomplishments have been brought over from other places,” Wiste said.

While Wiste says the goal of the week may be to help F–M community members welcome their new neighbors, she says it’s also help them understand what they can learn by exposing themselves to other cultures.

“This world is so big and so vast. We’re all going to connect in some way, shape or form eventually. I get taken aback by things I don’t know and it’s having those experiences that really helps us grow,” Wiste said.

Community members can get free admission to any YMCA location in Fargo–Moorhead from the 13th through the 22nd.