It’s been an amazing Welcoming Week 2023!
Welcoming Week 2023 has been a beautiful celebration of diversity, inclusion, and building bridges through connected communities – with a few more events still to come! This year, creative Welcomers across Nebraska hosted over 50 events from Scottsbluff to South Sioux City, including parades, business tours, and community clean-ups, as neighbors came together to share art, music, and food to ensure everyone can feel a true sense of belonging in the place they call home!
Here are a few photos of some of the celebrations across the state (check back for more!) – from Columbus, Crete, Grand Island, Lexington, Lincoln, North Platte, Omaha, Scottsbluff, and South Sioux City:
Thank to partners across the state for sharing these beautiful photos from your Welcoming Week events:
- Celebrate Siouxland
- Lincoln Unites
- Empowering Families
- Grand Island Area Welcoming Initiative
- Southeast Nebraska CASA
- HOPE-Esperanza
- LMCA-Las Mañanitas Community Advocates
- Somali Community of Siouxland
- Centro Hispano Comunitario de Nebraska
- Karen Society of Nebraska
Beyond Welcoming Week!
Establishing a welcoming culture in any community requires ongoing, consistent work to foster equity and inclusion. In many ways, Welcoming Week provides an opportunity for us to cultivate the awareness and energy that’s needed to sustain those year-long welcoming efforts.
Here are even more events to continue celebrating Welcoming Week and build communities where we all feel we belong!
- Sept. 21 in Omaha: Innerdance: Experience of a Wakeful Dreamstate an evening of self-discovery through art, relaxation, and thought-provoking conversation!
- Sept 23 in Lexington: Special presentation of Little America, an anthology series that shares stories of immigrants in America!
- Sept 24 in Lexington: 5th Annual United by Culture Festival in Lexington that aims to build a positive cultural identity among people of color living in the heartland!
- September 27 & 28 in Scottsbluff: The 25th Multicultural Youth Leadership Conference with keynote speaker James Jones aka Notorious Cree, of the Nehiyaw (Cree) Nation, who educates and spreads awareness on the issues impacting Indigenous communities across the globe.
- Sept. 30 in Lincoln:
- Karen American Festival, with cultural performances, volleyball and soccer tournaments and a resource fair!
- Harvest Moon Festival, with multi-ethnic cuisine, fun activities, cultural performances, traditional music, health consultations, and more!
- Oct. 8 in Crete: Great Pumpkin Festival. A welcoming, all-community event! From the pumpkin carving demo to carnival games, a food court to the Great Pumpkin Giveaway!
- Nov 14 in Lincoln and Live Streamed: UNL E.N. Thompson Forum: Displacement and Reimagining the American Dream featuring local students and young professionals sharing their lived experiences as immigrants and refugees.
- Check out details & more local events here!
Thank you for celebrating with us, and for being an integral part of what makes Nebraska so welcoming.
Please reach out to us to support additional welcoming and belonging activities throughout the year!