Fun fact: Roanoke has hosted more than 7,000 refugees from places such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Burundi and Somalia, over the past several decades — more than 200 in 2017 alone.
Starting Friday, the city will celebrate all that they — and so many other immigrants who call Roanoke home — have contributed to their new address.
As one of hundreds of communities across the country participating in Welcoming Week — eight days of parties, games, classes and potlucks — Roanoke hopes to shine a light on its diverse population and bring folks from all cultures together.
“Roanoke is known as being a friendly mountain city, and participating in Welcoming Week is just another way to promote that image,” explains Whitney Slightham, Roanoke City’s Citizen Engagement Officer and lead planner of Welcoming Week.
Welcoming America, Welcoming Week’s national parent organization, was launched in 2009 as a way to find strength in diversity and resist fear and divisiveness, according to its website. Slightham says Roanoke has long wanted to schedule a Welcoming Week but hadn’t found the time and resources to pull it off.
In June, when talk of the event came up in a community refugee meeting, the group decided this was the year to make it happen.
“It’s something, as a city, we’ve had on our radar,” Slightham says.
The week kicks off with a pick-up soccer game on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Star City Soccer’s indoor facility. Roanoke’s police department is fielding a team, as is a group of student refugees. Players of all abilities are welcome.
Other events during include the fun (an adult, multilingual spelling bee at Williamson Road Library on Wednesday Sept. 19 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.), the helpful (an Intro to Arabic class at Roanoke’s downtown library on Monday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m.), and the social (trivia night at Big Lick Brewing Company on Thursday Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.).
There’s also cultural training for nonprofit organizations, a job fair for the Hispanic community, and a community potluck and immigration discussion lead by Del. Sam Rasoul.
Roanokers who can’t make these events can still participate by picking up “I’m a Welcomer” window signs and buttons from the City Manager’s office or taking part in the Welcoming Roanoke Kindness Rocks Project.
And stay tuned. Slightham says the city is planning to add other events throughout the year — perhaps a Chinese New Year celebration in February, for example.
“The hope is that it will continue to grow,” Slightham says. “That we can have activities during the year and make Welcoming Week even bigger next year.”
Click here for more information about Roanoke’s Welcoming Week. Some events require preregistration.
About the Writer:
Christina Nifong is a writer with a decades-long career profiling interesting people, places and ideas. She’s also a committed locavore and mother to three kids, four chickens and one very sweet kitty. Find more of her work at christinanifong.com.
