Welcoming Week / Welcoming Salt Lake 2021
Welcoming Salt Lake is an annual celebration bringing together people and local events that celebrate the contributions of immigrants and refugees and highlights the role communities play in ensuring everyone feels welcome.
This event, known nationally as Welcoming Week, will take place September 10–19, 2021. This year’s theme is Belonging Begins with Us. In the past, this event has brought people together in person to enjoy food, culture, art and more. This year the event will again be held mostly virtually.
Part of the nation-wide movement, Welcoming Salt Lake raises awareness of the economic and cultural contributions immigrants bring to Salt Lake City and surrounding communities.
Links for Welcoming Week 2021 Events
¿Cómo puedo convertirme en ciudadano estadounidense? presentado por Comunidades Unidas en español
Viernes, el 10 de septiembre 2021, 4:00-5:00pm
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/comunidadesu
para registrarse enviar un correo electrónico a Vero Zavala a vero@cuutah.org o llamar a 801-487-4143
Mayor’s Welcoming Week Proclamation
September 10, 2021 - 02:00 pm
Host Organization: Salt Lake County Mayor's Office
Location: Taylorsville City Hall, 2600 Taylorsville Blvd, Salt Lake City, UT 84129, USA
Other
Join the Mayors and elected leaders of Salt Lake County, and cities throughout Salt Lake County to proclaim September 10, 2021- September 19, 2021, as Welcoming Week in Salt Lake County.
Poetry Reading with Susan Nguyen, Sara Sams, & Bo Schwabacher
September 10, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: Utah Humanities
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/535415834331476/
Virtual Event
Join Weller Book Works for a poetry reading featuring Asian American poets Susan Nguyen, Sara Sams, & Bo Schwabacher.
English Scone and Tea Time Cooking Class with Chef Mika
Monday, September 13, 2021 - 06:30 pm
Host Organization: IRC SLC
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Event Registration – Website: honeyteahive.com
Registration Required – Virtual Event
Chef Mika of Honey Teahive will lead viewers through making their own scone and tea tasting class. Can be viewed at anytime after 6:30pm on 9/13. Virtual Ingredient box and class $30. Just the class $15. Ingredient box can be picked up on 9/13 between 5-6:30pm from Square Kitchen 751 W 800 S, SLC
Spice Kitchen Incubator – Spice To Go
Order by Noon Tuesday, Sept. 14. Pickup Thursday, Sept. 16 6-6:30 pm.
Spice Kitchen Incubator is excited to partner with Chef Nour of Noor al Sham to offer a new, unique Spice-to-Go menu beginning on Thursday, September 16th as part of Welcoming Week and to kick off a new and improved Spice-to-Go service! More info »
9/11 panel with youth on how they were impacted
September 14, 2021 - 01:00 pm
Host Organization: Emerald Project
Co-Hosting Organization(s): UCCD
Location: Utah Council For Citizen Diplomacy (UCCD), South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website https://emeraldproject.org/event/the-other-side-of-9-11/
Discussion/Community Forum
The tectonic events of September 11th, the global war on terrorism, and its many consequences dramatically affected the Muslim world and attitudes toward the United States. Remarkably, these events shaped the emotions and self-identity of existing and unborn Muslims in the United States. On September 11th, 2021, just 20 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Emerald Project, in partnership with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, will uncover the other side of 9/11, the impact of this tragedy on the Muslim-American identity. Join us for a panel-led discussion about how terrorism impacted the Muslim-American experience and how Muslims cope with the burden of Islamophobia and their grievances for dangerous American policies.
Fire! with Plan B Theatre
September 14, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: Utah Humanities
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/588949795603967/
Virtual Event – Theatre
Utah was the birthplace of Wallace Thurman, a gay Black man who became a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Join us for a live reading of “Fire!” by Jenifer Nii, which premiered as the Wallace Thurman half of Plan-B Theatre’s WALLACE in 2010. Read by Carleton Bluford. Directed by Jerry Rapier.
New Roots Farmers Market
September 15, 2021 - 04:00 pm
Host Organization: IRC SLC
Location: Central Park Community Center, South 200 East, South Salt Lake, UT, USA
Website: https://newrootsslc.org/farmers-markets/#market-at-central-park
Food and Drink
Each week the Central Park Farmers Market features:
Farm stands selling locally grown fruits and vegetables
Local vendors
New Roots CSA pick up
Non-profit and community resource booths
Welcome Walk SLC
September 15, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: At Home Humanitarian
Location: Liberty Park, 900 South, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/welcome-walk-for-us-newcomers-and-friends-tickets-168371837699
Registration Required – Sports, Volunteering
To welcome refugees and immigrants to our community, please join us for a WELCOME WALK.
Mexico Independence Day
Wednesday, September 15, 2021, 6:00 pm
Host Organization: Mexican Consulate
Location: Gallivan Center, South Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Join the Consulate of Mexico in Salt Lake City in celebrating the CCXI Anniversary of Mexico’s Independence Day, on September 15th, 6:00 pm-9:00 pm, at the Gallivan Center. This community and cultural celebration will include a civic ceremony and the traditional “GRITO” given by the Head Consul, José Borjón, as well as dancing and musical performances showcasing the traditional folkloric costumes and music from Mexico.
This will be a time for many to reconnect and reaffirm their heritage and roots as they integrate into their country of residence, an opportunity to recognize the value of immigrants in building and enriching our nation.
Where Are You Form?
September 15, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: Utah Division of Arts & Museums
Location: Springville Museum of Art, East 400 South, Springville, UT, USA
Discussion/Community Forum
In connection with the book, Where are you from? by Yamile Saied Méndez, educators will learn comfortable tools to celebrate race and immigration in the classroom through themes of self-acceptance, identity, and home. Join presenters: Jean Tokuda Irwin, Noemi Hernández-Balcázar, and Angela Rosales Challis to explore collage and animation through hands-on workshops that will help you celebrate the unique and authentic stories of all your students.
Stories of Maize with Dr. Roberto Cintli Rodriquez
September 15, 2021 - 07:00 pm
Host Organization: Kimball Art Center
Co-Hosting Organization(s): Utah Humanities
Location: 1251 Kearns Boulevard, Park City, UT, USA
Websites:
• https://kimballartcenter.org/event/stories-of-maize-histories-de-maize-presented-as-part-of-the-utah-humanities-book-festival/
• https://www.facebook.com/events/402218281237089/
Virtual Event – Arts, Exhibit, Literature
Kimball Art Center is excited to host Artist-in-Residence Jorge Rojas in conversation with Dr. Roberto Cintli Rodriguez, author of Our Sacred Maiz Is Our Mother: Indigeneity and Belonging in the Americas. This program is a part of People of Corn, an exhibition by Jorge Rojas.
“If you want to know who you are and where you come from, follow the maíz.” That was the advice given to author Roberto Cintli Rodriguez when he was investigating the origins and migrations of Mexican peoples in the Four Corners region of the United States.
Follow it he did, and his book Our Sacred Maíz Is Our Mother changes the way we look at Mexican Americans. Not so much peoples created as a result of war or invasion, they are people of the corn, connected through a seven-thousand-year old maíz culture to other Indigenous inhabitants of the continent. Using corn as the framework for discussing broader issues of knowledge production and history of belonging, the author looks at how corn was included in codices and Mayan texts, how it was discussed by elders, and how it is represented in theater and stories as a way of illustrating that Mexicans and Mexican Americans share a common culture.
Rodriguez brings together scholarly and traditional (elder) knowledge about the long history of maíz/corn cultivation and culture, its roots in Mesoamerica, and its living relationship to Indigenous peoples throughout the continent, including Mexicans and Central Americans now living in the United States. The author argues that, given the restrictive immigration policies and popular resentment toward migrants, a continued connection to maíz culture challenges the social exclusion and discrimination that frames migrants as outsiders and gives them a sense of belonging not encapsulated in the idea of citizenship. The “hidden transcripts” of corn in everyday culture—art, song, stories, dance, and cuisine (maíz-based foods like the tortilla)—have nurtured, even across centuries of colonialism, the living maíz culture of ancient knowledge.
IRC Virtual Town Hall
September 16, 2021 - 12:00 pm
Host Organization: IRC SLC
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Virtual Event – Discussion/Community Forum
Registration: https://rescue.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0scuuppjwtH9b- WH7ROa_fzUdIjM6aMeci
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Salt Lake City welcomes you to join our upcoming Virtual Town Hall led by Natalie El-Deiry, executive director. Hear updates on the emergency response efforts in support of Afghan families arriving to the U.S. and Utah, learn more about the experience of staff who deployed in support of processing Afghan refugees at U.S. government facilities, and engage in the conversation during the open Q&A.
This is the Plate with Jean Tokuda
September 16, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: Utah Humanities
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/990495475042879
Virtual Event – Food and Drink
Jean Tokuda Irwin and members of the Japanese-American Utah community will guide the audience through the cooking process for a traditional meal.
How Do I Become a U.S. Citizen? presented in English by the International Rescue Committee Salt Lake City
Friday, September 17, 2021, 12:00-1:00 pm
Facebook Live: https://facebook.com/IRCSaltLakeCity
No registration necessary
Chinese Women and the Environment
September 17, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: Utah Humanities
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/4240705239341998/
Virtual Event – Discussion/Community Forum
Join the Asia Center for an in-depth conversation with Dong isbister, Xiumei Pu, and Stephen D. Rachman, editors of Chinese Women Writers on the Environment: A Multi-Ethnic Anthology of Fiction and Nonfiction, and author Burao Yilu.
The Mobility Project with Danny Quintana
September 18, 2021 - 01:00 pm
Host Organization: Utah Humanities
Location: Weller Book Works, Trolley Square, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/885732239042429/
Discussion/Community Forum, Volunteering
For 20 years Lisa Murphy, Jeff Murphy and a group of volunteers traveled the world with the Mobility Project, delivering the gift of mobility to the poorest people on the planet. They helped tens of thousands of disabled poor to gain mobility and hope. Come and read along and enjoy these incredible adventures in humanitarian work.
Home is Not a Country
September 18, 2021 - 06:00 pm
Host Organization: Emerald Project
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/585232209318371/
Virtual Event – Discussion/Community Forum
Emerald Project is excited to host Safia Elhillo, acclaimed poet and author of HOME IS NOT A COUNTRY, a novel-in-verse for teens.
COVID-19 Vaccination Bus & Voter Registration with the National Tongan American Society
September 18, 2021
Host Organization: National Tongan American Society
Location: National Tongan-American Society, 3007 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Other, Volunteering
Join the National Tongan American Society in their efforts to register voters and vaccinate the community against COVID-19.
Sunnyvale Farmers Market
September 18, 2021 - 10:00 am
Host Organization: IRC SLC
Location: Sunnyvale Park, South 700 West, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Website: https://newrootsslc.org/farmers-markets/#sunnyvale-farmers-market
Food and Drink
Each week the Sunnyvale Farmers Market features:
Farm stands selling locally grown fruits and vegetables
Free sack lunches for school age children
Food pantry offering a rotating supply of non-perishable food and household supplies
Kids crafts and activities
Non-profit and community resource booths, and much more!
For additional information please visit:
Welcoming America – Welcoming Week
Welcoming America – Welcoming Week Events
About National Welcoming Week 2021
Welcoming America is proud to lead the growing network of hosts and partners around the United States and world who strive to make their communities a more welcoming place for all.
Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.
Belonging Begins With Us
Whether it's starting a new job, changing schools or neighborhoods, we've all had moments where we felt like we didn't belong.
For people who moved to this country, this experience can last more than a moment. From language barriers to cultural differences, feeling excluded can take years to overcome.
Yet, because we all know how it feels to be excluded, we also know how to make others feel they belong. When that happens, communities can fully harness the strengths, talents, and contributions of each person to build shared prosperity.
This Welcoming Week, let's declare that #BelongingBeginsWithUS - that each and every one of us has the power to help others, regardless of their background, to feel like they are seen, embraced, welcomed, and included in our communities.
What is Welcoming?
When places describe themselves as welcoming, what does it mean?
Being welcoming is much more than being friendly, tolerant, or peaceful. We believe that truly welcoming places have intentional, inclusive policies, practices, and norms that enable all residents to live, thrive, and contribute fully — including immigrants.
Welcoming places are made possible by welcoming people and leaders, including immigrants themselves. Whether you’re a student, librarian, government worker, or business owner, each of us is empowered to foster more welcoming places at work, in our neighborhoods, and places of gathering.
Communities that have worked for many years to become more welcoming have helped us shape the Welcoming Standard. Together, welcoming places, communities, and individuals can create the conditions for a thriving community that embraces, harnesses, and fully leverages the contributions of all residents.
Why does being welcoming matter?
Being welcoming can be a challenge when communities undergo significant changes, but especially with demographic change. Whether it’s due to the economy, immigration policies, or climate disasters, communities experiencing an influx of newcomers may not be prepared, causing misunderstanding and tension, and in some cases, outright violence and hostility.
But when communities recognize the value being truly welcoming and intentionally work toward the inclusion of newcomers, they can create a culture and policy environment where all residents feel empowered to work with each other in strengthening the social, civic, and economic fabric.
When we find strength in our diversity — and actively resist fear and division — we can build a resilient community that fully harnesses the talents, skills, and contributions of every resident so that all can thrive.
The Welcoming Standard
As a way to further define what we mean by being welcoming, the Welcoming Standard provides communities a comprehensive roadmap toward becoming more welcoming places.
The Welcoming Standard also sets benchmarks that community organizations, residents, and others can use to hold welcoming places accountable and spur innovation.
There are seven framework categories of the Welcoming Standard that we believe define truly welcoming places:
Government Leadership: In welcoming places, local governments implement systems and programs, such as designating a unit and staff to coordinate immigrant inclusion, that strengthen community efforts and embed inclusion within government agencies.
Equitable Access: Welcoming places work to ensure community services and opportunities are available to all residents, including newcomers. This includes improving access to healthcare, childcare, transportation, and more.
Civic Engagement: Welcoming communities actively ensure that residents, including newcomers, fully participate in civic life by increasing access to leadership and democratic spaces.
Connected Communities: Welcoming communities build connections between newcomers and long-term residents by strengthening relationships, communicating shared values, and promoting a welcoming culture through institutional communications.
Education: Welcoming communities strive for an educational system that ensures all students have the support they need to succeed in school and the education they need to succeed in the workforce.
Economic Development: Welcoming communities harness the full potential of all residents, including those from other countries who have the skills and assets to thrive, by developing economies that leverage all talents.
Safe Communities: Welcoming communities foster trust and build relationships between residents and law enforcement and safety agencies. This includes training public safety staff on working with diverse communities and more.
What does a welcoming place need to get started?
There are many factors that go into creating a truly welcoming place, including:
Vision: Modeling in practice and policy the values of a healthy democracy
Leadership: Inspiring others to join in and expanding key decision making to others
Acknowledgement: Addressing racism at all levels and situating the work in the local and historical contexts.
Mutuality and agency: Striving to build trust, mutual respect, and cooperation across lines of difference. Recognizing that institutions which extend agency—not charity—will have the greatest impact.
Sustained commitment: Begin with shared values and culminate in the accountability of our institutions to an ever-growing “we the people”.
How can I help my community become a more welcoming place?
Creating a welcoming community is something each of us can play a role in, whether by deepening our own understanding, fostering belonging in our neighborhood or organization, electing leaders who care about these values, or joining others in moving closer to achieving the Welcoming Standard.
Throughout Welcoming America’s history, we have seen time and time again the outcomes when communities prioritize welcoming and inclusive practices in government, the economy, and social life. See our Stories of Impact to see examples of leaders taking action to make their communities more welcoming from Alaska to Pennsylvania.
More ways to take action:
View and download resources
Host an event in your community during Welcoming Week
Become a member of the Welcoming Network and receive technical assistance on your plans of action
For local governments: become Certified Welcoming to have your welcoming efforts recognized nationally
Share what #BeingWelcoming means to you on social media