Back in last October, I attended a family summit at the YFS (Youth and Family Services) – a great one day event organised by the City.
In the summit, we talked about having an annual multiculturalism event in College Park. I know other cities, including our neighboring Greenbelt city does that every year. Such an event, I hope, would showcase the heritage of different cultures and thus will bring many ethnic groups in the neighborhood together.
If we organize such an event, what do you want to see? Here are my thoughts..
(1) Ethnic foods – Hmm, think about dishes from different parts of the world – Latinos, South Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and off course American.
(2) Dresses / Jewelries – Booths with unique prom gowns for sale/ showcasing dresses and jewelries from different parts of the world.
(3) Poster: Our community is rich with many generations of residents. Many of these residents have old pictures of our neighborhood dating back 50 years or even earlier. How about having a display of posters with these pictures? This should show the evolution of our neighborhood and also will preserve its historical heritage. We can also include culture – related pictures from the recent immigrants / newer generation of residents.
(4) Book Sales / Display: The books in different languages from different countries – for sale and display.
(5) Essay Competition: Get local students involved in this. Challenge them with topics related to improving cultural bridges. Award them with prizes.
(6) Open Forum on multi-ethnic issues: Our neighborhood is changing. New generation of people are moving in and so is widening the gaps between the residents. Let’s have residents talk in an open forum on ideas on how to improve inter-ethnic relationships.