Harrisonburg will celebrate World Refugee Day this Saturday as part of the city's annual Best.Weekend.Ever. festival. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Kurdish dancing, a drum circle, and inspirational speakers are on the agenda for this Saturday's "Celebration of New Americans" hosted by Church World Service. From 3 to 6 p.m., the Turner Pavilion will showcase food, music, and storytelling from refugees who have made their home here in the valley.
RODRIGUE MAKELELE: We invite everybody to join us on June 15th, because it's a special event here in our community in Harrisonburg!
Rodrigue Makelele is the agency's Virginia refugee organizer.
MAKELELE: Let's come together to honor the resilience and contributions of refugees, and also to reaffirm our commitment to build a compassionate and inclusive community.
Church World Service will also recognize local leaders who have made significant contributions to the community, and recent high school graduates coming from a refugee background. The Harrisonburg Citizen reported this week that the city council officially recognized June 20th as World Refugee Day, "to the delight of about 30 refugees … who attended the meeting."
This event is part of the Best.Weekend.Ever. festival, which features live music, community art projects, vendors, food trucks, and more across downtown Harrisonburg.
