Welcoming Manchester, is an organization under Welcoming America. It operates under the belief that every community member, including immigrants and refugees, should feel included in their communities- as each person is vital and important to the community’s future. Starting September 18th, Welcoming Manchester will be celebrating Manchester Welcoming Week with a series of events that are free and open to any community member. The week will begin with a Kick-off Party on 9/18/19 at 5:30 in Jupiter Hall. The Kick-off will have food, music, guest speakers, cultural performances and more. The theme of the Kick-off is to welcome diversity into the city and welcome refugees and immigrants. The following day 9/19/18 there will be a Citizenship Celebration at 5:30 at the SNHU Center for New Americans. The week continues with a Free Community Night 9/20/18 from 5-8 at the Currier Museum of Art. Visitors will be able to take a tour, experience art made by students and listen to live musical entertainment. Friday night 6:30pm at Jupiter Hall there will be another free event “The Story of Us” a night of storytelling about the real lives of immigrants. On the morning of 9/22/18 there will be a children’s story time starting at 11:15am at The Bookery. Lastly, there will be a History of Immigration in New Hampshire Photo Exhibit through October 31st at the Manchester City Library. Studies show that surrounding yourself with a diverse group of people may even make you smarter. According to the Scientific American, being in groups with people of different backgrounds makes group members better prepared for alternate views, and make more of an effort to reach a group consensus. So, come out and celebrate and embrace diversity in the Manchester community during this year’s Welcoming Manchester Week!
