Staff photo by Fritz Busch Rosie Wyn, left, and Milo Gluth, both of Sleepy Eye blow bubbles at a Welcoming Week Event in the New Ulm City Hall parking lot Friday. Sponsored by the New Ulm Human Rights Commission, the event included food trucks, vendors and community organizations promoting their services and showcasing what is available to people of all backgrounds.

NEW ULM — A diverse crowd of residents, community organizations, businesses and vendors attended a Welcoming Week Event in the City Hall parking lot Friday.

Sponsored by the New Ulm Human Rights Commission (NUHRC), Welcoming Week is an annual campaign that celebrates the work in communities to become welcoming places for all. It was launched in 2012 by Welcoming America to foster connections and collaboration between immigrants and non-immigrants and bridge the gap between community subsets to make people feel connected and empowered.

NUHRC Commission Chairwoman Kristin Sprenger said the City of New Ulm received a $500 grant from Welcoming America, a non-profit organization. The New Ulm City Council forwarded the grant to the NUHRC who put the event together.

“Welcome Week is designed to create a welcoming community environment, showing people what options are available for them. It’s about people coming and spending time together in this space and make some connections,” Sprenger said.

Local organizations at the event included the NUHRC and the New Ulm League of Women Voters.

Others at the event were Cecilia Tojo Soler of Amigos de New Ulm, a Spanish Facebook group designed for first-generation immigrants who want to learn more about the community including jobs, scholarships, community outreach, partnerships, gatherings, cultural enrichment, resource sharing and cultural celebrations.

“We share information that is good for immigrants to know including going fishing and learning about nature which can sometimes be difficult. We want to help facilitate that,” Soler said.

In May, Amigos de New Ulm gathered in Riverside park to pick up trash along 2,500 feet of Minnesota River shoreline.

An important aspect of the cleanup was to let New Ulm see the New Ulm area has a strong and proud immigrant community with more than 100 members in the Facebook group.

Others at the event included Brady Gluth of Sleepy Eye, his stepdaughter Rosie, 6, son Milo, 4; and girlfriend Valeria Sanchez.

“I just heard about the event after learning about food trucks coming here. We’re part of the New Ulm and Sleepy Eye communities and just wanted to come out and see what this event was about. It’s a pretty nice day. I hope everybody has a lot of fun,” said Gluth.

Gluth said he and his family attended the fifth-annual St. James Multicultural Fiestas, hosted by Uniting Cultures. The event featured Hmong, American Folk, Indigenous, Scottish, Mexican and Guatemalan music and dancing.

“That was a good time with a good turnout,” Gluth said.

Others at the event included New Ulm native Steve Smith who recently moved back to New Ulm from Phoenix with his spouse Chris.

“I grew up here and left as a teenager to join the Army, then the Air Force, serving eight years before getting out and moving to Arizona. I spent 35 years there before moving back here to be with family a few years ago,” said Smith.

“I learned about Welcoming Week on Facebook. We came here to try and get more involved in New Ulm. We’re trying to find more opportunities to be involved. It can be hard to find that niche,” said Smith, a 1980 New Ulm High School graduate.

The New Ulm League of Women Voters (LWV) was also at the event.It is hosting a New Ulm City Council candidate forum at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 24; a Mn House District 15B forum at 7:30 p.m. and a New Ulm Public Schools (ISD 88) forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. All forums are in the city council chambers.

For more information, visit www.newulmmn.gov/291/Human-Rights Commission and lwvmn.org.