Willmar’s Welcoming Week committee organized and held a local Welcoming Week celebration that included dancing, music, and henna! Featured was an interactive drum circle, where anyone could try drumming on an assortment of conga and bongo drums, creating beats and rhythms with one another. Hispanic dance group Raices de mi Tierra performed beautiful folk dances, and artist Nasra Bedel offered henna body art designs. Maggie Harp led visitors in singing songs from the Willmar Community Songbook, which was written a few years ago by a composer-in-residence from the American Composers Forum. The composer collaborated with Willmar residents for a year to create a compilation of original songs that represent the community.
Welcoming Week celebrations, initiated by the Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF), are taking place in several Southwest Minnesota communities and are intended to celebrate diversity and inclusion. It’s so exciting to see Willmar showcasing local talent and creating space for residents to learn and grow together! See what else Willmar Main Street is up to here.
