Bloomington celebrates diversity with DiverCITY Festival

BLOOMINGTON (25News Now) - Bloomington is celebrating a rich and diverse culture during National Welcome Week with a large street festival this weekend.

The city of Bloomington is partnering with the Immigration Project for the DiverCITY Festival. They track at least 61 countries.

The city wanted to hold this event to celebrate the many cultures and people in one place.

“There’s a big population of Venezuelans, Guatemalans, Africans. The list goes on and on,” said Gregory Wilson, the Community Relations Manager for the City of Bloomington. “So, what we wanted to do as a city is combine our efforts, put our resources into creating an event that coincides with welcoming week.”

One of the organizers says recently, four people in Bloomington became citizens in the U.S., with hundreds more waiting to apply.

“The goal for the DiverCITY event is for immigrants and non-immigrants and neighbors of all different backgrounds to come together and strengthen those connections that we all have and also just celebrate the diversity in our community,” said Sarah Mellor, the Social Services Director at Immigration Project.

Admission to DiverCITY is free. It will be held at Miller Park Zoo on September 17

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