SOUTH SIOUX CITY — National Welcoming Week is a time when communities come together as neighbors, building strong connections while affirming the importance of being welcoming and inclusive places for all.
That is exactly what Olga Guevara wanted to accomplish with activities slated for the third annual Celebrate Siouxland, which is taking place Monday through Sunday in South Sioux City.
“Our aim is to foster intentional belonging while celebrating Latino heritage,” Guevara explained. She is the executive director of the nonprofit Unity in Action, which provides support for Latino and immigrant families. “What better way is there to express belonging than through the arts, music and food?”
The week will start with an official “Celebrate Siouxland” proclamation from South Sioux City Mayor Rod Koch, followed by a Hoy Proclamamos! Cocktail Fiesta at 6 p.m. Monday at Mi Rancherita Restaurant, 1512 Dakota Ave.
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Other activities will include a night of Loteria (a Mexican form of bingo) at 6 p.m. Wednesday, at the South Sioux City Library, 2121 Dakota Ave.
Unity in Action staff members, front from left, Ximena Perez and Olga Guevara and back, from left, Rogelio Rodrigues Villalobos and Martin Ort…
Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, there will be a citywide parade, down Dakota Avenue and ending at the Dible Soccer Complex, 1200 Riverview Drive.
“There will be bands, floats and participation from all many South Sioux City businesses during the parade,” Guevara said.
After the parade will be a dusk showing of the 2015 movie, “McFarland, USA,” in which Kevin Costner plays a coach of the a cross-country team in a mainly Latino high school.
The film will start at around 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Dible Soccer Complex.
The soccer complex will also be the site of Family Festival, which will occur from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The family festival is really a celebration of community, Latino or otherwise,” Guevara said. “It will feature arts, crafts, a kids zone, a cultural fashion show as well as both traditional and cultural dances from across Latin America.”
Live music from both local bands as well as from the Houston, Texas-based Grupo Control will perform at the festival.
“Grupo Control is famous for playing Norteno music, which is a regional type of Mexican music that incorporates relevant topics in their lyrics,” Guevara explained.
Plus there will be plenty of food from various Latin American countries.
“We were inspired by both local Greek food festivals and Asian food festivals,” Guevara said. “People become exposed to a culture by its food and Latinos have some of the best cooks.”
Since Celebrate Siouxland’s aim is to foster inclusivity, Guevara invites all non-Latinos to join in the celebration.
“During National Welcoming Week, we build connections with one another,” she said. “We become one big community.”
That includes all members of the Latino community.
“To be Latino means you be Mexican, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan, Peruvian or many other kinds of descents,” Guevara said. “Everybody has a chance to share their heritage as well as their story.”
After all, that is the neighborly thing to do.
“Too often, we live in our own little bubbles with little or no interaction with others in our own hometown,” Guevara said. “Through Celebrate Siouxland, we celebrate what we bring individually to the community and how we can all come together.”
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