TOLEDO, Ohio — Starting Friday, the Toledo Lucas County Public Libraries will bring the community together to celebrate immigrant communities during Welcome Week.
From Sept. 13 to 22, the library will celebrate a variety of cultures, using this year's theme: "We're all in."
The celebration will include activities and events to embrace diversity and share resources for immigrants in our area. There will be workshops and performances to celebrate and welcome the different cultures in Lucas County.
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One of the event's organizers, Mely Arribas-Douglas, is a welcome-specialist librarian with TLCPL. She said she moved to Toledo from Southeast Asia in 1996 and, despite the differences between cultures, she appreciates the beauty everyone brings to northwest Ohio.
She said she is glad to be a part of this global network of welcoming initiatives.
"I myself arrived to Toledo as an international student," Arribas-Douglas said. "And I'm an immigrant myself, so it was really heartwarming to feel like I really belong and this is home for me. Because we have agencies, community members that all believe the spirit of welcoming is important."
Toledo became the first city in Ohio to be certified as a "welcoming city" for immigrants back in 2019, according to city officials. The national designation is celebrated with this annual event.
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"We're going to be doing that by celebrating different cultures that make up our vibrant community. There's going to be art, resources tables, craft and activity tables for kids, music, dancing, and of course food. So come and join us," said Arribas-Douglas.
The next event in the series kicks off Saturday. A free welcoming picnic and party with the Toledo Library and local partners starts at noon.
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