Crowd celebrates diversity at 23rd annual Unity in the Community

The flags of many countries fluttered in the breeze Saturday as people gathered in Riverfront Park for the 23rd annual Unity in the Community event.

This year’s multicultural gathering kicked off with a parade through downtown Spokane, before transitioning to the general hubbub of entertainment and booths scattered through Riverfront Park. Unity in the Community’s founder, the Rev. Lonnie Mitchell of Bethel AME Church, and longtime community organizer Ben Cabildo presided as grand marshals of the parade.

As crowds several hundred strong circulated throughout the day, kids flocked to the cultural village, where setups offered lessons on distant countries and cultures, and where they proffered their passports – or rather, paper approximations – to be stamped for the prize of a backpack full of new school supplies. A wide swath of countries were represented, including German, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Iraq and Colombia.

Dave Schons said he came to the event at the request of his 14-year-old son. “He’s big into foreign languages,” he said. “He wanted to come down and take a look.”

His son is learning Spanish and German and wants to be a linguist some day, Schons said.

Emily Grizzell saw the event mentioned on Facebook and brought her two daughters down to the park for the day. “We’ve intended to come (before), but we never made it down,” she said. “It’s great. They’re having fun.”

She also took the time to go through the numerous booths in the park showcasing local organizations.

“I’ve talked to some people I didn’t know about,” she said. “I think it’s a good balance of stuff for the kids and awareness of local groups.”

Police Chief Craig Meidl was among those walking through the meadows, chatting with passers-by and handing out police badge stickers to kids. He said he enjoyed seeing the variety of countries represented and said he believes it’s important that people celebrate, not just tolerate, people’s differences.

“Diversity adds so much to the community – richness and culture,” Meidl said.