Unity in the Community bring culture to forefront for 30th year

For 30 years, Unity in the Community has been the gift that keeps on giving. Not only is it an annual event filled with family fun and cultural celebrations, but because of its emphasis on community, it’s also a place for people to make connections that last long after the final booth has been packed up.

Unity in the Community was founded in 1994 by Bethel AME Church, under the guidance of Pastor Lonnie Mitchell.

“We felt it was very important for people to know the strength of diversity in Spokane and for people of different cultures to know the strength of diversity in Spokane and for people of different cultures and races to understand each other,” Mitchell said, as per the event’s website.

In 2004, Mitchell passed the Unity in the Community baton to AHANA, a local multi-ethnic business association, and its founder Ben Cabildo, who continued to organize the annual event and promote the mission of Unity in the Community.

Since 2014, April Anderson has been co-executive director of Unity in the Community alongside Mareesa Henderson. Anderson became involved in Unity in the Community in 2005 after becoming a member of Bethel AME.

Though she had never worked as an event organizer before, Anderson said her project managing work at Umpqua Bank helped her with Unity in the Community and gave her experience in the non-profit industry.

Over the years, she took on more and more responsibility, championing Unity in the Community all the way. Last year, Anderson was named one of the Spokesman-Review’s Difference Makers for her work with Unity in the Community.

As her responsibilities increased, Anderson said she had to get used to asking sponsors for money and being front and center as a spokesperson after a career of behind-the-scenes work at the bank.

Anderson, it seems, was and is a natural at community organizing, able to connect with visitors, presenters and sponsors.

Anderson said she’s received great feedback from the community over the years and is touched by the support the event has received from sponsors over the years.

“When businesses are sponsoring, that, to me, says we’re on the right track and they believe in what we’re doing,” she said.

This year’s Unity in the Community will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Riverfront Park.

Calling back to the original mission of Unity in the Community, the event features a Cultural Village in which visitors can learn about some of the countries and cultures represented in the Spokane community.

Upon entering the village, visitors will receive a passport. Once they visit all of the booths, learning, for example, how to say hello in another language or about a piece of traditional clothing from that culture, they will receive a stamp. Once their passport is full, visitors can redeem their passport for a backpack full of school supplies.

The Career and Education Fair will feature booths from charter schools, colleges and universities as well as businesses with job opportunities.

“You’re reaching a different market than you would be just posting on Indeed,” Anderson said. “That’s what is meaningful to me. As these businesses believe in what we’re doing, they’re able to reach different demographics than they normally would.”

In the Health Fair section of the event, visitors can receive information from a variety of health care resources, including a denture clinic, Cancer Pathways, Specialty Mobility Services, Frontier Behavioral Health, Spokane Regional Health District, Inland Imaging, Peer Spokane and Better Health Together. The Health Fair will also feature a first aid area.

Finally, there is the Youth Fair, which Anderson said is one of her favorite parts of Unity in the Community.

“I can’t describe those little faces and those smiles,” she said.

Children will be able to take home a bicycle helmet thanks to Spokane Realtors, which collected bicycle helmets and funded the purchase of even more. Representatives from the Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort (SCOPE) will be on hand to make sure each helmet is properly fitted.

The Youth Fair will also feature a caricature artist, henna tattoos, a photo booth, face painting and spin art, plus vendors with additional activities for visitors.

Unity in the Community will also feature food vendors and a full day of entertainment including cultural singing and dancing plus a mini fashion show from the Arc of Spokane.

“The chairs of the entertainment committee wanted this year to be representative of the different cultures that we have in Spokane so our entertainment lineup is fantastic this year,” Anderson said.

Visitors should also be on the lookout for volunteers handing out a limited number of golden tickets which they can redeem for a prize.

Looking ahead, Anderson hopes to add even more people passionate about Unity in the Community’s mission to the planning process.

Whether an individual volunteer, an organization wanting to host a booth or an event sponsor, Unity in the Community is driven by the community, for the community. As the event grows, so too does the need for support.

“The new partnerships are something that I don’t take for granted,” Anderson said.