Morgantown Sister Cities Commission (MSCC) is providing the community with the opportunity to celebrate the transition from summer to autumn.
Raíces & Vecinos, or Roots and Neighbors, is a month-long campaign to learn about and gather with Morgantown’s Hispanic and Latino population.
“From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Sarah Barnes, a member of MSCC. “In Morgantown, we’re recognizing the Latino part of that as well, celebrating our Hispanic and Latino neighbors right here at home.”
This type of campaign is new to the MSCC, especially for honoring the relationship between Morgantown and Guanajuato, Mexico.
“We have not done it this way before,” Barnes said.
Barnes and Commission Chair Elizabeth Finklea have worked to find more opportunities and projects for the MSCC to pursue following the passing of former Commission Chair George Lease, according to Barnes.
“He was really involved in everything and was the source of knowledge for anything Sister Cities [related],” said Barnes.
Raíces & Vecinos is the result of a year’s worth of thought and conversation at the MSCC.
“We had a wonderful, productive meeting with our state coordinator, Fred Blanton,” Barnes said. “He visited us last year and told us about what other Sister Cities around the country do. And we [asked ourselves], ‘What can we do to really celebrate our relationship with Guanajuato in a way that really brings the community in?’”
Thus, Raíces & Vecinos was born.
“We want to emphasize how important our immigrant population is to our community and to be welcoming,” Barnes said. “We’re trying to be positive and celebratory.”
Barnes said they wanted to make it an outreach campaign for National Hispanic Heritage Month.
“We wanted to make [Raíces & Vecinos] an outreach campaign,” said Barnes. “It’s educational; it lets the community know about our relationship with Guanajuato, but it also has some events that really celebrate the relationship and the theme, Roots and Neighbors.”
Hispanic & Latino Day at the Farmers Market will occur on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 8-11 a.m. at the Morgantown Farmers Market Pavilion on Spruce Street.
“We’re going to emphasize food,” Barnes said. “We’re planning some cards to hand out that will have traditional Hispanic and Latino recipes. They’ll give people suggestions for who to go to at the farmers market to pick up ingredients.”
The Community Fiesta will occur on Sunday, Oct. 4, from 3-6 p.m. at the Morgantown Farmers Market Pavilion.
“We’re going to have food trucks, other food vendors and a local band,” Barnes said. “I believe there’s going to be a dance performance by some of the Spanish language students at Morgantown High.”
Barnes is excited for what the campaign will bring to Morgantown.
“I’m really excited to be able to help this activity take place, and I hope it’ll be something that can grow over the years,” she said. “I’d love to see all of the Hispanic and Latino businesses in our area participate and educate Morgantown about their homeland through the food they make or the things they create and bring to our community.”
For more information, visit the City of Morgantown’s City Hall Facebook page.
