COLDWATER — The community’s growing diversity of cultures will be displayed downtown Saturday for the second annual Cultural Jubilee.
This year’s event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tibbits Plaza and South Hanchett Street, which is closed from Chicago to W. Pearl Street.
With anti-immigrant sentiment in the country, Tibbits Executive Director Chris Delaney said, “This year is even more important to provide information and understanding that will dispel the fears. I am very concerned. We still want people to feel welcomed and to feel that this is for everybody.”
Tibbits said you don’t have to be Latina, Arab, Caribbean, or Asian to be an immigrant. “You can be German or French or English or Scottish.”
The Coldwater Community Center became the primary driver of this event after Tibbits Opera House sponsored several diversity programs over several years.
Community Center Director Kathy Bappert said the Coldwater Community Center promotes cultural diversity.
“Our whole mission is to bring people together, to make authentic connections, to learn about different cultures, and to gain some skills for interacting with people who are different from us,” she said.
This year’s Cultural Jubilee features music from DJ Meira International, the Arabian Knights dance troupe, Yemeni and Japanese dancers, a Mariachi band, and a local drum circle.
There will be salsa tasting, a special kids’ area with a bounce house and face painting, and an opportunity to listen to stories shared by our neighbors about their journeys, “the Empathy Experiment.”
Delaney said the day allows “All of us just to share music, to share dance, to share food.”
There will be a round-robin demonstration soccer tournament.
Tibbits will show a video on diversity produced by students from Coldwater High School on the main stage.
The 2025 Cultural Jubilee received significant support from the Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary, one of the event’s sponsors.
Organizations coordinating the 2025 event include Coldwater Community Center at the Beech House, Branch County Community Foundation, Tibbits Opera House, Branch Intermediate School District, KCC Grahl Center, AIRA of Coldwater, Coldwater Main Street, Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce, and Branch County Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.
The Branch County Association of Realtors holds the 517 Day to encourage everyone in the 517-area code to shop downtown and in area businesses.
The Cultural Jubilee started with the Cultivating Community Celebration in 2022 at Tibbits.
In late 2023, a group of community organizations created a street fair-type event featuring music, food, displays, vendors, and more, celebrating the area’s cultural diversity.
Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater to celebrate community diversity with second Cultural Jubilee Saturday
Reporting by Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
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