The Catholic Multicultural Center’s annual International Night will be held this Saturday, Sept. 8, at the CMC Fitchburg.
“It’s a chance for people to come together from diverse backgrounds from all over the place,” Andy Russell, director of the Catholic Multicultural Center, tells Madison365. “There will be many different kinds of entertainment – we’ll have some Latino music, some Russian music. People will tell their very interesting immigrant stories. It’s a great way for everybody to come together.”
This family-friendly event will feature a diverse entertainment lineup that will include Mexican Pop by Shelene, Russian singing by Anna Gubenkova, Middle-Eastern dance by Sadira, and a special area for child-focused activities.
The event is replacing the CMC Block Party that was held for several years. “We started this International Night last year and it was packed. It was very cool to see,” Russell says. “This will be the second annual event this year.”
There will be delicious cuisines available from a variety of countries at the event from Carnitas Don Carlos, Tavernakaya, La Michoacana, Dobhan, and from CMC volunteers. The event will be held at CMC’s Fitchburg location on 5256 Verona Road.
“We’ve been spending the last year fixing it up and it’s in great shape now,” Russell says. “We still have some work to do but it’s very usable at this point.”
The Fitchburg location is the old Knights of Colombus Building that the CMC is mostly using for their job training program.
“We have people with barriers to employment – some may have had a criminal background, some might have a disability of some sort,” Russell says. “We train them how to work in a commercial kitchen and help them with other things such as computer skills, interviewing, resumes and different things like this. After the training, we help them get a job.”
The Catholic Multicultural Center is a social-service based community center on Madison’s south side, and now, also, in Fitchburg. All are welcome to utilize the programs and services offered by the Center, which are designed to help people with meeting basic needs and finding opportunities for educational and spiritual growth.
Russell dates all the way back with the CMC to 1999 when he was volunteer. How has the CMC changed over the years?
“A lot!” Russell laughs. “Even in the last 9 years, our budget has gone from a $275,000 budget to $1.4 million. We’re doing some of the same stuff – our immigration and legal program has really expanded. Our job training program has really blossomed. Our English as a second language has continued and is going well. Our meal program used to be three days a week; over the last nine years we’ve expanded to seven days a week.”
“We’ve really grown. We’re under our Lady Queen of Peace Parish.”
The second annual International Night is a great chance to learn more about all of the cool stuff that happens at the Catholic Multicultural Center.
“It’s also a great chance to kick back and have fun and to learn about many different cultures,” Russell says. “It’s free. We do have a donation bin if you choose. There will be lots of different kinds of people making lots of different kinds of food. It’s a good time and it’s really diverse.”
The Catholic Multicultural Center invites you to “International Night”, a fundraiser and community event at their Fitchburg location, 5256 Verona Road, Fitchburg, on Saturday, September 8th 4:30-7:30 p.m.
