The celebration is part of the larger goal to build cross-cultural understanding between the highly diverse group of people living in NYC.
The New York City Mayor’s Office has announced that it will celebrate the Immigrant Heritage Week from April 16 to 22, with “A City of Immigrants: United in Action” as this year’s theme.
“The City of New York is the ultimate city of immigrants. Each year, New Yorkers hold a week-long celebration of our collective immigrant heritage – Immigrant Heritage Week (IHW). Our theme this year is: A City of Immigrants: United in Action,” said it’s press statement.
Every year Immigrant Heritage Week is celebrated to mark the historic day of April 17, 1907, when more immigrants entered the US through Ellis Island than any other day in history.
The Immigrant Heritage Week, first established in the year 2004 is coordinated by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. The week-long celebration will honor the contributions and experiences of immigrants who live in New York City.
The celebration is part of the larger goal to build cross-cultural understanding between the highly diverse group of people living in NYC.
From 1892 until 1954, Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants and it continued as America’s busiest immigrant inspection station for over sixty years. But, after 1924, Ellis Island became primarily a detention and deportation processing station.
Immigrant Heritage Week festival is a celebration of the multicultural aspect of New York City which was the vision of the founding fathers of the United States.
The week-long festival of diversity will showcase cultural extravaganza, events celebrating the music, dance, film, art, and books of foreign countries.
Some events are intended for families and children to make them understand the importance of cross-cultural learning.