Grand Forks community invited to attend Global Friends Coalition's free annual picnic

Sep. 17—GRAND FORKS — The Global Friends Coalition invites the public to enjoy free food from a variety of businesses at its 18th annual community picnic.

Chino Latino, West African Cuisine, Mount Everest and Las Delicias De La Abuela will be providing food for the event, which will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22, in University Park.

The goal of the picnic, according to a Global Friends press release, is to bolster relations between immigrants and the broader community.

There will be music, games and dancing, which will showcase the diversity and talent in Greater Grand Forks, the release said. Dancers and musicians from Red River and Central high schools will be featured for the first time this year.

The Afghan community is honorary co-host of the event.

Whalen's Moving and Storage, Hospitality 322 and Hugo's will assist with the logistics of the event. There are multiple sponsors, but the cornerstone for the picnic is an Xcel Energy grant Global Friends was awarded, the release said.

Global Friends Coalition expanded its mission last year and began welcoming refugees through its resettlement program as a Church World Service affiliate, according to the release.

"Global Friends Coalition fosters New American integration through work with New Americans and the Greater Grand Forks community," the release said.

This fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024, Global Friends will resettle 114 refugees. The city of Grand Forks is home to refugees from Afghanistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Venezuela and Somalia.