Author: Linda Buchheim
Published: August 9, 2017
People who came to the Community Center at Moonridge for the Aug. 1 “Night Out” enjoyed a warm and happy time. It was a “bridge-builder” that brought the Latino and Anglo communities closer together.
It reminded us how important it is to reach out in new ways to new friends. And it made a real impact on most of us visitors. For me, it was a “how do you top this?” moment.
The event was sponsored by Mid-Peninsula Housing and their Program Coordinator Norma Miramontes. She and her staff hosted about 200 guests, including about 100 kids, who raced around, devoured hot dogs and hamburgers, and played Loteria, the Mexican version of Bingo.
I was there with about 10 friends from the Coastside Immigration Action Group, enjoying the evening and wondering why this was only the first time I had made the short trip up the road to visit my neighbors at Moonridge.
The Pee Wee Mariachi group, coached by Nizhoni Begay (of the ALAS community group), filled the air with traditional mariachi singing, while Belinda Arriaga, ALAS’s director, circulated through the crowd. She checked on people and solved problems.
Firefighters and San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputies mingled with us, and Magda Gonzalez, the city manager, came by to visit. She was the first of several city officials to drop in, and they told us that the Moonridge celebration was by far the largest one in (or near) Half Moon Bay. Our IAG members felt very welcomed, and several of us worked on handing out children’s books for Mid-Pen’s tutoring programs.
Another benefit of the Night Out at Moonridge was to strengthen our commitment to provide (connections) that will link IAG to families who request assistance with things like emergency transportation, shopping, and family support — often on account of immigration-related problems.
If you would like to join us in building community support, you can send an email to CoastsideIAG@gmail.com. We can always use another pair of hands!
Source: https://www.hmbreview.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/night-out-at-moonridge/article_4f812cc6-7d26-11e7-a6f2-73a35e2f4040.html
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