Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

At meetings on the city and council level, proclamations are being read, committing to the support of Welcoming Week, which will be held in Austin on Sept. 8-17.

We’ve talked before about the importance of Welcoming Week, and it remains no less important this year. This is a chance to not only reaffirm our community’s commitment to ensuring all are welcome, but to also be a part of each other’s diversity.

Events during the week are designed to open up these windows of opportunity for people to look into different cultures, different backgrounds and gain further understanding.

Austin has a real good track record of being a welcoming community, even before establishing Welcoming Week in Austin. However, this welcoming celebration serves to augment that spirit even more.

We live in a day and age when acceptance of others — whether it be cultural or lifestyle — is challenged, oftentimes on flimsy grounds. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that we as a citizen put in that extra effort to ensure we are doing our part to welcome everybody, regardless of background and lifestyle.

We’re including once again a listing below of the events taking place during Welcoming Week. We hope you will take the time to be a part of these events to gain a better understanding of what makes our community unique.

Sept. 8

• YMCA free Family Fun Night, 5-7 p.m.

Sept. 9

• YMCA free Youth and Adult Swimming Lessons. Registration is required on the Y’s website under Aquatics at www.ymcaatacrc.org or by calling 507-433-1804.

Sept. 10

• Spectrum Celebration, 1-4 p.m., at Hormel Historic Home. Free autism spectrum-friendly event. Light refreshments provided.

Sept. 12

• Immigrant Voices, Immigrant Stories, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at Riverland Community  College Austin East building library.

Sept. 13

• Inviting Table – “Home,” 5-7 p.m. at the Community Action Building (CAB). Join the Welcome Center for an evening of connection and celebration of home. Space is limited, RSVP by calling the Welcome Center at 507-437-8330.

Sept. 14

• Sumner students and Sumner families of students (exclusively) – Welcoming Family Night, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Sumner Elementary School. Outdoor games and crafts. $1 per person meal from taco food truck.

Sept. 15

• Science is for all! Science kit pick-up time, 2-4 p.m., at The Hormel Institute. Sign up for your free science experiment kit to do at home on The Hormel Institute website, www.hi.umn.edu/events/ or The Hormel Institute Facebook Page. These Science kits are limited and must be pre-registered.

• Live Indoor concert with La Ley Suprema, 5-7 p.m., at the Austin Public Library. Live musical entertainment inside the library’s new addition. Come, enjoy music and kick-up your heels. Light refreshments provided.

Sept. 16

• Science is for all. Science kit pick-up time, 8:30-10:30 a.m., at The Hormel Institute. Sign up for your free science experiment kit to do at home on The Hormel Institute website, www.hi.umn.edu/events/ or The Hormel Institute Facebook Page. These Science kits are limited and must be pre-registered for kit pick up.

• “Greenwood Ave Project,” 7 p.m., at the Historic Paramount Theatre. Documentary presentation, along with Q & A with Executive Producer Karen Reese. Tickets $12 advance, $15 at the door and $5 student.