LYNN — The scent of frying empanadas and the rhythm of mariachi music filled the air at Red Rock Park Saturday afternoon at the North Shore Juneteenth Association’s second annual Diversity Matters Festival.
Dozens crowded Red Rock Park Saturday afternoon for a day of food, music, dancing, and shopping from artisans spanning a wide range of cultural backgrounds. North Shore Juneteenth Association Executive Director Nicole McClain, who helped organize the event, said that the festival showcases and celebrates the union of different cultures in Lynn.
“This festival is a real pride and joy to put together with all of the other organizations that helped us with this. Our diversity and our differences are bringing us together today, rather than tearing us apart, and that’s what this festival is all about. You come out here and you see all the different things going on, a circus, a female mariachi band, we just had some drummers on, the cultural Latina Dance Academy just danced a little while ago, Haitian food, American food, food being passed out by donation,” McClain said. “It’s just an awesome thing to see with everybody coming together around our differences instead of being separated by them.”
McClain said that she was most impressed by the festival’s performances and the way that they brought people together.
“The performances, the different types of music that we have playing, and really, the togetherness of the people. Seeing people hug, seeing people dance together, seeing people experiencing new things,” she said.
At one of the first tents enclosing the park, the city’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Faustina Cuevas handed out free COVID-19 tests to festivalgoers. She said that she enjoyed seeing people who were walking along the beach stop and join the event.
“The most powerful thing about it is you have people just walking by, who were strolling around the beach, and they come and say ‘what’s going on here?’ Those are my favorites, just sitting here watching people come by and start asking me questions: ‘What is this?’ or ‘why are you doing that?’ and talking about how diversity matters,” Cuevas said. “That’s what this festival is really all about. Lynn is a diverse place, not only racially, but ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and this is a place to celebrate that.”
“Introducing people to new vendors, introducing people to new food, that’s the whole point. It’s exposure to difference and embracing that difference,” she continued.
While food trucks parked along the edge of the park green sold Haitian and Latin American cuisine, Lynn-based non-profit Building Audacity handed out bags of fresh produce under their tent.
Food Justice Coordinator Shariqa Rahman said that the organization came to the festival to show their support for diversity, while also learning about the city’s food needs.
“Community members are coming out supporting the community at large, and we wanted to be here as well. We thought it was an important place to be to learn more about the city’s needs and just have a good time,” Rahman said. “Everyone’s super friendly, and I really appreciate what they stand for, it just draws the community together, which is awesome.”
Mayor Jared Nicholson, and his son, Henry, joined the festivities Saturday afternoon and were watching the female mariachi band on the main lawn. Nicholson said the festival is a great way to celebrate Lynn’s diversity.
“I think this is terrific, and I’m excited to be here and I’m grateful to the event organizers, North Shore Juneteenth and Save the Harbor/Save The Bay, all the sponsors and organizers. This is a wonderful event to showcase the diversity of the community and also the resource we have here at Red Rock Park,” Nicholson said.
When asked what his favorite feature of the festival was, Nicholson said that his son enjoyed the mariachi music.
“I think that so far, Henry has been really entranced by the Mariachi band,” he said.
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected]
