Welcoming Week
🌎 Celebrate communities all coming together to promote cross cultural understanding and raise awareness! 🌎
🎉 Various events will be hosted throughout the week 🎊
📅 Event Duration: September 12th – 21st, 2025
📍 Address: 1655 Cane Bay Blvd. Summerville, SC 29486
About Welcoming Week
We host Welcoming Week every year, close to the beginning of autumn, as a time to spread awareness and teach others about the various cultures around the world. This is the perfect day to go out and meet new people while learning about why their culture holds so much significance for them.
Various events are hosted throughout this week, all designed to help strengthen our community's understanding of one another. Our first event is the Welcoming Festival, on September 13th at 12:00 PM.
Welcoming Week - Welcoming Festival
The Welcoming Festival is our first event for Welcoming Week at the Cane Bay Family YMCA. This event is comprised of three parts: Vendors and Food Trucks, Cultural Experience, and the Community Zumbathon®. This event is free for anyone to participate in, and during the event, we are waiving our joiner's fee for all memberships.
Event Timings - September 13th, 2025
12:00 - 2:30 PM: Food Trucks and Vendors
1:15 - 1:45 PM: Cultural Experience
2:00 - 4:00 PM: Cut Loose for the Community Zumbathon
Cultural Experience
The Cultural Experience event of the Welcoming Festival takes place from 1:15 to 1:45 PM, an hour after the festival started. People of all walks of life are welcome to share more about their culture's background and why it matters so much to them with other members of the community.
Everyone is encouraged to partake in this event to create a stronger and more welcoming community at the Cane Bay Family YMCA. If you have any questions about the Cultural Experience portion of the Welcoming Festival, feel free to contact us at info@ymcagc.org.
Special Guest Appearance
We are excited to announce that Aiyana Mathews will be giving a short presentation on the importance of welcoming and building bridges within our community. Aiyana Mathews is currently apart of the Japan-America Association of South Carolina (JAASC) Advisory board and has a passion when it comes to strengthening Japan and US-J relations. In addition to her presentation, Aiyana will be sharing Senegalese food and tea samples and is hosting a Japanese cultural presentation table on behalf of the Japan-America Association of South Carolina (JAASC).
Cut Loose for the Community Zumbathon®
Our final event of the Welcoming Festival. The Community Zumbathon® is an event where community members come together for a large-scale high-energy workout while raising funds for the YMCA of Greater Charleston Scholarship Program to help children, families, and seniors in need.
Interested in participating in the Community Zumbathon®? You can click the button below to navigate to the sign-up page for the event. The Community Zumbathon® will run September 13th from 2:00 to 4:00 near the end of the Welcoming Festival.
Sign UpBecome a Vendor
Are you a vendor or food truck and would like to participate in our Welcoming Festival? You can follow the link below to apply to become a vendor or food truck. Vendors will be located either in the lobby area or outside in front of the building. Vendors will need to bring their own tables and/or canopy (Outside) if they wish to participate.
Please be aware that you will need to apply at least one week in advance if you would like to become a vendor, and you must adhere to all vendor rules in place. For any additional questions about becoming a vendor, you may contact us at marketing@ymcagc.org.
Vendor/Food Truck ApplicationWelcoming Week - International Potluck
As a part of Welcoming Week, we are excited to host an International Potluck! Staff and members of the Cane Bay Family YMCA bring in an international dish to share with everyone. This event is open to the public and will be located in the main lobby area of our facility.
Event Timing - September 15th, 2025
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Potluck
