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2022 Multicultural Fair
The City of Sun Prairie is planning to hold its annual Multicultural Fair in-person on Saturday, September 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sheehan Park.
Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Vendors
Planning for the 2022 event will continue for the next few months. The planning committee is still looking for sponsors, vendors, and performers. If individuals or organizations are interested in becoming a sponsor and/or have questions about sponsorship levels, they can email Mary Ellen Havel-Lang at spyfc@charter.net. Vendors and exhibitors with any interest or questions can contact Jake King at jking@cityofsunprairie.com. Once we have the official list for everyone, we will be sure to post it and share out.
Want to be a sponsor?
Interested in being a sponsor for the 2022 Multicultural Fair? We have plenty of options for you to review and consider. Click here to see the different levels.
Want to be an exhibitor or vendor?
We would love to have you join this event and represent your organization as an exhibitor or vendor. Please review the following documents:
- Vendor and Exhbitor Guidelines
- 2022 Vendor and Exhibitor Application
- Wisconsin Temporarty Event Operator and Seller Information (if you are selling items such as food, merchandise, etc.)
Please reach out if there are any questions.
Performer Lineup
Check out this year's performer lineup! It is our intension to represent a variety of different cultures through music, dance, and other talents. Interested in being a performer, reach out to Jake King, Communications and Diversity Strategist, at jking@cityofsunprairie.com.
Event Background
The Multicultural Fair is an event centered on honoring and celebrating the different cultures that live in Sun Prairie by bringing the community together for an experience of unique foods, performances, activities, and more.
The first annual event took place in 2019 out of the City’s desire to increase community programming that would bring Sun Prairie’s different identities together in celebration. The City collaborated with community members, leaders, and other partnering agencies for planning and development of the event. It is estimated that about 1000 persons attended the fair throughout the day.
The cultural celebration was converted into virtual programming in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Multicultural Fair Radio Reboot, which has now been transformed into "Sun Prairie Stories", a community storytelling podcast led by Sara Milweski at the Sun Prairie Media Center on 103.5 The Sun, replaced the in-person program with an hour-long radio show that celebrates a region of the world each month accompanied by an interview of a community leader sharing about that region.
The planning and implementation of this event is how the City continues its committment of advancing equity, honoring our diverse identity, and creating an inclusive culture. We are grateful for the community members and organizations that help make this event a reality every year.
Sun Prairie's Identity
As our community continues to rapidly grow and change, we want to define what makes our community unique. The best person to help us answer that is YOU.
The City has partnered with North Star Place Branding + Marketing to guide us in a research-driven, community-wide identity initiative. Being able to capture and define Sun Prairie's authentic identity will help interest and investment in our community from residents, entrepreneurs, companies and visitors. Currently we are conducting research inside and outside the community to uncover perceptions, attitudes and what’s unique about Sun Prairie.
Get involved by going to https://www.brandingsunprairie.com/ and taking the online survey. Additionally, share your favorite Sun Prairie memories with the team and sign up to recieve reugular updates on the process.
Get Engaged!
Sun Prairie's Multicultural Heritage
It is important to capture and eduate about Sun Prairie's diversity from our community's past, present and future. Check out the information below to learn more!
Capturing Sun Prairie's Black History
City staff collaborated with the Sun Prairie Media Center, Sun Prairie Historical Library & Museum, and community members to produce “Sun Prairie, Did You Know…?”, an ongoing digital storytelling project where Black community leaders share their Sun Prairie experiences. The focus of this project is to honor the history of different Black leaders while also teaching the community about who these individuals are.
To be involved in the project and recommend other Black community leaders to be featured, please contact Jake King, Communications and Diversity Strategist, at jking@cityofsunprairie.com.
Marilyn Ruffin
Marilyn and her family have lived in Sun Prairie since 2009. She is a Black community leader who has made significant contributions to her community.
Did you know that Marilyn was Sun Prairie's first Black School Board Member? She was encouraged to run even though she didn't know very many people at the time. Despite this obstacle, she was able to rally community support and was elected to serve on the School Board in 2015. She would go on to serve multiple terms.
In addition to her service with the Sun Prairie Area School District, Marilyn also co-facilitates the Urban Sun: Black Voices Book Club with Donna Mackey at the Sun Prairie Public Library. This book club explores contemporary and historical works by African American authors and promotes meaningful conversations about race.
It is important for Marilyn to teach people that she is a Black woman (always capitalize the "B" in Black). She is not a POC (Person of Color), BIPOC (Black Indigenous Person of Color), or minority. She is a Black woman.
You can learn more about Marilyn and her story by checking out "Sun Prairie, Did You Know...?"
Donna Mackey
Donna Mackey is a longtime resident of Sun Prairie and has lived here since 1989. She is a Black Community Leader who has contributed a great deal to our community.
When they first arrived, Donna and her family moved into Truax military housing (which is now the Vandenburg neighborhood). Her husband was the Inspector General for the Pentagon and was stationed in the area. Donna shared one time that she had someone refer to the Vandenberg neighborhood as the "ghetto". She used this opportunity to teach them about the historical significance of the neighborhood and how it was used to house military families. Teaching and building relationships are two things Donna loves to do.
Donna used to develop and facilitate dialogue groups in the Sun Prairie schools about cultural competency and race relations. Her participants ranged from elementary students all the way to high schoolers. She has shared that she saw this as an opportunity to prepare future leaders that would go into the world to help improve race relations. Donna has not taken her teaching cap off as she still continues to this day to educate others on similar topics. Currently, she co-facilitates the Urban Sun: Black Voice Book Club with Marilyn Ruffin hosted by the Sun Prairie Public Library. This is a book club that explores contemporary and historical works by African American authors and promotes meaningful conversations about race.
If you ever have the chance to talk with Donna, she will share that what caused her and family to stay in Sun Prairie all these years is how welcoming her neighbors were when her family first arrived. She emphasizes the importance of embracing those who are different than you and being welcoming to everybody.
To learn more about Donna and her history in Sun Prairie, check out her story here on "Sun Prairie, Did You Know...?".
Sun Prairie Stories
The City of Sun Prairie’s award-winning program, “Multicultural Fair: Radio Reboot,” will become “Sun Prairie Stories” at the Sun Prairie Media Center (SPMC) as a way to continue to tell the story of Sun Prairie’s growing community.
Sun Prairie Stories will offer participants an opportunity to record important parts of their lived story, with the support of a producer. The stories may be on a variety of topics about an individual's experiences. Those personal stories will be shared with the community as podcasts, on The Sun, 103.5FM, and online via the City website and social media platforms.
“I believe that it is our personal stories that make us who we are,” said Sara Milewski, SPMC Volunteer and producer of Sun Prairie Stories. “Sharing our stories helps us see the humanity in one another, and helps us better understand our community.”
Individuals of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to participate. For more information on how to participate, please visit the Sun Prairie Stories website at sunprairiemediacenter.com/sunprairiestories or contact Sara Milewski at sara.milewski@gmail.com.