by Jeffrey Velline
With no shortage of “pandemic” free time this past year for musicians, one of the many things I dipped my toe into has been Cultural Bridges here in St Joseph, a group started several years ago as a collaboration between St. Joseph’s Catholic and Resurrection Lutheran churches to showcase diversity and promote a welcoming environment for ALL in our little town. This quickly led to a new friendship with a Somali family in the area and time spent figuring out ways to bring people together.
In due time, curiosity and a general interest in other cultures led me to the Somali Museum of Minnesota in South Minneapolis. Here, not only did I begin to get an understanding of Somali culture and the incredible struggles that forced many to flee their country, I met Mohamoud Mohamed, outreach coordinator and director of the Somali Museum Dance Troupe. About this time, a Somali performer by the name of Dalmar Yare also came up on my radar. Impressed by his talent and substantial social media following, I proceeded to reach out, only to find that he lives right here in central Minnesota! It started to feel like something was happening for a reason and I needed to figure that out.
Along came my friends from Millstream Arts and Krewe Restaurant with an idea for a small weekly New Orleans inspired “Night Market” in lieu of the much larger annual Millstream Festival since nobody knew for sure how COVID-19 would affect summer events. Like flipping a light switch, I immediately knew this would be a space where ALL could converge and share not only art, music, and food, but a vibrant culture that is also a part of this great community.
When our family moved to the area from Los Angeles in 1981, my folks (Karen & Bobby Vee) started an event called, “Rock Around the Clock,” first and foremost to bring ALL people together, in addition to raising funds for the Catholic schools.
Later, we relocated to St. Joseph and opened up Rockhouse Productions and did the same with Joetown Rocks in 2006 and again with Rock for Alzheimer’s several years later.All of this was built on the ethic that a vibrant and welcoming community is one of our most important resources, and we can come together not only for fun, but for a higher purpose. The return on this investment in togetherness, joy, and memories alone is immeasurable.
Thus far, the Night Market events have proven to bring that same magic to our community so desperately needed after a hard year of isolation and separation from people; from gathering and celebrating each other. Monday, Aug. 2, the Millstream Night Market will present Dalmar and the Somali Museum of Minnesota Dancers at the sixth of our 10 weekly events and we welcome ALL people in our community to join together for an amazing night of art, music, food AND culture!
