WELCOMING WEEK IS SEPTEMBER 10-19, 2026
Stories We Share: The Courage to Connect
Welcoming Week is an annual campaign that celebrates the work in communities to become welcoming places for ALL.
When it comes to creating more welcoming places, every community has a different set of goals, priorities, and challenges. Welcoming Week is intentionally customizable for this reason.
Welcoming is a core part of who we are, and who we’ve always been.
No matter how different our cultures are, we share traditions and stories that start first in community, in finding commonalities, and in supporting each other as people, friends, and neighbors.
Working through our own vulnerability to welcome others, to be seen, and to make our communities stronger: That is a courageous act.
From Welcoming America:
Building on last year's "Stories We Share" theme, we're going deeper this year.
When we stay curious and open to one another, we find the stories that remind us that we're not navigating this moment alone.
Welcoming Week is where those stories become action — where what communities say about themselves starts to shape what they actually do.
Communities are encouraged to host activities and events that get to the heart of what they’re hoping to achieve, and that cultivate the awareness and energy that’s needed to sustain year-long welcoming efforts.
Whether you’re an organization, business, or individual, join us in hosting a Welcoming Week event and uncover community connections rooted in the courage to show up for one another.
Learn More
Explore Welcoming America's Welcoming Week website and toolkit for resources and best practices that will help you apply this year’s theme to our local events.
If you need guidance creating a local event, please reach out to the Concord Multicultural Festival team: connect@concordnhmulticulturalfestival.org
PAST WELCOMING WEEK PROJECTS & EVENTS
INSIDE OUT PROJECT
Somayeh Kashi, an art teacher at Rundlett Middle School, created her own Inside Out Photo Project. She took photos of hundreds of locals from all walks of life and her students conducted interviews. The photos were then printed and plastered on walls of buildings in Downtown Concord.
WELCOMER SIGNS
For the past several years, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce has organized a Welcoming photo campaign. Photos were displayed in their front windows featuring their members holding “I’m a Welcomer” signs, creating a vibrant visual display of Welcoming in the heart of Downtown Concord