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New festival, new energy

With new residents to the community comes a sense of new energy. That’s nothing new to Marshalltown; for more than 100 years we have been welcoming the arrival of new immigrants. Look at our rich history. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of new immigrants made their way to town by way of railroad or other transportation. They often stopped at Stone’s for a meal, made their way downtown to look around, and decided to take a chance by staying here in Marshalltown to begin their legacies.

Today there are four businesses that are still operating downtown 100+ years later: Hellberg’s Jewelers, McGregor Furniture, Apgar Photography Studio and Willard’s Furs and Fashion. There are many other businesses, too, that are also the very fabric of our community.

Fast forward to the 1960s. Community leader Bill Fisher, with a vision and passion for our community, gifted us the Fisher Community Center and his entire personal gallery of impressionist art. His sister, Martha-Ellen Tye, made our state-of-the-art Playhouse possible. Visionary leaders like these made it possible for all area residents to enjoy a higher quality of life while embracing our diverse culture.

Today we Marshalltownians can celebrate that “collabo-munity” is in full swing to continue the work of our past. In fact, I am excited … no, make that thrilled to announce a new effort taking place right here in our area: the premier of a community celebration, the International Food & Music Festival, scheduled to take place on the grounds of the Marshall County Courthouse Sunday, Sept. 10. The goal of this festival is better engage and embrace our diverse community — a top priority of Marshalltown Regional Partnership under the leadership of David Barajas. It will provide an incredible opportunity to taste and sample food from all across the world made right here in our community by our friends and neighbors. International food, music, and family friendly activities will abound.

An impressive group of community leaders have been meeting monthly for the past six months to plan this special day. The list includes representatives from Marshalltown Regional Partnership, Marshalltown Convention & Visitors Bureau, Child Abuse Prevention Services, Marshalltown Central Business District, MICA, EMBARC, Youth & Shelter Services, Marshall County Arts & Culture Alliance, City of Marshalltown, Marshall County ISU Extension, Emerson-Fisher, NIOT and Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA. Wow! Now that is the collabo-munity for which Marshalltown is known.

So I encourage everyone to proudly engage our diverse and cultural community as has been done for decades. Embrace our new neighbors and friends just like our ancestors did. I would ask people to continue the Marshalltown tradition of being a welcoming community as our legacy to the next generation … and … join us in celebrating the MarshalltownVibe!

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Val Ruff is the executive director of the Marshalltown Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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