- [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(gentle music) - R-Town, the show about Rochester, catches up with the Rochester branch of the NAACP and we learn about an upcoming cultural festival being hosted at the Mayo Civic Center.

We'll also check out the work of a local artist and celebrate the 50th birthday of the People's Food Co-op.

All that and more coming up next on the next R-Town, the show about Rochester.

(jazzy upbeat music) Coming to you from 125 Live in Rochester, Minnesota, R-Town.

(jazzy upbeat music continues) November 12th is Diwali, a holiday for millions around the world.

Today we are joined by Vidya Iyer of the Indian Cultural Association of Minnesota, here to tell us more about the community celebration being hosted this year in Rochester.

Welcome to R-Town, Vidya.

- Thank you so much.

- So before we jump into the event that's gonna be hosted here in Rochester, can you tell us a little bit about what Diwali is and who celebrates it?

- Sure, so Diwali is a festival that's celebrated by millions, like you said, all over the world.

Typically people from India, East India, like South Asian origin, and Diwali, the significance of Diwali is it's a festival of lights, so it's signifies a celebration of kind of human values, good over evil, victory over like light and knowledge over darkness and so that's the significance of Diwali.

So it has a religious significance and it's kind of rooted in the Indian mythology of an Indian King Ram and it's like rooted in the mythology of Ramayana and where he basically, his wife gets kidnapped by a demon king and he goes and kind of saves her and brings her home and then typically that is the significance of Diwali is where they're welcoming him and his wife home with like, you know, they're lighting all the lights and kind of making sweets and it's just basically signifies human values of good over evil.

- Wonderful, thank you for sharing that.

- ICAM is gonna be hosting the celebration at the Mayo Civic Center.

Can you tell us a little bit about how that celebration is gonna look like and what attendees can expect?

- Sure, so this is going to be celebrated at the Mayo Civic Center on November 11th, which is Saturday, between 4:30 to 9:30.

So again, Diwali, we basically celebrate the event by, you know, doing a lot of cultural representation of the Indian culture, so there's gonna be a lot of singing, dancing, music, performances by our community members, so you can expect a lot of traditional classical dances, folk dances, as well as kind of modern Bollywood representation of where India has evolved as well, so there's going to be the participants age ranges range from like four-year-olds to maybe 75-year-olds.

- It's pretty wide.

- It'll be a family-friendly wide variety of cultural performances.

- Wonderful.

Is this Diwali celebration that you're all hosting, is that open to all community members?

And if someone is thinking about attending this event, what should they be thinking about?

- Yes, absolutely, so everybody in the community is welcome to attend and that's why we are here to promote it so they can, and again, they don't have to wear any traditional Indian attire or anything like that.

They can just come and enjoy the performance in whatever attire they wanna feel comfortable.

And obviously there's going to be traditional Indian food served so the ticket prices include food as well as cultural performances, and they can just get like a wide exposure and a variety of Indian cultural kind of plethora of events on the stage.

And it would be, actually, India is a regional, you know, country with various regions, lots of languages spoken so the cultural performances will be a true depiction of what India is about so it's like a unity and diversity kind of a performance so people will know exactly about what is Eastern India, what's Western, what's Northern.

So yeah, so it will be a good cultural immersion for sure.

- Great, sort of celebration of the diversity within the community.

- Absolutely.

- Can you tell us a little bit about the other ways that ICAM is working to foster community among the Indian Asian community?

I know last year we had you come on and talk a little bit about some of the summer festivities that you were hosting, but can you tell us why this work is so important?

- It is because Rochester is a small community and we have a lot of Indian people living here and India and Indian people, as such, I mean, we just love, like diversity.

We love kind of in like, you know, engaging and immersing in the regular kind of community and we like to share our culture and our celebrations with everyone.

So ICAM, I think that ICAM is promoting that.

And it's important because a lot of times other people want to participate in Indian culture, but there is always that hesitation, oh, are we welcome?

So we just wanna make sure that we tell people that yes, everybody's welcome and it's just, you know, I mean, Indian culture that way has a lot of diversity in language, in food, in festivities so we definitely wanna promote that and ICAM is doing that and so in the summer we kind of depict, because Minnesota has rough winter, so we depict the festival of colors, which is holy, and it signifies joy and happiness, welcoming spring, so we try and do that in the summer.

And the Diwali is Festival of Lights that's mainly more kind of depicting human, good human values of how a human being should and so we kind of celebrate it as Festival of Lights.

- Wonderful, thank you so much for joining us, Vidya, and good luck with your event.

- Thank you so much.

(upbeat music) - Be sure to stick around.

We have much more coming your way on R-Town.

We head over to the People's Food Co-op to celebrate its 50th birthday.

We also catch up with the president of the Rochester branch of the NAACP to learn more about the upcoming Freedom Banquet and efforts to support Black community members in Rochester.

But up first, we explore the captivating work of local artists, Ivete Martinez, in this week's our culture segment.

(gentle music) - First time I open a red tube and it's mirror in the palette, I was just, oh my God, that's my thing.

Love at first time, I just love it.

And from there it was just growing, growing, growing, growing and learning.

My name is Ivete Martinez.

I'm an artist.

My favorite things to paint is everything I see, everything I experience.

My mom is from Portugal, my father is from Spain.

They immigrate to Uruguay first, and then I born in Uruguay, but I was registered in Brazil and then I went to Oxford in England to study there too.

And then I married there and then we came to California and then we moved to Rochester.

But then when I got pregnant, I have to slow down and all this kind of things, so I quit Mayo Clinic and I decided to do something with the hands.

I never draw or paint in my life.

And then a friend of mine, "Oh, do you like painting?"

I say, "I love painting, but I never thought myself to actually paint."

I didn't know anything so I have to learn so I went to this teacher in Rochester and she teach in her house so I start like a baby.

Nothing, nothing.

Some people draw or paint all their lives.

I mean, I was the kid in school that pay someone else to make the arts.

Now I can draw, I can paint, I can, you know, I can move around the canvas with no problem.

Well, I'm interesting in oil painting first and most, but I try different stuff.

I try watercolor, I try pastel, I try acrylics, but everything make me, all those experience make me realize that oil is my thing.

The richness of the pigment and the way they dance in the canvas, you know, it's like, it's completely, it's different than the other medias.

Every time I have a subject or an idea, I go and research first.

So I look forward, I research, I see pictures, I compose things.

Even if I go to do a plain air, you know, and I just put my backpack and go to the woods and then suddenly I have a good thing, seems that is not, it doesn't imply any kind of knowledge, just a visual experience.

You have to have the knowledge of the light, the physical thing, how the light affects the leaves, the landscape, the shadows, what colors is best, so you always have to, you have to refer to what you research.

Usually those paintings is small and then I bring to the studio and then I make the size I wanted because I have the photograph and the color reference that is there.

So it's fun, you know, and I like animals too.

I love to do animals.

The process for me is what really motivates me, but I love also to see my painting exhibit and then find out that someone else, a random person that I never see, never have contact with it look and love it enough to pay for it.

And I'm still learning.

I'm not going stop learning.

I love learning and I think it's part of life, learning, because there is nothing that motivates me more than learn something new about what I'm doing.

- [Announcer] For more information about this story and other R-Town features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter at KSMQ #RTown, or KSMQ.org/rtown.

(jazzy upbeat music) - This is Danielle Teal with our R-Town Spotlight.

I'm excited for our guest today, Vivian Lark, welcome.

- Thank you.

- All right, tell us about your business.

- I have an organization called Music Lessons for All.

It's a charity and we sponsor students in the Rochester area for music lessons.

Part of that sponsorship is getting a keyboard, six months of lessons and performing in a local showcase.

- That is outstanding, so how do you connect with kids in the community to be able to do this?

- I reach out to some of the social organizations.

I also advertise on Facebook.

Right now we've sponsored 20 kids in the Rochester area and the focus is to enable students who normally wouldn't be able to take piano lessons, either for financial reasons or even transportation, and getting them that music education that they want.

- Why are you so passionate about this?

- I love music and I really like to see when students get it.

There's a certain satisfaction I see in their face when they can achieve something musically and I think it really helps them relieve stress, anxiety.

And they only have music in school every third day, so a lot of parents are looking to further their students' education.

- I assume you have some musical talent then?

- Yes, I've been playing piano since seven and I've also taken voice lessons.

I've played the flute, I play a little ukulele.

- We should have had you bring in some instruments.

(both laughing) Do a little concert right now.

- Yeah, and I also have original music that I'm working on in the studio as well.

- That's really great.

And what do you see as far as the impact goes with the kids that are involved doing music and all that good stuff?

- I see for, especially families that are from other countries, they get the opportunity to be exposed to a music community, so it's word of mouth for them and trust.

So sometimes it takes a while for families to trust me and know that it's okay for their kids to be with me, but then they tell their friends, they tell their families and it gives them someone they can trust to ask about maybe other music lessons in the area, maybe guitar or a question about an instrument, so it really is a liaison for a lot of families.

- Here's what we know for sure.

Music bridges everything, doesn't it?

Connection, that human connection component.

Where can people find out more about your organization?

- I'm on Facebook, it's Music Lessons for All, so I can be messaged there.

Also, I have an individual page, Vivian Lark, for my music on Facebook.

- Perfect, thank you so much for being here.

- Thank you.

- This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Spotlight.

(upbeat music) - Hello again, this is Michael Wojcik with your R-Town Rundown.

It snowed this year on Halloween and if there's one thing Minnesotans love to talk about, it's snow on Halloween.

We all remember the 1991 blizzard or have seen these social media posts, which point out that it may have been one of the hardest trials to overcome in human history, or something like that.

The reality is it was an interesting time and we won a world championship in baseball around the same time.

It was a lot of fun.

We didn't get a world championship this year.

I'm a little disappointed.

Another thing that we like to talk about this time of year is Give to the Max Day and this is the 15th rendition of that event.

Last year, Give to the Max raised $34 million for nonprofits in the state.

Nonprofits rely a lot on your support and we feature the work that they're doing and the entertainment they're putting on in our communities frequently in this program.

I encourage you, whatever nonprofit you support, to put November 16th on your calendar and make a contribution to those nonprofit organizations that you believe in.

Now, transitioning to some things that are going on in the near future in Rochester.

Feast!

The 10th rendition of the event will be going on at Mayo Civic Center on November 4th.

The tickets are $10 at the door and $30 if you want to have alcohol with it.

This is local artisan food and beverage producers showing their wares and trying to build a market for local foods.

It's a lot of fun to attend.

There's great things to eat and drink there.

It's a great way to do a lunch in the middle of the fall season for us.

Also going on, "Jatra: A Town Fair as Old as Time" is a display at the Rochester Art Center and that is gonna be closing on November 5th, so it'll be your last opportunity to go up there and see that.

Going on at the Rochester Civic Theater, "Blithe Spirit."

This will be the last weekend.

This is a British comedy, outstanding.

I had an opportunity to see it, I highly recommend.

This has been Michael Wojcik.

(gentle music) - Hi, this is Danielle Teal with R-Town Walkabout.

We are at the People's Food Co-op 50th anniversary Open House with Lizzy Haywood, hello.

- Good morning, Danielle.

- Yes.

Okay, so a lot going on.

We have a lot of vendors.

What makes People Foods Co-ops so special?

- First thing, community owned.

There are literally 12,000 households, more than, that own this business and so it's really fun that the community gets to take part in something that is so important for people getting good food, feeling good, connecting with their local economy, connecting with sustainable agriculture, so we are here to celebrate that.

- [Danielle] What is the thing that you would like to highlight most about that?

- The connection with local growers and producers is what makes the co-op so special and it's really drives a lot of the work that we do.

So every day we're looking for more product and how can we make sure that this farm or this producer gets elevated to the place they should be.

We also want to support people who are emerging farmers who have been marginalized or not able to get into a traditional marketplace.

So the volume of People's Food Co-op, and just our places in two towns with Lacrosse and Rochester really makes it a great venue for people to be part of their food economy.

- What do we got going on over here?

- We are Tree-Range Farms, I'm Jen Zepeda, I'm the Chief of Operations here at Tree-Range Farms.

We're raising chickens on the land, so everyone's sort of free-range chicken.

We are tree-range chicken because they're beneath that tree canopy and what the tree canopy does is protects from aerial predators like hawks and eagles.

- [Danielle] Wow.

- It's a very low-stress environment for the chicken and because they're out foraging, our chickens have that low stress and that foraging nature so they are a very tender, quality meat.

- [Danielle] This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Walkabout.

(upbeat music) - According to the 2020 Census, Rochester's Black community members represent the largest racial and ethnic minority in the city, making up almost 10% of the population.

We are joined today by president of the Rochester branch of the NAACP, Wale Elegbede, here to tell us about the upcoming banquet and how the NAACP continues to work to support the local Black community.

Welcome back to R-Town, Wale.

- Nicole, thanks a lot for having me here.

It's always a pleasure.

As I was sharing earlier, you know, my eyesight is changed, I'm wearing progressive so we're getting older, at least I certainly am, but the work is something that is timeless and it's something that we all have to continue to do.

But yeah, just excited for the opportunity.

- Wonderful, well, getting older but not any less busy.

- No, not at all.

- You're in the throes of preparing just a few days from now, the annual Freedom Banquet for the NAACP.

Can you tell us a little bit about this event and why it's so important for this community?

- Yeah, so there's a lot of history with Freedom Fund Banquet, so it originally it started in 1503, I think.

I'm gonna go through my notes just to double check.

1953, there you go, I'm glad I did this.

1953, and basically it was during a point in time where there was a lot of civil unrest and the national organizations, they determined, you know, there was a need to have a fund to really support social justice so at that time it was really like a million dollar fund.

Medgar Evers who was a veteran, you know, and he actually led a lot of our NAACP investigations into the murder of Emmett Till.

You know, he got assassinated after that whole exercise and so then that became the impetus to really, you know, for all NAACP branches across the nation to really focus on the Freedom Fund Banquet because you need money to be able to support your operation.

So this is our main fundraising opportunity in Rochester for the branch, but it's also more than that, it's also an opportunity for us to celebrate.

There's gonna be call to actions.

We're going to be giving out a lot of great awards to distinguish individuals and organizations.

And also just trying to make sure that there's a lot of those important calls to actions like voting, you know, that's one of our, the things we're gonna be hidden on this year.

We're gonna be talking about that, so, but yes, just excited.

- Wonderful, so you've mentioned there's going to be a lot of different things in a call to action.

You've mentioned before that there's gonna be a launch for a voter awareness campaign.

Can you tell us a little bit about why that's so important?

- Yeah, so first of all, the theme of our banquet is Tribing Together.

And to be able to tribe together, that means you need to have economic opportunities.

For Black and underrepresented people, that means we need to have equity.

That also means we need to be able to, people need to vote, to vote for people that they want to represent them, you know, that care about your causes and so in Rochester, you know, next year is a big voting year and we're trying to mobilize, you know, the community to really pay attention to what our political leaders are saying and basically going out to vote, so we've done some collaboration with the city of Rochester.

There's gonna be more that we're gonna be announcing, just general voter awareness.

So again, we're using this banquet as the launch of that in terms of in 2023, in 2024, we're gonna have a lot of voter awareness campaigns out.

- So especially within the national context of voter rights.

- [Wale] For sure.

- You'll be giving a report of the state of the branch as president.

Can you tell us a little bit about what some of the key message you're going to be sharing with the community during that time?

- Yeah, well, you know, there's still a lot of opportunity in Rochester, but the disparities are still, you know, still persist.

When we think about economic opportunity and we think about Destination Medical Center, great initiative, $5.6 billion initiative, we still have an opportunity 'cause you know, the sentiments in the community and the data shows that Black and underrepresented people are being left behind so we're concerned about that.

We've been voicing those concerns.

We're working collaboratively with Destination Medical Center, but there are some gaps there.

When we think about health equity, obviously covid really expanded, you know, exasperated the situation, but we have health equity opportunities, and again, Mayo Clinic and others are great partners, but that is obviously a key focus.

And then when we think about even just, you know, voter awareness, you know, look, it's important to be able to go out to vote, to vote your interest and make sure that Rochester is a place that works for everybody.

That's how we make this the best place for people to try.

And we'll also touch on education a little bit, so for example, you know, last year, two years ago, we had a collaboration with Mayo Clinic, the RISE for Youth program to really be able to start to tackle at some of those educational disparities.

The superintendent in Rochester Public Schools, they're doing a really good job.

The NAACP was part of that strategic planning process and so we feel very, there's a lot of great promise and there's a lot of people that mean well, and not just mean well, but are also bringing in the rigor to see things through, but disparities still exist.

Not all of our kids can really read and write, and even last week we had a initiative called the Right to Read.

Right to really just bring that awareness so there's a lot of work to be done and so yes, that's gonna be more the serious portion of the event.

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Sederstrom, she's the Chief Health Equity Officer from Hennepin Healthcare.

She's gonna be presenting.

And then we're gonna, you know, we'll have the call to action.

Our branch is strong.

We still have opportunities in Rochester so that's always top of mind, but then we also wanna take time to really honor people that have been really doing great from Black-owned businesses that are just doing fantastic work and to individuals that are really helping us and leading social justice in the community so we wanna be able to do it all and it's gonna be fun, lots of entertainment, - Do it all and fun.

(laughing) - It's gonna be fun, great food.

Yeah, you don't wanna miss it.

- Wonderful, well, it does sound like it's gonna be very comprehensive and holding a lot of space to talk about all those disparities- - All the seats our out.

We have no more seats, it's all sold out.

- That's wonderful.

- Yeah.

- And then also to talk about all the things that we can celebrate within the community as well.

- For sure.

- Thank you so much, Wale, for joining us.

- Thank you.

- And we hope to catch up with you again.

- Yes, yes.

- And thank you all for joining us today.

I hope you learned as much as I did today about all that's going on in our city and the wonderful people making it happen.

For more great content produced right here in Rochester, please be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara, host of R-Town, and I will see you next week.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (gentle music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.