Discover how a multilingual tree walk and community resources helped Portland to close out “Welcoming Week 2026” …
Information tables ring the meeting room at the Mt. Scott Community Center as the “Welcoming Week” Community Reflection & Closing Celebration gets underway.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Guests and exhibitors gathered in the large meeting room at Mt. Scott Community Center on Saturday, September 19, for the Community Reflection & Closing Celebration of Portland’s “Welcoming Week”.
Families were invited to enjoy a morning of community, movement, culture, and connection – along with free food! – as the city and its partners closed out “Welcoming Week 2026”.
Sima Seumalo, a Site Supervisor for Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry, talks with guests at the celebration.
“Welcoming Week” is an annual campaign and celebration to showcase the movement of communities striving to be more welcoming places for all, including immigrants. Wafa Almaktari, the City of Portland’s Immigrant and Refugee Coordinator, described the day’s gathering as the closing day of “Welcoming Week”. She explained that offering the tree walk helped make outdoor activities and shared knowledge more accessible.
The closing event ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community Center in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood. Activities included a traditional tree walk, which was intended to make outdoor activities and shared knowledge more accessible; it was led by Portland Parks’ Tree Stewardship Team – interpreted in three languages – along with opportunities to connect with community resources.
City of Portland Immigrant and Refugee Program Coordinator and event organizer Wafa Almaktari takes a moment for a photo with program MC JR Lilly, Tribal Relations Liaison · Multnomah County and former Multnomah County Director of the Office of Community Involvement and Brittany Gadbury, with the Community Stewardship team at PP&R Urban Forestry.
Making room for more voices
“People who don’t speak English are not normally represented in these spaces,” Almaktari told East Portland News. “So to provide this [multilingual interpretation during activities] is a welcoming gesture, and is a respect to their culture and their knowledge.”
Energetically entertaining at the ceremony are members of the AKRG Rhythmic Dance group.
Almaktari added that the whole celebratory week reflected Portland’s celebration of different backgrounds and ethnicities, and helped promote belonging.
The celebration was primarily a City of Portland effort, with Portland Parks and Recreation, the State Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, and nonprofit partners also involved.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
