Parade Begins 'The Gathering' in Waterbury [PHOTOS]

On Saturday, Sept. 24 one of the most diverse communities in America gathered in downtown Waterbury to celebrate diversity and their shared humanity.

"America is founded on the belief that our shores will welcome the oppressed, and offer them freedom and opportunity. Except for Native Americans, we are all immigrants. The English, Irish, Italian, Polish and Lithuanian immigrants sought work and stability in their lives. Now a new wave has come from Albania, Puerto Rico, Ghana, Thailand, Fiji, Lebanon, Syria, China, Nepal, and from every corner of the Earth. They seek the same American dream - safety and opportunity."

So in downtown Waterbury, the Old Guard and the New Guard came together in Library Park to celebrate together.

The annual event began with a 30 minute parade down East Main Street and ultimately to Library Park. Organizers reported that 4000 people marched in the parade representing almost all of the Waterbury public and private schools and many countries around the globe. There were 165 marching groups that lined up at the Torrington Company lot on North Elm Street at 9:30 am in order to step off promptly at 11:00am.

The park behind the Silas Bronson Library was packed with representatives of 90 countries sharing their culture and selling ethnic foods. Vendors prepared cuisine from Albania, Puerto Rico, Greece, Yemen, African-American, Portugal, Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil, USA, Lebanon, the Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, Jamaica, Honduras, Turkey and Venezuela. And it all smelled great!

Music and dance from around the world continued non-stop until 7 pm. There was no charge to attend the festival, and there was plenty of food and drinks from around the world for sale.

Entertainment this year included a Chinese dragon dance through the park, a Native American pow-wow on the dance stage, and at 4 pm, a former winner of NBC's The Voice performed four songs, including one in Spanish.

There were more than 100 countries represented at The Gathering including Italy, Thailand, Ireland, India, Portugal, Chile, Canada, Lithuania, Ghana, Guatemala, Greece, Haiti, Scotland and dozens of others. Organizers expected over 15,000 visitors to attend the event.

All photos by Nancy Sasso Janis