Block party celebrates the many cultures of Yale students and staff

The 2015 Multicultural New Haven Block Party, an annual community event that promotes and celebrates Yale and its home city’s diversity, will be held on Sunday, Sept. 13, noon-4 p.m. in the courtyard of the Kline Biology Tower, 219 Prospect St.

This family-friendly event, which typically draws several hundred attendees, connects Yale employees, students, and scholars with each other and with New Haven businesses.

Activities will include a rock climbing wall, bounce house, face painting, henna tattoos, maracas making, origami, Chinese calligraphy and painting, fire safety activities, paper cutting, Zumba lessons, and more. Food and beverages will be provided while supplies last. Numerous raffle prizes will be drawn at various times, donated by New Haven merchants including Tarry Lodge, Caseus, Thali, Thali Too, Oaxaca, Walker Loden, Trailblazer, Denali, Creative Arts Workshop, and many more. New Haven merchants will also provide activities at the block party, including tea-making lessons by the Green Tea House and mini makeovers by Kiko Milano. Yale and Connecticut-based performance groups will offer multicultural performances throughout the event.

The block party is sponsored by Yale’s seven affinity groups (Asian Network at Yale, Yale African American Affinity Group, Yale Latino Networking Group, Working Women’s Network, Future Leaders of Yale, Yale Veterans Network, and Yale LGBTQ Affinity Group), as well as by the university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, McDougal Graduate Student Life, the Office of New Haven and State Affairs, Being Well at Yale, the Office of International Students and Scholars, and the Office of International Affairs, along with the New Haven Department of Parks and Recreation and other groups. For more information visit the Block Party website.