SAN MARCOS — Palomar’s Council of Classified Employees (CCE) and Palomar’s Faculty Federation (PFF) united to host the Solidarity and Strength Community Festival.
The event brought Palomar’s surrounding communities together in the campus main parking lot on May 2.
From live music to free books, this festival was a way for CCE and PFF to connect with members from nearby neighborhoods and show them the support they have. Co-President of PFF, Will Dalrymple, talked about the importance of showing up for the community, and welcomed members with open arms.
“We are trying to have some opportunities to mix more with the community and give them a sense of how we try to support them, and let them know everybody’s welcome here. We really love what we do, and we love to have them,” Dalrymple said. “We’ve been here for 80 years, and I think that this is a multi-generational commitment to serving the community and we want to continue that going forward.”
Similarly, Vice President of Palomar’s CCE, Jena Kruhmin, feels the community is an essential tool to the campus, and talked about the value of the festival.
“We hope to bring the campus together, staff, faculty and students, but also our neighbors in the community,” Kruhmin said. “Palomar is a pillar of the community, so we want to bring everyone here together in a shared space to share and celebrate and just have a joyful moment.”
Live music was played by USD Folklórico and Mariachi and Banda Nueva Ilusion. There were also performances by protest cover band The Resizters, and Kiara Love Flores, who did tribal dances.
The parking lots were filled with tables promoting resources including free books and food trucks for attendees. In addition to this festival being a way to give back to neighbors, it was also a way to help current, and possibly new, students.
Resources such as the Financial Aid office and the Food and Nutrition Center hosted booths to offer support in real time and answer questions to help students prepare for the upcoming semester. Different tables also had activities such as Jeopardy and tarot card readings.
There were other outside vendors such as Education Begins in the Home, which is an organization that offers free books to families. Founder Edward Becerra found it was necessary to make a change within families to help grow reading levels.
“I hope that providing free books to our families, everybody in the family will begin to read more. The reading levels continue to be low, although they have improved over the last 10 years since I’ve been doing that,” Becerra said.
Families danced, viewed classic cars and engaged with the booths.
Information on the next Solidarity and Strength Festival will be posted on the PFF website and Instagram.