Tacoma Refugee Choir, Greentrike, and Tacoma Arts Live invite you to the Heart of Tacoma Festival on Saturday, June 4th from 10-4pm at LeMay America’s Car Museum Haub Field. This free fun all-ages music festival centers on healing and coming together as a community and includes interactive activities such as group dance instruction, karaoke, sinaglong and games. Enjoy performances, food trucks, vendors, a 38-foot canoe, and so much more! We hope you'll join us as we celebrate healing as a community. MAIN STAGE: 10:00 am - Booths open 10:30 am - Opening ceremony including Land acknowledgment by Tahoma Indian Center, Heart of Tacoma love train & the Lincoln Drumline 11:00 am - Student performances in ELO programs 12:15 pm - The Pazific (Latin Soul & Pop) 1:00 pm - Tacoma Refugee Choir performance & singalong 2:30 pm - Asia Pacific Cultural Center- Taiko Drums & learn Hawaiian Dance 3:30 pm - T.U.P.A.C. teaches African Dance This event is FREE thanks to our generous sponsors: Port Of Tacoma, Tacoma Creates, Tacoma Arts Commission, Connelly Law, BECU, Molina Cares, Tacoma Public Utilities, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, and Pfau Cochran Vertitis Amala. You can support this event and future programming by texting “GIVE" to (844) 964-3730 to donate.

2021 Seasonal Greetings from the Tacoma Refugee Choir. #SilentNight #refugeechoir #tacomarefugeechoir #Tacoma Refugee Choir #refugeesimmigrantsandfriends

Tacoma Refugee Choir member Mariia tells about how her family has been impacted by the outbreak of war in Ukraine. She asks, "If you would like to support Ukrainian Refugees, please, reach out to our Government Officials and ask them to help stop the war and to approve Humanitarian Parole, Temporary Protected Status, and Special Refugee Program for Ukrainian refugees. It would allow my family and many others to be reunited here in the United States, where they could rebuild their lives TOGETHER. If you would like to support my family directly, please contribute to our GoFund Me. All the proceeds will be used to help to cover TRANSPORTATION, LEGAL FEES, VISA APPLICATION FEES, PLANE TICKETS, RESETTLEMENT COSTS for my family, and friends. Thank you for your care and support!" https://www.gofundme.com/f/Our-family-and-friends-are-fleeing-war-in-Ukraine?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR3V3thLq1XxguBMeWPFd3Sci2fpZ0-GzsF_9q1z75rbUrPaBNLD68M7lzg #SupportUArefugees #StandWithUkraine

We invite you to join us for this Christmas benefit concert, featuring TRC director Erin Guinup & members of the Tacoma Refugee Choir. The program will include popular carols as well as pieces sung by members in Farsi, Spanish, Ukrainian, Japanese, and Swahili. The Tacoma Refugee Choir will perform songs of hope and peace and the audience will be invited to join us in singing "Let There Be Peace on Earth". This will be a feel-good concert that reminds us of how connected we all are during this holiday season. You can be part of this special program by joining us in-person or through the livestream. ALL Donations benefit the Tacoma Refugee Choir's work of building a more welcoming community. Director’s Message While some of our members have faced tragedies in the past, including the trauma of being a refugee, these chapters don’t have to define one’s life. Our name as the Tacoma Refugee Choir emphasizes our commitment to reaching out to refugees and those who are often marginalized but it is also a message that we are so much more than our challenges. We stand as a reminder that traumas and hardships do not have to limit our potential or rob us of peace. Peace is something we long for and yet can often seem elusive, especially after the events of recent years. Many of today’s songs mention peace and this led the choir to some meaningful conversations about what is necessary to find peace. Some of the wisdom that came from these discussions included the importance of love and community in creating peace and that finding peace requires first acknowledging pain and grief. One of our songs includes the phrase, “Let it start with you, let it start with me” and choir members determined that it was in the wrong order– a sense of peace starts with our own efforts and finding it in ourselves. From there we can share that peace with others. We are thankful for the opportunity to sing together again. We love to sing and see one another but it is so much more than that. This community has become a source of finding joy amidst adversity and a way to shoulder the abundant challenges life throws at us. It is a space of hope that renews us each week and a family that reminds us that we are not alone. In short, it brings us peace. We hope you feel part of this special community today. We need you and are grateful for you. PROGRAM THERE IS MORE LOVE SOMEWHERE - arr. Adam & Matt Podd GLORY, GLORY, HALLELUJAH Featuring Bonnetta Barnett FELIZ NAVIDAD - by José Feliciano Featuring Yve Moreira NÉBO I ZEMLIÁ- Ukrainian Carol Featuring Mariia Pozhar & Olga Okhapkina HUMAN BEINGS Written by and featuring Madi Hashemi SYMPATHY- by Rare Birds Featuring Madi Hashemi, Perry Spring & Ryan Dagley JOY TO THE WORLD- arr. Erin Guinup OUR PAIN- by Erin Guinup O HOLY NIGHT- arr. Mark Hayes Featuring Erin Guinup SILENT NIGHT Featuring Mike Collier, Perry Spring, Olga Okhapkina, Madi Hashemi, Yve Moreira, Ryan Dagley, Maurice Lekea, Kaelin Lor, Mariia Pozhar MOON SONG- Music by Erin Guinup, Lyrics by Abby E. Murray and inspired by boys detained at the Selma Carson Home Featuring Yve Moreira, Nathalie Bajinya, Diane Tilstra, Seema Akkar, Elham Sadeghein, Olga Okhapkina, Kaelin Lor, Thierry Ruboneka THIS IS MY WISH - by Tim & Angela Lauer SING - by Gary Barlow & Andrew Lloyd Weber EVERYONE CAN LOVE SOMEONE- by Erin Guinup, Trésor John & Nathalie Bajinya

Holiday greetings from the TACOMA REFUGEE CHOIR as we sing Silent Night and This is My Wish. For more information about Tacoma Refugee Choir, please visit refugeechoir.org

Please show your support for members of the AAPI community by posting a picture of yourself with a sign of support #ISTANDWITHAAPI This song is dedicated to our beloved friend Kimsang, whose dying wish was for his daughter to live in a world free of hate. The video has been created in collaboration with Tacoma Creates and the Asia Pacific Cultural Center. It carries out a message of support for the Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community.

Tacoma Refugee Choir and Tacomaprobono’s Housing Justice Project partnered with Writer/Producer Lonnie “Mr. Mav” Perrin from Stressed Out Entertainment and artists Kingpin X, Jay Sears, and Smooth JZ3 to produce this song and video entitled “I Got Your Back.” shot by Kaeden Carter of Hustle&PrayFilms. This original piece of music tells the story of the impact of eviction and sends a message to the public by showing how Tacomaprobono’s Housing Justice Project and similar programs in other Washington counties can help protect tenants and keep people housed. For more information, please contact: Laurie Davenport, Dir of Development and Outreach Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers tacomaprobono.org Email: laurie@tacomaprobono.org T: 253-572-5134, extension 106 To Contact: Lonnie “Mr. Mav” Perrin www.stressedoutentertainment.com Email: mrmav31@gmail.com @mrmav206

Alone Together was commissioned for the Valley Region Choral Project 2020-2021 made up of Federal Way, Puyallup, and Sumner Bonney Lake School Districts of the Washington Music Educators Association. Lyrics were created in conjunction with Valley Region music students and Teen Sings, a program of the Tacoma Refugee Choir. Over 200 submissions by students were compiled to create this virtual choir video edited by Raise Your Voice Labs. Thank you to the many students and teachers who participated in this project and shared their experience during this unique and difficult year. Written and produced by Erin Guinup Alone, alone, Full of doubt and fear Wishing someone were near Alone, alone I grieve and ache Disappointment, heartbreak When will this end? How will my spirit mend? As I allow myself to feel My heart begins to heal I can let the pain release And find a moment of peace Longing to embrace To see a friendly face We’ll make it through til dawn With love, we’ll carry on Ooh, Together we make it through Ooh, Gonna run toward the people I love Ooh, Together, me and you Alone I’m finding space For showing other’s grace It’s gonna take some time But together we’ll climb Ooh, Together we make it through Ooh, Gonna run toward the people I love Ooh, Together, me and you The days we’ll spend together Laughing, smiling, holding close, Singing, dancing, traveling With the ones we missed the most Finding hope again Through nature, friends, and art This is why we weathered Time we’ve spent apart. Ooh, Together we make it through Ooh, Gonna run toward the people I love Ooh, Together, me and you Ooh------ I might seem alone But together we’ll make it through.