The Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia is organizing two major events in the commemoration of the June 6th 2021 attacks. The first as a solidarity march held on Sunday, June 5th at 1pm. The event will begin at Oakridge Secondary School where speakers will address the crowd on the nature of Islamophobia and how it affects the lives of Muslims in Canada. This will be followed by a youth led march to the London Muslim Mosque.
The second event is a vigil on Monday, June 6th. This event is organized with the major Muslim organizations in London including the London Muslim Mosque, the Muslim Association of Canada, the Muslim Wellness Centre, the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration, and many others. The vigil will be at the crash site at the intersection of Hyde Park and South Carriage, beginning at 6:30pm. The focus of the vigil is community remembrance and healing.
Both events are open to the general public.
The YCCI is one of many organizations collaborating with the City of London on the commemoration of the June 6th 2021 attacks. Please find the full list of events here: https://london.ca/our-london-family
About YCCI:
The Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia (YCCI) is a youth led organization in London, Ontario created in the aftermath of the June 6th 2021 terrorist attack killing the Afzaal family. The YCCI is made up uf the late Yumnah Afzaal’s friends, peers, along with involved community mentors, who want to lead and participate in combating Islamophobia.
As the one year anniversary of the attack that killed four members of the Afzaal family approaches, members of the community along with the City of London have planned a number of commemorative events in the hopes of “continuing the healing.”
All Londoners are invited to attend the events that include a commemorative button and book display, a lecture and invocation from the Muslim Wellness Network, an Our London Family gym dedication, a march, prayer service, anti-Islamophobia workshop, among others.
Four members of the Afzaal family were killed on June 6, 2021 after being struck by a pick-up truck on Hyde Park Road. Only their nine-year-old son survived.
The accused driver is facing first-degree murder and terrorism charges.
A number of community organizations and partners worked together to bring the events to remember and honour “Our London Family” to the community.
For the first time in two years, the Legacy Park Family Festival is back as an in-person event on June 4.
The annual summer kick-off event was held virtually over the pandemic and will be back with familiar favourites and fresh new features. Some of the offerings will include face painting, glitter tattoos, the petting zoo, and a video game trailer.
“Community groups are coming back as well, providing activities for people to partake in while still promoting some of the great things that they do within the community,” said Arthur Lewandowski, community events and tourism specialist with the city.
Food trucks will be back on site, and performances, including the musical talents of Phyllis Sinclair, a local Indigenous artist, and an afro dance session taught by the Fort Black Society will take place throughout the day. A schedule can be found here.
Some new additions this year are inflatables, including bouncy castles and the euro-bungee. According to Lewandowski, a caricature artist will be on-site, which is a first for the festival.
In addition, the Yellowhead Rail Club will open up their doors at the CN Station so that guests can view Fort Saskatchewan’s model train display.
The star of the show, however, will be the Sheep Returning Parade at noon. The decades-old tradition will welcome the fuzzy flock as they parade from the River Valley to their summer home in Peter T. Ream Historic Park.
Community groups will be providing wristbands for people to take in activities, which will cost $2. The festival runs from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Lewandoski thanked the event’s supporters, including Keyera, which has supported the festival for over 25 years.
The city will host a slate of community events in early June as organizers look to honour the four members of the Afzaal family who were killed in last year’s targeted vehicle attack in northwest London, Ont.
In what marked the deadliest mass murder in London’s history, the attack on June 6, 2021, targeted a local Muslim family out for an evening walk in the city’s Hyde Park neighbourhood.
They were struck by a pickup truck in what police have labelled a hate crime that targeted the family based on their religion.
Salman Afzaal, 46, Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna and her 74-year-old grandmother Talat Afzaal were killed in the attack. The couple’s nine-year-old son, Fayez, was seriously injured but survived.
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From left to right: Yumna Afzaal, Madiha Salman, Salman Afzaal and Talat Afzaal.
They include an Our London Family March on June 5 which will have participants travel from Oakridge Secondary School to the London Muslim Mosque.
There will also be a vigil on June 6 at the site of the attack itself.
The Youth Coalition Combatting Islamophobia (YCCI) is one of the lead organizers for the upcoming events and coordinator Selma Tobah says there’s a significance to where the vigil is being held.
“It’s this notion of reclaiming this space and saying this intersection, this area where the attack occurred will no longer be marred by the violence itself, but by the remembrance of the beautiful lives that were taken,” Tobah said.
How to speak with your kids about the London attack on a Muslim family
How to speak with your kids about the London attack on a Muslim family – Jun 14, 2021
YCCI was formed in the wake of the June 6 killings and is made up of young Londoners who were personally impacted by the attack, particularly those who were close with Yumna.
“That’s really been the purpose of this coalition is to give these young people an avenue to use their voice in a way that’s productive and in a way that they feel is healing and really honours their friend that was murdered in this attack,” said Tobah.
Amplifying youth voices was one of the recommendations that came out of London’s Action Plan to Disrupt Islamophobia, the result of months of consultation with local stakeholders that followed the June 6 attack.
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London’s anti-racism and anti-oppression director Rumina Morris, who had a leading role in developing the action plan, says the upcoming events also follow through on another suggestion that emerged from those consultations.
“People in the community were really looking for the city to take the lead in terms of bringing people together, so not leading to organize, but to bring people together and make those connections,” Morris said.
Some of the people being brought together include the London Muslim Mosque, the Thames Valley and London District Catholic school boards, the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Service Integration and the London Public Library to name a few.
Behind the scenes, Morris says police and other emergency services are working to make sure the events stay safe.
She hopes the anniversary will provide an opportunity for reflection for all Londoners.
“The days after the attack, I think everybody was in absolute shock that this has happened in our community and the impact of it was really, really intense in terms of emotions,” Morris said.
“I don’t think the emotions are going to be any less intense, but I certainly see it as an opportunity to really reflect on what we have done since that one year and how we are really – as a community – coming together … to really address Islamophobia in all of its forms.”
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Community honours legacy of four murdered Muslims
Community honours legacy of four murdered Muslims – Jun 9, 2021
Royal family members to visit events across UK to mark Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Kate Middleton and Prince William are to lead celebrations for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee across the UK, according to the Buckingham Palace.
Other senior members of the royal family will also visit events across the UK over the Jubilee weekend.
William and Kate are among the senior royals who will tour the UK as the Queen marks 70 years on the British throne.
According to the palace, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit Wales, the Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Northern Ireland and the Princess Royal will visit Scotland.
They are due to carry out special engagements during their respective visits, however, details of their engagements will be confirmed at a later date.
The main celebrations will begin on Thursday, June 2, with the traditional parade Trooping the Colour.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Known for its month-long celebration of all things summer, Ann Arbor Summer Festival has activities for the whole family.
The annual festival offers adults concerts and activities but Tree Town’s littlest residents get their own Kidzone with family-friendly storytime, face painting, karate and more.
Between June 10 and July 3, the Kidzone tent will have free, nightly hands-on activities with community partners, including Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Annie’s Children’s Center and Booksweet.
The 2022 series is sponsored by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, said Ann Arbor Summer Festival.
Check out the lineup:
Every summer, Ann Arbor Summer Festival hosts more than 200 free and ticketed events around the city with many taking place in the University of Michigan Ingalls Mall.
More than 80,000 people attend the events and activities, a press release said.
Vehicles were lined up before noon April 15 at the entrance to Petrolia’s Greenwood Park for the start of this year’s Easter “Eggstravaganza.”
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It was the 34th running of the event organized by the Petrolia and District Lions Club to bring some Easter joy to local families.
Normally, it’s an in-person family event at the service club’s hall and pavilion in the park next to the arena in Petrolia, but the pandemic has turned it into a drive-thru for the past two years.
More than 200 children went home last year with candy and treats, “and this year we’re set for 300,” said event chairperson Cheryl Schleihauf.
Vehicles made their way by tables set up through the arena parking lot, where 20 members of the service club and eight members of its LEO youth group dressed up as Easter characters handed out treats.
Natalee Bourn, left, and Austin Welch help man a drive-thru Easter family event the Petrolia Lions Club hosted Friday at Greenwood Park in Petrolia.Photo by Paul Morden /The Observer
Families were greeted at the final stop by Jeff Classen dressed as the Easter Bunny.
Schleihauf said the club decided to stick with a drive-thru this year but aims to return to an in-person event in 2023.
“It’s something to give back to the community,” she said, adding the event fits with the service club’s focus on programs serving young people.
The drive-thru was scheduled to run for two hours and those attending were invited to bring donations for local food banks.
The Easter event was initially a project of the former Lioness Club and continued when that group combined with the Lions Club about two decades ago, Schleihauf said.
Members of the LEO club also handed out information about the Lions and the youth group.
“We’re always looking for new members,” Schleihauf said.
The club currently has 57 members, with about 16 members in its LEO youth group.
Schleihauf said the club moved to online meetings when the pandemic began but has since resumed meeting in person, although members are still able to attend remotely if they wish.
A $60,000 grant from the Trillium Foundation allowed the club to upgrade its hall and install audio-visual equipment in 2020.
Schleihauf said the service club already has a busy schedule set this year for its hall and food trailer that can be booked for community events.
“We’re busy every weekend May, June, July and August,” she said.
Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz said his family is still dealing with the repercussions of a carjacking that happened in January and said recent criticism against him for what happened that night is not fair.
“It was horrifying for me to receive a call from your daughter crying that her car was just taken from her when she was standing right next to it,” Glotz said.
No one was hurt and the car was recovered a few days later in Calumet City.
But Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones questioned why Glotz drove with a baseball bat in his truck and two members of the Tinley Park Police Department to Calumet City the night the car was stolen.
“It was a blatant abuse of power and this should be investigated by the state police to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” Jones said.
According to Glotz, he contacted Tinley Park dispatch and gave his name and said his daughter’s car was stolen.
“I never referenced myself as mayor in any of my phone calls,” Glotz said.
Glotz said the automaker notified them where the car was located and that a police communication network spread the word about the stolen car.
He said he carries a bat in his vehicle because he plays sports.
“I wasn’t going there to confront the people that stole the car from my daughter,” Glotz said. “I was going there to give my daughter’s spare car keys to the police officers so that they could look for it.”
Glotz takes issue with the criticism and calls it political.
“I’m shocked to hear now him having three months later a totally different story than what happened,” Glotz said. “So it’s unfortunate.”
Tinley Park is hosting a carjacking safety seminar Thursday evening in partnership with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. It’s a chance for attendees to learn tips on how to avoid being a victim and to learn about vehicle trackers.
“I hope that we can inform people and give them more tools that they didn’t have to make sure that they’re safe,” Glotz said.
