Afira Hasan and Zujaja Sadiq discuss the design of a bench with an arabesque grate with artist Russell Hamilton. Photo: Calvin Hafermann; Elizabeth Blackwell
A new collaborative honors and celebrates a vibrant array of holidays and festivals.
The Edina Multicultural Collaborative is embracing the diversity of Edina’s community. It’s a joint effort between the Edina Community Foundation (ECF), 50th & France and various cultural organizations based in Edina. The intention is to celebrate multiple faiths and cultures.
This month along 50th and France, you might notice a park bench with an elaborate, 7-foot-tall metal grate in the shape of an arabesque window. The structure is the work of Russell Hamilton, a local artist. The temporary installation will stay up throughout Ramadan and be removed after Eid. The statue is one small part of the collaborative, and it’s important for the founding members of Edina Muslim Community [EMC], a local nonprofit. Afira Hasan and Zujaja Sadiq are excited to be a part of the collaborative because they say it brings visual representation and belonging. Their temporary art installation is one of the first of many from different backgrounds that will be popping up year round. “Zujaja and I connected with [all the community organizations] in the spring,” Hasan says.
The idea started in December 2023 when Alison Briggs was decorating the city’s Christmas tree for the annual tree lighting event on 50th & France. “The tree lighting ceremony is meant to have everyone involved in the town,” says Briggs, director of ECF. While she was decorating, she says she remembers her family living in New York City and how there is always a menorah next to the tree at Rockefeller Plaza and in Central Park. “I started thinking, ‘Well, we have a lot more than just Jewish and Christian people in Edina. Why don’t we go talk to other people, too, and make sure we have a platform for them to celebrate holidays that are special?’ At a time when everybody seems to be looking at what makes us different, why don’t we start learning about other people and what makes us different in good ways and celebrate together?”
Briggs reached out to EMC, Edina Asian American Alliance, AshaUSA, members of Edina’s Jewish community and more. The first display was a 6-foot menorah and a 3-foot dreidel for Hanukkah, which was unveiled on November 30 at the same time as the tree lighting ceremony. That initiative was led by Heather Edelson and Lauren Sundick.
Lauren Sundick and Heather Edelson pose in front of the menorah and dreidel. Photo: Heather Edelson
“It’s so meaningful just to know that your community is recognized,” says Sundick. Edelson echoes the sentiment. “It’s nice to feel represented. I think that, especially now with the tensions of the world, this coming together is just so peaceful,” she says. “Whatever is happening in other parts of the world, all of us in Edina are very much connected and supporting each other. And that’s how we want our families and our communities to understand we’re supporting each other.”
In addition to Hanukkah, there are plans to celebrate other festivals, including Diwali in the fall and Lunar New Year in 2026. That inclusivity brings joy, says Hasan. “I’m ecstatic,” she says. “I’m just so happy everyone’s coming together to really focus on each other and the overall cause, which is to highlight that there are different groups in the community, and that there is always going to be changes and that we’re all a part of it. It’s not only for people to know, but for new people that come in and see that, ‘Hey, you’re welcome here. Edina is a very open community.’”
