On Saturday, Aug. 24, from 6-10 p.m., Witness for Peace Southeast will be hosting their Bar Sin Fronteras: No Borders Pop-Up Bar event at the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh. The event is intended to fundraise for Witness for Peace Southeast as well as celebrate the strength and resilience of the Latinx and immigrant communities in Raleigh with dancing, drinks and fun.

According to Niccolo Roditti, chair of the Witness for Peace Southeast Board of Directors, the event will have two parts. The first will be a program about Witness for Peace Southeast and its mission; the second part is a dance party to celebrate the work of organizers and the spirit of the Latinx community. 

“We’re doing two hours of a program so people can learn more about the organization, and there’s different things that will go on within the first two hours,” Roditti said. “The last two hours is kind of like this Latinx global dance party to kind of celebrate. You know, there’s been a lot of hardships this year, there’s been a lot of hard work from organizers and interns, so to relax and be able to enjoy other people and dancing.”

Emily Rhyne, the regional organizer of Witness for Peace Southeast, agreed with Roditti and added that some people may think a dance party is not the best way to handle the current state of immigrant rights in the U.S., but she feels that celebration is just as important as protest.

“In light of the massive immigration raids in Mississippi and other really troubling things in the news right now … you would think it’s a little strange that we’re calling people to a dance party rather than a protest,” Rhyne said. “It’s also really important to have a space for joy and resilience in our community; that despite all of these things that are happening, we can still find moments of joy and celebrate our community and build ourselves up in this way.”

Rhyne said this event also allows for local businesses to show support for immigrant rights, with several local businesses donating to the organization and the event.

“We approached it as an opportunity for local businesses to show their support for the immigrant community and show their support for human rights,” Rhyne said. “The Trophy Brewing Company has supported us, the Raleigh Rum Company is donating also for the event, and a ton of other organizations. We’ll be putting up all of the supporters on our website.”

Rhyne also said the Fund for Democratic Communities is supporting this event.

“We also have a matching grant from the Fund for Democratic Communities,” Rhyne said. “That means if you buy a five-dollar drink, then you’re sending $10 to this awesome cause of human rights and immigrant rights in your local community. It’s an opportunity to go out and have some fun but also feel like you’re contributing to something you care about.”

Roditti said this event gives people in Raleigh and the surrounding area an opportunity to get involved in a cause that sometimes can be hard to get involved in.

“I think this is really important for the community in Raleigh because I also went to NC State, and being from this area, I think there’s a lot of people with an amazing amount of energy who just may not know how to plug in or not know where to plug in,” Roditti said. “We introduce a concept that not only is something that is important for what’s going on right now in U.S. foreign and domestic policy, but in a way that says we just want to champion the energy that we know all of you have in joy and resilience by having really fun and programmatic events.” 

Ticketsfor the Bar Sin Fronteras: No Borders Pop-Up Bar will be $20 for the full night and $10 for just the dance party with one drink ticket included. Tickets must be purchased through their Eventbrite page. 

For more information about the organization and its mission, visit Witness for Peace Southeast’s website, wfpse.org.