The United Nations Association of Greater Milwaukee encourages you to participate in the following events celebrating
2026 World Refugee Day
June 20th, 2026 at the Lynden Sculpture Garden - 2145 W. Brown Deer Road in River Hills, WI, from 11 am - 4 pm
And
June 22nd, 2026, from 11:30 am - 2 pm at Milwaukee City Hall, 200 East Wells Street
In our eighth year of recognizing World Refugee Day, the HOME Refugee Steering Committee at the Lynden Sculpture Garden invites you to join us for a series of free, family-friendly events that celebrate Milwaukee's refugee communities through art, food, poetry, and performance.
Our theme for 2026 is “We Belong/You Belong: Joy and Unity Against the Odds.”
According to the United Nations, “World Refugee Day was first celebrated on June 20, 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
On World Refugee Day, we celebrate refugees' contributions and seek to build empathy and understanding for their plight and their resilience to build a bright future.”
We begin with a World Refugee Day Community Celebration on Saturday - June 20, 2026 at the Lynden Sculpture Garden from 11 am to 4 pm. Organized as both a resource fair and a celebration of many cultures, visitors will be able to make art, sample food, and enjoy stories, poems, music and dance, and gather information on local services for refugees.
We celebrate World Refugee Day again on Monday - June 22, 2026 from 11:30 am to 2 pm at Milwaukee City Hall
This event, co-hosted with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families – Bureau of Refugee Programs, will include a children’s art exhibit, performances of music and dance, poetry from refugee communities, hands-on art-making activities, and food trucks.
Our WORLD REFUGEE DAY celebrations continue with two more HOME “days” on Lynden’s grounds.
All HOME days are free and open to the public:
HOME FAMILY WORKSHOP DAY AND CRAFT MARKET - Saturday - July 18, 2026 from 11 am - 4 pm
HOME CITIZENSHIP CELEBRATION - Saturday - August 15, 2026
from 11 am - 4 pm
LEARN MORE
Subscribe to the HOME enews for further updates to our World Refugee Day celebrations: https://www.home-at-lynden.org/email
Explore the HOME Virtual Platform, featuring Multilingual Story Time, our interview series, panel discussions ,and an archive of our programs and events:
Follow the HOME Program's Instagram page: instagram.com/home-at-lynden
PARTICIPATE IN HOME WORLD REFUGEE DAY
To represent your organization or community by tabling under the Resource Tent at World Refugee Day at Lynden (June 20), click here
SUPPORT HOME WORLD REFUGEE DAY
To sponsor 2026 HOME World Refugee Day events, please click here
To make an individual donation to support our HOME refugee programs, click here
To volunteer, click here.
LEARN MORE
Subscribe to the HOME enews for further updates to our World Refugee Day celebrations: https://www.home-at-lynden.org/email
Explore the HOME Virtual Platform, featuring Multilingual Story Time, our interview series, panel discussions ,and an archive of our programs and events:
Follow the HOME Program's Instagram page: instagram.com/home-at-lynden
Follow the Wisconsin World Refugee Day's Facebook page: facebook.com/WisconsinWorldRefugeeDay
For language, interpretation and/or accessibility needs, contact Kim Khaira at kkhaira@lyndensculpturegarden.org