Dems make one last campaign stop, at Dancing Yeti

MANCHESTER, NH  – In one of the last campaign events of this election cycle, Congressman Chris Pappas, gubertanorial candidate Joyce Craig, and other candidates met with members of the Nepalese immigrant community. The event was held at the Dancing Yeti Bar & Grill in Manchester.

There are about 3,500 immigrants from Nepal residing in New Hampshire. The recently opened restaurant is a community gathering place and welcomed the candidates to connect with local Nepalese residents.

Madalasa Gurung, a candidate for state representative (Merrimack County District 10), and her son Ricky Gurung operate the restaurant and hosted the event.  They greeted their guest with traditional Nepalese hospitality including steaming cups of spicy milk tea.

Ricky Gurung said he was proud to host the event and to share his business with new guests.

“We want to share and invite the whole community, the whole of Manchester and New Hampshire.  We like to embrace everyone and bring everybody under one roof to share our culture,”  Gurung said.

He has been a long-time supporter of Joyce Craig, saying, “She’s a perfect person for the governor which she’s running for right now.  I have been campaigning for her for a couple of years before too. She’s just a lovely person. She’s great.”

“It’s wonderful to be with your community in this beautiful space. This is my first time at the Dancing Yeti. But I’m going to come back because it’s a wonderful space. And I just look forward to being able to relax a little bit once the campaign’s over and enjoy ourselves,” Pappas said.

“We’ve got some work to do these next few hours here. And I think it’s really important for everyone to think about their power and their place in our democracy. You know, we think of democracy as this really high-minded concept. But it’s not just a concept; it’s something that we do, and we do it with our actions, with our activities throughout the campaigns. We do it by showing up and voting tomorrow in large numbers. Everyone has a voice,” said Pappas.

Joyce Craig said, “I am going to ask for your help, for your vote tomorrow. The conversations that you can have with your friends and neighbors are so, so important, so they understand what’s on the line this election and make sure they get out to vote tomorrow. So, again, it is an honor to be with you. I treasure the friendships that I’ve made over the years. It’s wonderful to be with you today.  And let’s go win tomorrow.”

State Senator Donna Soucy spoke about the connection to immigrants and the city of Manchester,.

“Generations before us, whether it’s my ancestors who came from Canada, whether it’s people that are Greek, Polish, or Italian; people who worked in the mills – the mills here in Manchester were the greatest textile mills in the world developing and manufacturing fabric,” Soucy said. “It’s each one of us, each one of you, that is the fabric of our community. And each one of you is part of this story that we want to continue to tell about all of the achievements here in Manchester.”

Nirisnisha Gurung, an immigrant from Nepal who became a naturalized citizen last year will be voting for the first time tomorrow. She brimmed with gratitude for the right to vote and for such a close encounter with the politicians and the chance to speak with them

“It’s very important for me, I’m very excited. I have a plan for my first vote for the democracy,” she said.