Foundation tries to bring people together with dinner

The “Dialogue and Friendship Dinner,” sponsored by the Holy Dove Foundation, will take place at 6 p.m. today in the Duke Energy Room at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Indiana senator Vi Simpson will be the keynote speaker at the second-annual event, which tries to open lines of communication for a range of cultural and ethnic groups.

Sponsors estimate about 120 people will be in attendance based on last year’s dinner, which featured Senator Richard Lugar as the keynote speaker.

The Holy Dove Foundation is an Indianapolis-based not-for-profit organization that tries to spread “values such as tolerance, respect and compassion” through Indianapolis’ diverse communities, according to their Web site.

“Every year, we do same dinner for friendship and to bring together different kinds of groups,” said Halil Bilecen, a member of the organization. “The aim is to get people together to understand each other.”