Araceli Atchison has worked at Eventide since 2010. She is currently a cook at the 8th Street Eatery in our Eventide The Linden community located in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The Linden’s Araceli Atchison is beloved by Eventide residents and staff for her fun-loving personality and colorful approach to every-day interactions.
Best known for her lighthearted personality and infectious energy for playful banter and welcoming hugs, Araceli is one of our many amazing #DifferenceMakers, the people who go above and beyond to make Eventide an amazing place to live and work.
“Araceli is just one of those people who you just feel happier when you’re around her,” said Eventide Moorhead Campus Executive Director Emily Kollar. “From her cooking skills to her dancing talents, she’s a true difference maker in our Moorhead community.”
While Araceli’s most recent claim to fame in our community is her traditional Mexican dance routine, she also makes great food for our guests every day.
Dancing to the beat of fun
Araceli has been a member of Eventide’s culinary team since 2010 and makes life special for everyone she encounters, especially the appetites of hungry diners at our restaurant in The Linden. She also drew quite the crowd during Cinco de Mayo celebrations with a Mexican dance routine, complete with not one, but two, traditional dresses.
“I had the dresses made for me by someone in town,” Araceli said. “But I have to tell you, I didn’t know how to do the dances so I had to study them on YouTube.”
While she was busy rehearsing a dance known as the “pineapple dance,” Araceli realized that her desire to bring a taste of her Mexican heritage to the community meant she was also bringing an opportunity for some of the older residents to reminisce about making clothes.
“I thought it was neat to have the residents just talk about how the dress was made. You know, some of the older women might like that, because they probably made their own clothes,” she said. “I don’t know how good I was at dancing, but the dresses were a hit!”
“Araceli is just one of those people who you just feel happier when you’re around her. From her cooking skills to her dancing talents, she’s a true difference maker in our Moorhead community.
Growing up in Mexico
Araceli was born in Estacion Bamoa, Sinaloa, a small town in Mexico where she lived until her family moved farther north to Nogales Sonora, Mexico, which is located near the Arizona border.
“It was a fun place to grow up, with everybody out in the fields picking fresh produce and being together. We had a good family life,” she said of her experience growing up in Mexico. “The only time I didn’t like it was when bees got in my hair and everybody just laughed. It wasn’t funny to me until later!”
The main work in Estacion was to cultivate produce for global distribution. “We grew tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, peppers, peas,” she said. “Everything was very fresh.”
Before moving to the United States, she worked for the Customs Department, an office job where she was responsible for managing aspects of import and export, as well as traffic analysis.
“It was very different from what I do here. A lot of sitting!” Araceli, who is an energetic person and loves to be on her feet, said. “And when you are in the office, it’s just you and a computer, people passing and going, but you cannot have a chance to talk.”
Coming to America
Love brought Araceli to the United States in 2008 after she met her husband Alan, who grew up in the North Dakota and Minnesota region.
“We met in 2002 on an online dating site,” Araceli said sheepishly. “He waited five years for an answer from me.”
Living in Nogales, Mexico, at the time, Alan lived in Arizona, and the couple maintained a fairly long-distance relationship for several years.
When she finally said “yes,” Araceli and Alan made the decision to move back to Minnesota where Araceli would continue to raise her four children from a different relationship. Today, she has four adult children, nine grandkids and one great-grandchild, all either living nearby or in Mexico.
“I get back to Nogales once a year, and that’s when I get to see so much family who I miss very much,” Araceli said. “But I am very proud of who I am now, thanks to my husband and family, and the change I made in my life moving to the US, where I have a pretty good job.”
When she visits family in Mexico, Araceli takes advantage of the fresh seafood and vegetables she enjoyed as a child.
“I love the shrimp,” she said. “But the cholesterol is not so good!”
Araceli shares a hug with a resident.
What she loves about Eventide
Araceli appreciates the peaceful life in Moorhead and enjoys her job, which involves cooking and interacting with residents.
“I love cooking and making jokes with the residents,” Araceli said. “It’s fun to give hugs and make them laugh.”
When asked if she ever cooks traditional Mexican food for diners at Eventide, Araceli said, “It’s too spicy for them,” noting that the one time she made chicken tortilla soup, everybody complained.
“But we make soups that are like the ones in Mexico that are very good, and then chicken and rice is something we would make a lot,” she said.
Mostly, Araceli makes crowd-pleasing meals with a little less spice, and complaints are few and far between. “I make desserts and cakes, and we hear lots of good compliments. I like compliments,” she said.
Although there won’t be too much added spices in her cooking, Araceli hopes to bring another dance recital to Eventide sometime soon, which adds so much flavor to the activities and entertainment offered at Eventide.
“I try my best to entertain,” she said. “Eventide is a great place to be.”
Join the team
Come work with Araceli and the rest of our amazing staff at Eventide, where the culture is rich in fun and diversity. View our current open positions here.
