Paul Ciccotelli has a saying he likes to repeat: "People go places to do things."

As the president of the nonprofit Cultural Connections, the Wareham resident creates events to "give people reasons to come here."

One of those events, and a fairly new one, is "Celebrate Salsa." Held on the first Saturday of every month at the Wareham Boys and Girls Club, the event features a salsa teacher and is open for all ages to try.

Celebrate Salsa will host its second event on July 2. A salsa class with Sydonee Harris, who Ciccotelli said could "teach anyone to dance," will begin around 6 p.m. The cost for the lesson is $5. The dance will begin at 7 p.m., and admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors.

The event is part of a larger program called Wareham Dances, which is sponsored by Cultural Connections. So far, Wareham Dances includes its Contra Dance (a kind of folk dancing reminiscent of English country dancing, which originated in the late 1700s) and Celebrate Salsa.

By the end of the summer, the organizers of Wareham Dances hope to add on a monthly program for ballroom dancing.

Ciccotelli said the need for these events was made apparent by residents who want to see Onset and the rest of Wareham more closely connected. Not many people may know about Wareham Crossing or Wareham Village if they live in Onset, he said, so the purpose of the dances is to bring together people who normally wouldn't meet each other. The dances also bring in people from other areas, he said.

"The town's larger goal is to become a recognized destination," said Ciccotelli. "We need to make sure there are events and amenities here. Amenities we've got, but events we're kind of short on."

For more information on Cultural Connections and its events, visit http://www.culturalconnecting.org.