National Night Out in SoCe

I know that Matt already shared a highlight of his experience at the National Night Out block party in SoCe, but I thought I would share my observations. I loved seeing the giftedness, kindness, generosity, and creativity of folks in our neighborhood.

First of all, it was fun to see how our neighbors, Casey and Erica, have made connections in SoCe. They are the wonderful artists decorating our garden boxes. They happened to paint a mural on the box belonging to the Vice President of the South Central Neighborhood Association and she invited them to do facepainting at the Block Party. 

Casey and Erica at work!

Local artist, Juanta Saunders Jr., was also at the Block Party sharing his muraling skills. He has a vision for painting murals on buildings throughout SoCe as a way of giving back to the neighborhood in which he grew up. We are looking forward to his Broadway Beautification Project beginning this fall.

Juanta and his co-muralist

Finally, there were the wonderful volunteers hosting the party! I met a woman who was facilitating a booth at which kids could step into a wading pool and try to pick up marbles between their toes. She was very patient, easy going, and encouraged kids to persevere when they did not yet have well-developed toe dexterity! I also met some great kids who were coordinating the ring toss booth. They asked me to sub for them so they could go participate in a butterfly release. They quickly and excitedly returned in just a few minutes and took over their post again. It was fun to be part of something so positive in SoCe!