By Scottie Brown

The Selma Times-Journal

 

The first Community Family Fun Festival took place Friday in the Selma High School gymnasium and Selma Mayor George Evans said he was excited to see the amount of effort being put into the event by the community.

“All kind of agencies are offering so much that some of the times citizens don’t even know they’re available to them,” Evans said. “Our young people need to know all these things, and parents certainly need to know these things so they can get help and assistance for children who need help and assistance.”

The event aimed to bring the family back together using different games and activities, and Dorothy Wilson, a partner with the festival, said she believed a successful family was the key to a thriving community.

“I have always believed that family is the key to any community being successful as a whole,” Wilson said. “Parents must first learn to play with their children in order to understand and regain that cohesiveness with their children.”

The event partnered with Smart Start, a program that reaches out to children ages four months to five years old. Trish Macinnis with Smart Start said the festival was great a way for their program to reach children before they headed back to school in the fall.

“There are a lot of these children that are not in programs that are getting ready to go into Kindergarten,” Macinnis said. “This will kind of help the parents to be aware of the things they need to do get them ready.”

The event saw a large turnout of families, and Evans said he hoped it was an indication of future events like this one.

“I just hope it will grow into something bigger and bigger each year in hopes of changing the environment and the quality of life for our citizens of Selma,” Evans said.