Last Saturday, I covered Selma’s very first Food Truck Saturday. I just recently went to my first food truck event in Birmingham earlier this year, so when I found out that the Black Belt Benefit group was hosting one locally, I jumped at the opportunity for the experience once again.

Localizing something so popular as food trucks keep our small town up to date on current trends, while also helping benefit Selma’s economy. The event supported local businesses and artists. Event organizers said the goal was for the local food trucks to raise as much money as they could. Not only did the event serve its purpose in helping the businesses earn money, it also brought people together from all backgrounds.

Of course, the food was the main focus but the sense of community the event provided was like none other. I was excited to meet and have conversations with people I have never met here in Selma. People were friendly, inviting and happy just to say, “Hello, how are you?”

I wanted to share this feeling with our Facebook followers, so I decided to make a live video for them to see the event and feel that same sense of community I did as I walked around and spoke with different people.

As I looked at the comments on the video I noticed that the overall consensus was that the event was great for Selma, and it looked like good clean fun. While recording the video, I asked guests to say hello to the Selma Times-Journal, and every single person I asked lit up and was eager to say hello. Much like the event goers, people watching on our Facebook page also joined in on the fun. It was great to see so many people come out and just enjoy being in downtown Selma laughing and talking locally made dishes.  Selma, let’s keep bringing more fun, and inclusive events like these to the community. Let’s continue to be inclusive of the entire community in our events, and keep bringing that true Southern charm.

Oniska Blevins is a reporter with The Selma Times-Journal. She can be reached at oniska.blevins@selmatimesjournal.com.