2 minute read
Summerfest to host family fun
By NICOLE WAGNER nwagner@liherald.com
All are welcome to the Love Our City Summerfest hosted by One Church Elmont to close out summer vacation and stock up for back-to-school season.
With the school season just around the corner, One Church Elmont hopes to help families in need by giving away backpacks for students.
“This is an act of love for the people in our community, especially our young people and families, that may be needing help during a very crucial time of their life with school starting,” Pastor Cecil Matthew said. “We wanted this time to not be a time that causes anxiety.”
Flyer for Aug. 26 Love Our City Summerfest event where families can look forward to a bounce house, dunk tank, free food
The church began to collect backpacks and supplies for the event a couple of weeks ago and will have 250 bags to hand out to students. The bags will be available on a first-come first-serve basis and hope to help relieve cost burdens on families.
“We know the school year is close to starting and a simple ask for school is a backpack full of supplies so parents don’t have to worry about that,” Pastor Georgy Varughese said.
The school materials in the backpacks are geared toward elementary-aged students, but middle schoolers and high schoolers are also welcome to collect a bag. A student must be present to grab a backpack from the giveaway.
While the backpack giveaway is a help for families in need, Summerfest will also host a slew of activities for the community to enjoy. The family fun will include a bounce house, dunk tank, live music provided by The Red Letters Band, free food and free Ralph’s Italian Ices.
The free food is a change this year to the event, as last year the church had brought food trucks out for the community.
“Basically, the whole purpose is so that people can come out and not have to worry about spending money or their own resources — just literally showing up and being blessed and leaving with their hands and stomachs full,” Varughese said.
Summerfest will also feature a mini car show with some classic cars in the parking lot, according to Varughese.
“The event is similar to a back-toschool bash, but the reason why we call it Summerfest is because we wanted all age groups, all stages of life to be able to enjoy a day out with their families,” Varughese said.
Health and vision screening will also be provided for those interested at the event. A local eye doctor will be in attendance to help with vision screening and health care professionals from the One Church congregation will volunteer to help health screen.
Community members are invited to take part in the annual event on Saturday, Aug. 26. The event will start at 11 a.m. and finish around 2 p.m. in the One Church Elmont parking lot located at 657 Meacham Ave.
