After weeks of planning, we still can’t believe how time flew by so quickly that we are halfway through December. CommunityGrows staff had the opportunity of safely participating in-person at two holiday events in the Western Addition community these past weeks and we want to share the holiday cheer with you by telling you all about it!
Our first event was at the Rosa Parks Senior Center which serves the seniors in the Rosa Parks Senior Residence and those in the community. The activity we had planned for the seniors in collaboration with the children was creating Christmas wreaths from scratch! Down below are the items we used:
- Wire wreath
- Christmas tree scraps
- Pipe cleaners
- Ornaments
- Hot glue
The seniors were concentrated when it came to putting together the wreaths. They divided themselves up into two groups, those who cut the Christmas tree scraps and those who assembled the tree scraps onto the wire wreaths. They were quick and had great attention to detail with everything they did. You could hear some of them talking and the excitement in their voices once they had completed a wreath. After an hour or so, groups of joyful kiddos entered the room and walked towards the different stations to help create more wreaths. Everyone was helping one another and you could feel the holiday spirit in the room.
A few days later, that holiday spirit grew bigger at the Wakanda Winter Wonderland Holiday Fair which took place at the African American Art and Culture Complex. Hundreds of folks from the community came together with their families to participate in all types of holiday activities. There were craft stations, carnival rides, games, and carnival snacks. Community members shared with me that the holiday fair has been going on for more than 6 years. They looked forward to it every year since it was first put on. Due to COVID-19, it wasn’t possible for everyone to come together last year and all the participating organizations and leaders wanted to make sure that it was bigger and better. It is safe to say it was a huge success in reigniting that beautiful sense of community,
These events wouldn’t have been possible without all the planning and leadership of all the organizations in the Western Addition. Thank you to Mo’Magic, CitizenFilm, Booker T. Washington, Collective Impact, African American Arts Cultural Complex Center, and many more.