Parents rejoice at the beginning of a new school year. Children mourn.
But a group of local businesses tried to put the celebration back in back-to-school Saturday during the My Neighbor My Hood Back 2 School Block Party.
West side businesses A Town Fashions, Club 765, Mr. Atlas, Red’s Cleaners, Turning Heads and Amber’s Beauty Shop sponsored the event at the corner of Nichol Avenue and Arrow Avenue on Saturday.
The first 300 children received a stash of school supplies. Older children received notebooks, pencils, pens and folders, while elementary school-age children collected crayons, markers and glue. Original announcements said the first 200 children would receive supplies, but the owner of one sponsoring business said that number was intentionally conservative.
“We kept it low because we didn’t want anyone to be disappointed,” said Larry McClendon, owner of A Town Fashions. “We thought we would probably have enough for the first 300 kids.”
All supplies were purchased by the sponsoring businesses.
The Block Party, held in the parking lot of Club 765, began at noon and was almost immediately overrun with children from Anderson’s west side neighborhoods. They munched on hot dogs and popcorn provided by Mr. Atlas, and cooled off the heat of the afternoon with cups of juice.
“We want kids to remember this,” McClendon said. “When they go back to school they will think about all the fun they had. I’m not sure if they are here for the school supplies or for fun, but it’s all right.”
Some kids took off their shoes and scampered through the red, yellow and blue inflatable obstacle course. Others plunged down the inflatable water slide, spinning, rolling and sliding into the small pool at the bottom and sending a shower of spray across the parking lot.
Throughout the event, a D.J. kept the mood celebratory with energetic music.
At 1:30 p.m., organizers drew raffle tickets and awarded even more school supplies to a few lucky children.
Michael Thompson, 11, a student at Northside Middle School, struck first, winning the first backpack of the day.
“Dude!,” Thompson said, pulling the black backpack from a plastic Wal Mart shopping bag. “This is nicer than my other backpack. It’s pretty tight.”
The Block Party carried on until 4 p.m. Saturday. Organizers called the event a success and hope it’s the first of many more to come.
“We all kind of got together and decided that we should do something for the kids going back to school,” said Brenda Hamilton, owner of Club 765. “We’re learning as we go along. I think next time we might want to move it to another venue, like a park.
“Anything to get kids excited about going back to school. That’s what we’re here for.”
Local News
School celebration
Back 2 School Block Party ushers in year
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