Good Neighbor Festival to celebrate local heroes, community
BY MARYLEE SHRIDER, Contributing writer
To the casual observer, the Good Neighbor Festival -- with its petting zoo, rock wall and vendor booths -- may look like just another neighborhood carnival.
But to Kevin Keyes, gang prevention specialist with Kern County Superintendent of Schools, the annual festival is a chance to show neighborhood kids that there are adults beyond their own parents who care about them.
Related Info
Good Neighbor Festival
When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1000 S. Owens St.
Admission: Free
For more information: 322-9874
"We know when children have relationships with caring adults outside their family, they stand a good chance of growing up successful and healthy," Keyes said. "This festival shows the strong collaborations that are in place to help children succeed."
The third annual Good Neighbor Festival, hosted by the Southeast Neighborhood Partnership, is 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park. There will numerous activities for children, including train rides, pony rides and bounce houses, and resource booths offering information on medical, legal, housing and childcare services.
The festival will also honor Hidden Heroes, local residents who "go out of their way" to help their community. Festival organizer Linda Estell said this year's Hidden Heroes, like last year's, are advocates for children.
"These folks go the extra mile to serve their community, so it's important they're thanked in front of the community for the work they do," Estell said.
The Hidden Heroes awards will be presented at noon. This year, the festival will add youth recipients to its roster of heroes.
The festival will also feature food booths and a dance contest sponsored by Stay Focused Ministries. The day, Estell said, is important for the neighborhood.
"It shows we can get together without conflict; that we can enjoy each other's company while learning about the available resources in Kern County," she said.
-- Marylee Shrider is a member of the Southeast Neighborhood Partnership, sponsor of the Good Neighbor Festival.
Most CommentedMost Popular
Since Karen Goh returned to Kern County from a publishing career in New York in 2004, she has helped foster a strong network of Christian leaders in government, politics, media, business and nonprofits.
A settlement has been reached in radio talk show host Inga Barks' sexual harassment lawsuit against former co-host Scott Cox and American General Media.
Is Kern County, as has widely been reported, really the expulsion capital of California? That's the question posed Friday by state Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter, to 50 or so Kern County educators, elementary and high school district administrators and community leaders.
Here's a bit of news that I didn't expect. The Kern County District Attorney's office has launched an investigation into whether the Board of Supervisors' practice of routinely placing the job performance of County Administrative Officer John Nilon on the "closed session" portion of its agenda is...
Since Karen Goh returned to Kern County from a publishing career in New York in 2004, she has helped foster a strong network of Christian leaders in government, politics, media, business and nonprofits.
Young's Marketplace, an independent grocery store that's a Bakersfield institution, will close at the end of the week.
Bakersfield’s Faast Pharmacy is going out of business and will be acquired by the big chain CVS, it was confirmed Monday.
Amtrak is suing a Kern County truck driver for more than half a million dollars in connection with a 2010 train crash in Shafter that injured about 20 people.