What an amazing day!
Everyone had a wonderful time at our 13th annual Arnett Block Party on Saturday, August 4th! Volunteers started arriving at 9:00 am, and by noon when the party started the tents were up and Tom Stefano on sound had us all set up and rocking to the Gospel! Willie Lightfoot did a amazing job as our MC for the afternoon. Over seven different churches, ministries, and Rochester agencies pitched in with music, food preparation, kids’ clothing, horse rides in the street, a magic show, the RFD Smoke House, Sew Green’s sewing demo, amazing bubbles, police dog visit, free books from the Arnett Library, a bike clinic, medical tent, free raffle prizes, and jump rope and hula hoop contests. The weather was perfect, and (can you believe it) there wasn’t a single bad episode, not even with the snakes and spiders in the Creeping Things booth!
Kids were getting their own balloons, getting their faces painted and nails decorated, “resuscitating” dummies at the ambulance, being rescued in the smoke house, riding horses, learning to sew, getting their photo ID pictures taken inside GFM, eating free food, marveling to the Punch & Judy marionette show and Nicky’s magic tricks, picking out free books from the Library, checking out the creeping critters, winning raffle prizes, and just plain having a great time with all of us.
Adults were taking in the whole scene, hearing about and experiencing God’s love, visiting our health booth area, enjoying the music and sacred dance performances, watching their kids enjoying a safe and happy day, and meeting new neighbors. How many people came? Well, we went through 500 hot dogs in only 2 and a half hours and gave away almost 100 raffle prizes, so you figure!
Special thanks to Tom Stefano, Willie Lightfoot, all who donated to support our Party and helped with setup, sound, refreshments, hospitality, entertainment, and take down (we were all done and out of there by 5:00 pm). We’ve gathered and posted some pictures (many taken by Jim Delmege) and videos, so check them out below!
Click here to read a flyer with the Block Party Schedule!
