Fall is upon West Texas in almost every sense (except for cooler temperatures). The fair came to town, football is back, and the season of fall festivals is here! After a few years of doing a Trunk or Treat style event for our fall family nights, this year, Lubbock Impact tried out its first Fall Festival. From the smiling faces, singing children, giggling families and s’mores covered faces, we’d say it was a success!
Our goal with each family fun night is to craft an opportunity not only for us to get to know our families better but also for each family to have the chance to spend quality time with each other and with their community without missing out on the fun because of the cost. While the festive activities like going to the fair or the corn mazes can be incredibly fun, often, they come with a price tag that for a low-income family, is just not feasible. Every resource, including our family fun nights, is a completely free experience to our beloved participants. Many times, throughout the evening individuals would ask how much a hot dog was or a drink and because of community support it was easy to say, “It’s free!”.
One activity was our “flower shop” with flowers donated by H-E-B for participants to make their own bouquet. The participants excitedly put together their creations and volunteers helped them wrap them up in butcher paper. The volunteers were touched as they discussed the excitement they saw and realized that flowers are more of a luxury item and definitely a special treat for those who normally could not afford it next to normal bills and regular expenses. The opportunity to choose flowers to take home or share with someone special brought so much joy.
For one evening families could relax, laugh and not worry about the weights of the world. Many older adults sat at tables laughing and getting to know one another. Little kids ran from booth to booth learning a new game and earning a sweet treat.
Lubbock Impact’s Fall Festival was a beautiful representation of community support! H-E-B donated flowers for bouquets, our local Starbucks volunteered to serve their delicious teas, many individuals baked goodies for the cakewalk from Bacon Heights Baptist Church and even more volunteered to help with each element of the event. From the face painting to the festival games, s’mores, balloon animals, trunk or treats and so much more, each family had such a wonderful time ringing in the fall season.
