When our former A&P chair said last month that Dickson Street was unsafe, Fayetteville was not impressed. Not just because it isn’t true but also because Dickson Street is one of three locations in Northwest Arkansas being considered for the expansion of a family-friendly organization called the Walton Arts Center. You may have heard of it.
The chair resigned shortly afterwards but his words are still echoing through the minds of many locals. “Why don’t we just do something about it?” said Lee Ann Kendrick, while discussing the situation with her daughter and a friend. “So I ran with it,” said Heather Kendrick-Gerlaugh, daughter of Lee Ann.
They did some thinking, some planning and a little bit of soapboxing and before the night was over, the idea for a Take Your Kids To Dickson event was born. That was a few weeks ago. The event is tomorrow.
Heather and daughter Marti Pearl
The group, which calls itself The Lighter Side of Dickson, is led by Kendrick-Gerlaugh and consists of about a dozen local students, artists, professionals, parents and nonparents who share a common belief: that the Dickson Street area is indeed a family-friendly atmosphere. So to prove it, they got to work immediately to plan one heck of an event.
In just a matter of weeks, the group was able to organize a 6-hour event which includes a “Tot Walk” through over a dozen sponsoring Dickson Street businesses, several activity “Fun Zones” for kids to hang out at and win donated prizes, live music from four local bands and they even convinced city officials to close off an entire block of the street for part of the day.
I’ve got three words for The Lighter Side of Dickson: Are you freaking kidding me? (OK, five words)
The fun starts tomorrow (Saturday June 12), at 3pm and lasts until 9pm. A full schedule of events, including a map and information on the musicians playing is available at takeyourkidstodickson.com.
Who’s in?
