By By Adrienne McKenzie
There are many events in Atmore that I attend for newspaper purposes. I go to the event, take a lot of pictures, talk to many people, come back to the office and write down what occurred at the event and eventually the pictures along with what I have typed into my computer make it into the newspaper.
I wonder how many events I would miss out on in the community if I did not work at The Atmore Advance.
One of the most recent events I went to as a part of my newspaper duties that was a lot of fun was the Unity in the Community Day hosted by the Concerned Citizens of Atmore. I spent most of the day on June 9 at Houston Avery Park on Martin Luther King Drive watching people ride a mechanical bull, eat food from vendors that came from all over the South, including Opelika and Pensacola, Fla., and I saw a lot of beautiful babies that were entered in the Beautiful Baby show.
Children were involved in the day by hopping into the two inflatable bounce houses set up. There was also a vendor that sold balloons in the shape of snakes, Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo and many other animals and cartoon characters that children love.
Overall, it seemed like everyone in attendance at Unity in the Community Day had a good time listening to the gospel entertainment, drinking frozen lemonades and socializing with their peers.
The reason I enjoyed the event so much, other than the fact that my frozen lemonade from Tin-Tin’s Oriental Food’s stand was amazing and the company at the event was great, was that the entire affair reminded me of something that I attended when I was a little girl back in Brewton, the Blueberry Festival.
My parents used to drag me to the Blueberry Festival, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to enjoy the event. I would always pitch a fit, as little girls do, because I never wanted to go out in the, what seemed like, 1,000-degree weather and walk around for hours looking at things that I never had the money to buy.
Now, even though it still feels like the temperature is pushing the 1,000-degree marker, I can better tolerate outdoor events such as the Blueberry Festival because it is a fun time to see people that I have not seen in ages and to look at some festive items that I actually can afford to buy if I wish.
Unity in the Community Day took me back to a time when I was a little girl walking around with one of my friends at the Blueberry Festival. We had a lot of fun eating our funnel cakes and drinking our sodas, even though we were drenched due to the scorching heat.
A lot of people always show up at the Blueberry Festival. I even went with my dad Saturday and, even though all the vendors were packing up and getting ready to go, downtown Brewton was packed.
I hope that as many people show up at Unity in the Community Day next year that do at the Blueberry Festival. It’s a great way to show support for the city and to spend time with family and friends.
Adrienne McKenzie is a staff reporter for The Atmore Advance. She can be reached at 368-2123 or via email at lifestyles@atmoreadvance.com