Saturday’s heat couldn’t keep the crowds away from the annual NAACP Community Block Party in Waukegan.
With vendor and informational booths tucked in the shade of trees at Bowen Park, hundreds of people gathered for food, arts and crafts, games and the spirit of the community.
Children were given more than 100 back-to-school backpacks in between playing in a bouncy house, doing sand art projects and eating nachos.
Educational booths, health screenings and political groups were there to engage the crowd, which represented the NAACP’s highest membership ever in Lake County, according to Membership Chairperson Gearldean Hughes.
“We’ve got the community involved,” she said.
Local NAACP President Jennifer Witherspoon said the wide variety of information and activities available represented a new face for the group, which she said still concentrates on civil rights but is branching out in new directions.
“We live for stuff like this,” Witherspoon said. “We have all the people coming together to help the community. We have people here from Narcotics Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous to clean energy and everything in between”
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Witherspoon said ensuring that minority children have access to education and safety in their lives is a main priority for the group now.
She said she was not surprised that a large number of people had gathered shortly after the event began at noon.
“We usually have a good crowd,” she said.
Megan Vickers of Waukegan attended the event for the first time and brought along her 8-year-old daughter Alyisa, who proved to be a natural at sand art decorative projects. Vickers said she was also able to get a school backpack for her daughter, and that her mom was able to get her blood pressure checked.
Vickers said she was glad she had heard about the event.
“It’s fun and informational,” she said.
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