FLINT, Michigan -- Thanks to grants and partnerships with several local organizations, the Eastside Franklin Park neighborhood will be hosting a craft fair, vaccine and lead testing clinic, and more on Saturday, July 24.

The event is supported by grants and resources from the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Keep Genesee County Beautiful, Michigan United, The Genesee County Health Department, and the Eastside Franklin Park Neighborhood Association. The event, called the “Sizzlin’ Summer Sell-A-Bration,” will include a craft fair, food, a mobile clinic that offers COVID-19 and other vaccines, and lead testing. All activities will take place in the neighborhood’s pocket park, located at the corner of Franklin and Ohio avenues.

There will also be chalk art, face painting, and other activities for kids from noon-3 p.m. The craft fair lasts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Flintside’s editorial team will be doing an editorial advisory in the park from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Neighborhood residents are welcome to attend to discuss story ideas for our Eastside Franklin Park On the Ground series.

“We've had craft fairs before, we had a couple of them last year and they went really well,” said Edna Sabucco, the ESFP Neighborhood Association lead organizer. “This year we're doing a little bit more. We're having Andy Ellard, he’s a chalk artist, come out. He's going to do chalk stuff with the kids. We rented an ice cream cart from Have-A-Bar, and we're also going to have shish kabobs.” 

Anyone is welcome to set up a booth at the craft fair this Saturday. “If you know anybody that does crafts tell them, bring a booth, bring a table and a tent, please, we don't charge,” Sabucco said.

The hope and intent are for local creatives, kids, and families to come to the park and celebrate a space made to bring the community together and build stronger relationships. Sabucco hopes that the event will bring more people to the park after the event is over. “It's just a little patch of heaven in the neighborhood, it really is,” she  said.

At the event, a mobile vaccine clinic will be held. Michigan United will be onsite to provide vaccine education and administration. Spanish-speaking health navigators will be present alongside a few general health educators from the GCHD. Children will have free lead testing made available to them and school vaccinations for local residents as well. The clinic will be from noon-3 p.m.

Asbury Church’s youth-led program, Sizzlin Culture, will be making and giving food out on Saturday for the event attendants. The program facilitates participants to creatively express themselves with food while using food grown locally at Asbury Farms. Attendeeswill be provided with food grown locally and at the same time support the youth working at Sizzlin Culture. 

Sabucco is motivated to continuously use the park in a way that brings joy and beauty to the neighborhood.
The craft fair will be in the neighborhood's pocket park at Missouri and Franklin avenues.“You know, what makes me passionate about it is the fact that it's a nice little place,” she said. “People can go there and they can chill. They can have a bite to eat, you know what I mean? People sometimes just go there and have their lunch, and just kind of hang out. There's fresh fruit there. They can wander through, they can sniff the flowers, and enjoy the park. There are butterflies and birds that go over there and in the meadow. We have bunnies now too!”

Sabucco loves the idea of children going to the park and learning how to pick and enjoy the strawberries. 

“It’s been a lot of work, but at the same time, I think it's been worth it in the long run,” said Sabucco. She hopes that events like this will be the start of many more to come. Community organizations are able to work together through neighborhood events like this and bring residents hope. 

“I am really excited about it,” said Sabucco. “The thought of people coming in, possibly from across town, just, you know to hang out, visit, get acquainted, and mainly the people in the neighborhood … it's important. It's just going to be a nice family event and nothing fancy, but hey, it's all good.” 

To set up a booth at the craft fair, contact Edna Sabucco at (810) 908-7654.