OPEN COLUMN
Festival provides fun, feeling of belonging

Editor, the Tribune: On June 24, I attended the fifth annual Community Festival at Prairie Grove Baptist Church, near Exit 133 off the Interstate 70 outer road. The festival offered family-friendly, carnival-like recreation where one could enjoy old-fashioned games, neat prizes, inflatable fun houses, hot dogs, snow cones, balloons, a petting zoo, a Columbia fire truck, live gospel singing and more - all free!

Hundreds of people of various ages and backgrounds came to the five-hour festival. I noticed the joy in the children’s eyes as they participated in the "Kids’ Fun Zone," where they got to throw darts at balloons, do face-paintings, dig for buried treasure, toss bean bags and play miniature golf. And everyone enjoyed hearing the talented gospel music groups under the big tent. In keeping with the festival’s charitable spirit, the singers gave away their albums for free.

Typically, Christians are always looking for ways to love their neighbors, as Jesus taught. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising to see the Prairie Grove volunteers, led by Grant Timbrook, cheerfully serve their "neighbors" from start to finish. In contrast, at Six Flags, Christian concerts are not free, food costs you half your paycheck and the workers really don’t enjoy serving you. Thanks to the people at Prairie Grove, we have an alternative.

I encourage all your readers to attend next year’s Community Festival. It was this same festival three years ago that first stamped in me, as a newcomer, the impression that Columbia is a friendly one, indeed.

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Joshua Schmitz

480 East Park Lane

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