One of Vickery Meadow’s young residents, photographed by Scott Lumley (more here)
A community festival in Vickery Meadow, slated for early April, is especially significant in light of the recent hit-and-run death of a neighborhood child, organizers say.
“We want the children of Vickery Meadow to know that they are safe, and that their community can be a great place to live and learn,” notes Jackie Shemwell, a board member at Heart House Dallas, the upcoming event’s sponsor and organizer.
Vickery Meadow flanks our neighborhood, but the densely populated, ethnically diverse area known for high crime and general poverty (the average income is $24,000 for an average family size of 5.3 persons, according to VMID stats, and the neighborhood regularly takes a prominent position on the Dallas Police crime “hot spots” list) is a different world from nearby parts of Lake Highlands.
For more than 18 years, members of the Vickery Meadow Improvement District — a model organization for struggling neighborhoods striving to improve — have been working to increase the quality of life for the residents by partnering with Dallas Police and city officials, hiring off-duty officers to patrol the area, implementing interactive policing programs that involve apartment owners and renters and working with other groups to bring cultural and community events — such as the Trans.lation project — to the neighborhood.
Which brings us back to the aforementioned event, the Heart of Vickery Meadow Walk and Community Festival, brought to the neighborhood by the East Dallas-based nonprofit Heart House, which offers after school programs to Vickery Meadow-area students, along with Sam Tasby Middle School and the VMID. Proceeds benefit the school.
Below, find pertinent date, times and locations:
Festival featuring walk, food, music, entertainment and more is Saturday, April 12 at noon-2 p.m. at Sam Tasby Middle School, 7001 Fair Oaks.
11 a.m. — Check in
Noon — 1-mile walk begins
1 p.m. — Easter egg hunt begins
1-4 p.m. — Trans.lation art galleries open
Officially register for the walk (a.k.a. get the T-shirt) and find more details here. It’s $5.
Vickery Meadow faces unique challenges, and events such the hit-and-run accident fuel frustrations, but Shemwell hopes the walk and festival will unite and strengthen the community.
The event already has a vast amount of support from surrounding neighborhoods, she says. “It has already raised $6,200 in sponsorships from local businesses … we are very excited to have VMID and Trans.lation also participating in this event. We are trying to get the entire community involved in this fun, family day.”
