Published: August 16, 2008 08:03 pm      

Planners hope SEJ festival in New Albany becomes a regular affair

Nearly six months of planning and effort came to a head Saturday, as the S. Ellen Jones neighborhood proudly celebrated its first of what organizers hope will be many festivals.

Sponsored by the S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Association, St. John Presbyterian Church and numerous other local organizations and churches, the first S. Ellen Jones Neighborhood Festival ran smoothly with hundreds of local residents in attendance.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with the turnout,” said Ted Fulmore, SEJ association president and one of the chief planners of the event.

Fulmore hopes the 2008 version will lead to several future festivals.

“We had no doubt that this would be just a seed,” he said. “We hope to build on this for next year.”

Fulmore and other organizers didn’t know what to expect when they arrived at S. Ellen Jones Park along 13th Street Saturday, but more than 500 hot dogs had already been consumed by festival-goers just two hours into the event.

Fulmore said they had to purchase more hot dogs to keep the crowd happy. Free food was provided for participants by the Cardinal Ritter Birthplace Foundation and the New Albany Knights of Columbus.

Kids could be seen playing in the street while a truck spewed bubbles over their heads, crashing down and bursting on their shoulders and feet.

Other children found the face painting booth — sponsored by the East Spring Street Neighborhood Association — to be the center of fun.

One man said his nephew, who learned about the festival while attending S. Ellen Jones Elementary School, wanted to come to the event just to get his face painted.

There was also a basketball tournament for the athletically-inclined. Hoopsters battled it out on the blacktop for honors, as the basketball tournament was sponsored by the New Albany-Floyd County Parks Department.

There were various other events for enjoyment including live music, but the festival wasn’t all about fun and games.

Several organizations used the gathering as a means to hand out information on health issues. Traveling Along with Mom, Health Mission on the Move was sponsored by St. John Presbyterian Church, and the booth saw several visitors.

The mobile health education program targets people who don’t have access to quality health care and information. Representatives were providing free services at the festival and giving away items like toothbrushes.

“We’ve had several people stop by and get there blood pressure taken,” said Health Mission Director Chandra Kearns.

The mobile mission racked up more than 10,000 miles last year visiting 13 states, and Kearns said they will travel to even more locations this year.

Other organizations such as the Norton Health Care Office of Church and Health Ministries and Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services Outreach attended the festival, providing free screenings and information.

The Floyd County Health Department, Center for Women and Families and LifeSpring also used the event as a means to give health handouts to people.

Fulmore hopes the festival will not only spawn into more events for the neighborhood, but also inspire more organizations to hold similar programs to encourage civic pride.

He said the SEJ association was moved to plan the event in part by the success of the annual Silver Grove Neighborhood Association festival, which is held in September.

Fulmore said the SEJ neighborhood has potential and a steady anchor for hosting future events.

“The park is a great asset,” he said.