Vallejo’s Emmanuel Temple holds spring break fair for kids

VALLEJO – Pastor Bryan Harris of Emmanuel Temple first created the outdoors event Parking Lot Play in 2024 to provide a safe and healthy space where kids on spring break could get free food, participate in outdoor activities, and befriend other kids in the community. 

This year’s event was held this week in the parking lot of Emmanuel Temple at 900 6th St. It was sponsored by the church’s nonprofit, Emmanuel Arms Community, Inc., and was open to students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Parents were welcome to attend, or drop off their kids in the morning and pick them up at 2 p.m.

Activities included arts and crafts, gardening, STEM projects, and several group sports like basketball and football, sometimes with guest volunteers. On Wednesday, for example, Harris’ son Simeon, who plays football for Fresno State, ran drills with the kids.

“Pastor Harris had been wanting to do this kind of event for a while, to create a space where kids from Vallejo had an opportunity to have fun,” said Ashley Yarbrough, the coordinator for the event. “With inflation rising for things like food and activities, to be able to offer something that’s completely free for families has been a blessing for us.” 

This is the second year that the church is hosting the biennial event, made possible by a grant from the city. It’s doubled in size since it was first held in 2024, Yarbrough said, with about 50 people pre-registering or showing up in person on each of the three days, versus about 70 attendees total in 2024.

Yarbrough added that they also had about 40 volunteers participating across the three days to make sure the kids were entertained and cared for. Having reliable volunteers was an important aspect of the event’s success, as they wanted it to be a resource for parents who maybe couldn’t afford to take time off to be with their kids during spring break.

“I'm hoping that families feel that relief knowing that their kids are in a safe space, and they're going to get fed and have a great time,” said Yarbrough.

Fifth grader Sira Winston said her favorite activity was doing the arts and crafts, like making figures out of clay. “It’s really fun. I get to make new friends, and I get to play [while] my parents get to chill at home,” Winston said. 

Alera Henry, whose mom is a member of the church, drove down from Sacramento to attend the event with her kids Arabella and Aviya.

“The food is good, and the art classes are good,” said Henry. “They did crocheting and made flying birds.” 

Arabella added that they also made different bracelets, and that her favorite part of the event was “everything, really.” 

Meals were provided every day by the church, and they also had a few vendors on site providing snacks. Angels with Heart – a nonprofit that does various community service events like reading to seniors, prom dress donation drives, and community clean-up events – handed out free snow cones and cotton candy to attendees. 

Angels with Heart Executive Director Francean Larsen said that doing this work is its own reward. “I like the smiles we receive,” Larsen said. “It makes the kids happy.” 

There were also free services like haircuts and bike repair.

High schooler Izaiah Garman was one of the barbers. He said he learned to fade and taper from watching YouTube videos, and initially honed his skills cutting hair for his friends and family members. Now he enjoys offering his services at various community events. 

Rockville Bike owner Mike Flood was also there to repair bikes for free, as he noted that the rising cost of bikes means more people are turning to fixing them up rather than buying new. On Thursday morning, he said he’d already worked on five bikes and even a walker, which people might not realize break down.

“They all have these braided cables, and over time, the braid gets tighter and the cables stretch out,” meaning that the walker loses its ability to break safely, explained Flood. “Growing up with my grandparents and helping out my grandma with these types of things was really important to her, and I like to do that for the community as well.” 

Yarbrough said that currently, the spring break event happens only every two years. But she added that they’re planning on doing another free community event in the parking lot in July, this time in the evening. It will focus on youth and mental wellness. 

“Our whole theme this year is how to handle big emotions like grief, anger, and sadness, which this generation especially needs,” said Yarbrough. “Like, how do we handle anxiety? What are some creative ways we can express that without causing harm to ourselves or others?” 

They’ll also be hosting their National Night Out street festival on the first Friday in August, which will feature games, vendors, food, and live music.

Yarbrough dreams of expanding the spring break event to one day be able to offer transportation services for the kids to get picked up and dropped off. For now, she said she hopes that the attendees just had a positive experience. 

“I’m hoping they experienced a place where they could come and have fun and meet some new friends,” she said. “I hope that they bring home something that they can remember this by, and they can look back on their spring break like, ‘Wow, I had a really great time there.’”