Hillside community celebrates May Day

The overcast skies hanging over Apalachicola most of the day Saturday, May 1, didn’t dissuade residents of the north side community from coming out to the May Day Fun Fest organized by Myrtis Wynn and Apalachicola City Commissioner Brenda Ash.

The Fun Fest followed a weeklong cleanup also organized by Wynn and Ash, that targeted the African-American community also known as the Hill. The Hill sits on a gradual incline on the north side of historic Apalachicola.

Traditionally in the United States, Canada, and parts of Western Europe, the first day of May is observed as a holiday in celebration of the coming of spring. Spring festivals, maypoles and maying are all still common, however the political importance of May Day has grown since the 1880s, when it became a workers’ day in the United States.

During Saturday’s local May Day Fun Fest, both Wynn and Ash indicated that the event was a success and that it would most likely become an annual affair.

Wynn further stated that plans for next year’s cleanup would focus on cleaning up one or more run down properties instead of targeting the north side community as a whole.

As an added component to the festivities, that included a basketball competition and traditional outdoor kid games such as jump rope, hula-hoops, and pitching horseshoes. Wynn invited Dr. Carrie B. Baker, Associate Director of Recruiting and Retention out of Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, to come over and talk with prospective college bound students that attend the Franklin County Consolidated School. “This person (Dr. Baker) can point students in the right direction.” Wynn said.

In addition to the fried mullet and barbeque ribs whipped up by New Life Church, there were boiled crawfish, hot dogs, drinks, and homemade churned ice cream for all in attendance to enjoy.