Written by Tanya Terry
This Independence Day, FIM and RICH Kids Inc. have again brought the FIM Holiday Celebration and Annual Water Festival to Flint, and today is the big day of the amazing event!
A carnival began on July 3 this year and will continue until July 5, in the Downtown Flat Lot. All other activities are free of charge and will take place in the Flat Lot Friday, July 4 from 7 -10:30 p.m.
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Annual Flint Water Festival.
Amanda Sauvie, manager of community programming at FIM, told the Courier the water activities, music, sports, fireworks and other attraction and activities help promote a sense of wellness throughout the community.
“The Water Festival is a wonderful, fun event,” she said. “It’s important for folks to come and see the headliner, which is obviously going to be a lot of fun. Uptown Funk is a tribute to Bruno Mars. Everybody loves Bruno Mars. It’s so super upbeat. It’s super fun.”
In addition, Sauvie pointed out the entertainment line-up includes many local performers.
“When it comes to music, we’ve chosen some local performers who kind of represent a variety of very upbeat, fun genres,” she said.
Sauvie said she felt seeing the local performers, who will be on stage before the headliner, will help enhance a sense of pride in the community. Alina Oliver will sing the National Anthem. Cainaen McGhee plays covers that go back to the 90s and across the last 30 years. He will also be spotlight his original music, which leans toward the country genre. Nosey Parker, an indie rock group/alternative women-led group, will play mostly original music. BFF, a high-energy duo, will be playing a blend of pop and hip hop. DJ Brian Larkin will also be playing great music.
“Additionally, we have a group of seniors that are coming out to dance. The Hustlers on the Move group are coming out. They will do a few hustles for us and have a few the crowd can participate in. So, that’s going to have crowd participation, and I think it’s a really great group for seniors to see. They can see what’s possible. They can see what kind of fun you can get together with your friends and have, at all ages. Music, dance and the joy it brings is something that can speak to all ages.”
There is also a great selection of water slides, a dunk tank and inflatables. Attendees will have the opportunity for a pickleball experience. They can watch the Flint City Bucks, a semi-professional soccer team based in the city.
“They’ll be playing pickleball. People can play with the Bucks, and get to know the players. I think that’s a really great way to spotlight all these wonderful things that go on in our community.”
Another great, free activity children and families will be able to enjoy may get them a little messy.
“We will have some members of our Ghostbusters Shadowcast that we have coming up in October. We’ll be showing the original “Ghostbusters” movie at that time, with a live shadowcast by Wandering Latern Productions. They’re going to be there helping kids make slime on the 4th, like straight out of the “Ghostbusters” movie. We’ll have a couple things for kids to do there-lots of activities and crafts.”
Kay Smith, founder of RICH Kids Inc. and the Flint Water Festival shared the history of the event. She said that she was not living in Flint at the time of the Water Crisis, but she was deeply impacted by it. She was attending Harvard. She also had just finished performing in the play “The Light Princess” in Boston at the American Repertory Theatre and Off-Broadway at the Victory Theatre in Time Square.
“A big part of the plot was water and the importance of water,” Smith said. “It connected to the whole play. So, when the Water Crisis happened, where the highest lead levels were were actually where I was born and raised. So, I was like: ‘I want to do something for the kids, but also for the community.; But, it was the children’s musical I was in. So, I immediately started thinking of the kids.”
Smith said she learned about the Water Crisis when the rest of the world did, which she said was around January 2016.
“When I saw it on the news, I cried a lot,” said Smith. “It was alarming. It made me feel like I needed to do something. First, I said I’d put the play up. But, when I came home and I was on the ground and seeing how everything was going, I said: ‘This is very complex.’ I had never lived through a crisis. So, I thought, maybe I needed to do something that was going to be annual. So, that’s how I came up with the festival.”
Smith said she understands that people may wonder why the Flint Water Festival and the 4th of July are being celebrated together.
She said: “When the Water Festival started it was basically a heartfelt response to the Flint Water Crisis. Back in 2016, nothing was going on like it used to on the 4th of July. I thought maybe I can get everybody back together, and I can give away water. We can have something for the kids. We’ll have a carnival there. So, that’s what we did.”
Smith said she has aimed to do her part to help in the Water Crisis by helping to change children’s feelings about water.
“I don’t want to think water is a negative thing, even though it was a negative that happened. My family was impacted personally. My brother lost his biological father to Legionnaire’s disease in 2016. So, I know what it’s like to go through the ups and downs of the Water Crisis. But, the people we lost didn’t die in vain. We have done donations inside and outside of Flint. People have been coming to us for water donations in other places.”
Smith stated the carnival was originally at the Flat Lot, and it hasn’t been there again since this year. Typically, it moves around each year.
“That’s kind of interesting that it’s been there on the for the first and the 10th festival,” said Smith.
The carnival will require an admission cost, as well as tickets for rides. However, all the other activities and attractions are free.
No registration is required.
For information about the carnival taking place through July 5, visit www.gotothecarnival.com.
For a full schedule of events for the FIM Holiday Celebration and milestone 10th Annual Flint Water Festival, or more information, visit https://thefim.org/event/july4/
