Welcome to the first ever Statewide Homeless Memorial Event, which will take place here in Fresno at Roeding Park (Eucalyptus Grove) on Saturday, June 5. Opening ceremonies begin at noon with Native American drummers and dancers followed by live entertainment from a number of singers and bands. The event is free to the public. Just your presence is required to enjoy the festivities and the fine foods to be prepared by Food Not Bombs and the state-of-the-art BBQ by Terry Hoeg, Donna and Joyce Lopez.
Because of the past success of this extremely upbeat event, now in its third year, leaders and advocates across the state asked Fresno to host a statewide event. We accepted that honor.
People from cities such as San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento and Merced will participate in this event and honor the many homeless people who have stepped up to the plate to make the lives of other homeless people a little better. Fresno will honor people like Pam Kincaid, Sandra Thomas, Sherri Lee Williams and a host of others who have continued their journey throughout the universe. We expect a number of city and county officials to attend the event.
There will be a table for the Eco-Village exhibit, which is being made at Fresno State. This project is headed by Art Dyson and is being constructed by 62 college students, with the help of myself as a homeless consultant and several other homeless people. This is an opportunity for the Fresno community to actually see the progress that can be made, if given the chance. Come see that we can exist together in a positive manner.
We are adding two new awards at this year’s event. A husband-in-law award and a wife-in-law award will be given to two people for their support of the homeless.
