Come join us for the fourth annual Emmafest in East St. Louis! This family-friendly event is a great way to celebrate our community and honor the memory of the late Emma King.
Published for Belleville News-Democrat
The fourth annual Emmafest for family, friends community members, business owners and whoever wants to attend will be held Oct. 5, beginning with a parade at 11 a.m. in East St. Louis.
“It’s a way of giving back to the community and a way of letting the children have a free, fun day, “ Jerome King said.
The festival, named after King’s mother, the late Emma King, is something the King family has done the last four years to honor her memory and to bring the community she loved dearly together. The event is funded by the non-profit Emma L. Wilson King Foundation.
“We want the children to run and frolic in Jones Park, right here in our own community,” he said. “We want families to know we care. We are hopeful a large number of people will come out and enjoy the day with us.”
The event will feature a 45-foot tall Ferris wheel, bounce house, pendulum rides and other attractions. And it’s all free.
Students from Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School will be on hand playing their violins, said King, one of Willie and Emma King’s 10 children.
“There will be three bands — the East St. Louis Senior High School band, the Cahokia Heights band, and the Madison High School Band,” said King. “When they get to the park at Argonne Drive, there is a green space there where the World War l Memorial is and the bands will do a band competition.”
Three centenarians will be honored including Dr. Katie L. Wright, a lifelong East St. Louis resident, who will turn 101 on Saturday, and Eloise Lewis, who is 101 and also a life-long resident. A third person, Scott Randolph is 93-years old. The three will be the Grand Marshal’s for the parade.
“We want to show young people there’s a lot to live for and to be respectful of,” King said.
About 40 vendors will be present, including Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House, Land of Lincoln, Southern Illinois Healthcare, East Side Health District.
A 5K run and walk through Jones Park begins at 11 a.m.
A principle project for their King family is giving scholarships to gradating seniors at East St. Louis Senior High School, Cahokia High School and Madison High School, King said.
Since the King family started the organization, they’ve given out $65,000 in scholarships and have handed out more than 1,500 winter coats.
The family is also restoring the lily pond in Jones Park.
“It is all about giving back to our community. When our mother passed away in 2002, we started a 501 (c) 3 non profit (organization),” King said. “We’ve been basically involved in working with the kids, schools and the park district. We are all volunteers.”
Buying bricks and making donations to the King family’s non-profit helps them to continue doing things that are wholesome to the community and the children and families who live in East St. Louis.
“We grew up in the south end. All 12 of us are graduates of the former Lincoln Senior High School,” King said.
At least four siblings taught in the East St. Louis public schools. After 41 years working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, King moved back to East St. Louis and bought a house next to his childhood home.
“I wanted to live here in East St.:Louis where I grew up and give back to the community,” he said. “It’s important for African Americans to walk the talk. That’s what our mother and father were about. They taught us to give back.
“Our mother was a community mom.”
Individuals and corporations can donate to the Emma L. Wilson King Foundation by visiting the foundation website: emmalkingfoundation.org/home/donate/.
About: Added by Argus Staff
Mission
The Emma L. Wilson King Foundation (herein referred to as The Foundation) is a civic and educational foundation dedicated to the enhancement of the neighborhoods and community of East St. Louis, Illinois. The Foundation is a non-profit organization and is created to improving key elements of East St. Louis such as public parks, gardens, buildings, neighborhood organizations, educational enhancement of both young and old through schools (scholarships) and community centers.
The Foundation is part of a living legacy in memory of Mrs. Emma L. Wilson King, which is formed out of her strong yet simple sense of caring and giving. You need not be wealthy to give. You can teach the concept in others, and thus create a torrent of compassion is the method through which Mrs. King created relationships with those both young and old.
The Foundation has secured its tax exempt status with the IRS as a 501 (C) (3) organization. The Foundation is also securing an accountability standard for charities from the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois.
Objectives
The first goal of The Foundation is to raise $2 Million for the restoration of the Jones Park Fountain which will be renamed the Emma L. Wilson King Memorial Fountain at Jones Park Lagoon. This effort will begin through fund raisers such as dinner sales, raffles, corporate sponsorship and the purchase of bricks through contributions from the general public.
The late Mrs. Emma L. Wilson King was an East St. Louis resident and mother of twelve children who deeply cared about her community and the outdoors and displayed this in her love of gardening. The fundamentals of a solid education for her children and giving to ones community were also important aspects of Mrs. King’s life. It is for this reason The Foundation has chosen the historic Municipal Fountain in the Lansdowne neighborhood as an inaugural Foundation project. The large fountain is nearly one hundred years old and its concrete base is solid but in need of major repair along with its entire lead pipe system. The electrical light system will also require a total overhaul and the fountain’s area grounds redesigned.
The East St. Louis Park District faces continual budget constraints and does not have in place monetary plans for this project. Upon securing adequate funds for the fountain’s restoration, The Foundation will put in place through it auspices a basic maintenance and operation plan for the continued upkeep of the fountain. The Foundation will in essence be adopting the fountain from the Park District but leaving it intact and fully restored for the general public to fully enjoy for years to come.
This new partnership in community revitalization plans to have the restoration of this project completed by 2010. The Foundation will in turn identify other community efforts that will reflect the life and synergy of the Emma L. Wilson King Foundation.
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