Every year on Good Friday, the community is invited to Hobart Taylor Park for fun and games. While there, Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, and other community officials come to interact and hand out Easter baskets to the children.
“For those of us who practice the Christian faith, this is a religious holiday for us,” Turner said. “I don’t work on Good Friday. When I came in, I told the people at City Hall, do not look for me on Good Friday. I’m going to be out in the community.”
Cynthia Bailey has been hosting this event for the past 18 years, and on April 7 – Good Friday 2023 – Bailey conducted two park events to benefit two communities: one at Hobart Taylor Park and the other at Tidwell Park where they collectively handed out over 745 baskets between both parks.
“I grew up out here. My mom was my softball coach, and when I saw a need for the kids in the community I had to act,” Bailey said. “The kids were saying they needed a coach. I was trying to figure out what kind of coach they needed. They needed a soccer coach. I didn’t know anything about soccer, but I started with soccer, then baseball and basketball. I’m just doing my part to help this community.”
Local parks hosting these types of events are very important because they are within walking distance of those who live in the area.
“We spend a lot of time in the big signature parks and oftentimes we overlook these local neighborhood parks. These parks are closest to the kids. In this year alone, we will be significantly enhancing 22 of these local neighborhood parks in 2023 alone as a part of my 50 by 50 parks initiative. Kids in every neighborhood deserve quality neighborhood parks that they can walk to, bike to, eventually drive to. That’s why we are here at Hobart Taylor Park, because it’s a local neighborhood park that will benefit communities,” Turner said.
