SEARCY, Ark. (Sept. 20, 2012) - Non-profit organization Bikers 4 Foster Kids will sponsor the 2nd annual Foster Friends Festival on Saturday, September 22 at the Searcy Events Center.
The Festival - designed to bring together the community for family-friendly activities while educating on the problems facing foster children in the county - has grown in scope since the inaugural event in 2011 which had an estimated 1000 attendees and raised over $6000.
The 2012 event will kick off at 9 a.m. with a motorcycle parade honoring the 39th Infantry Brigade and has an anticipated turnout of over 150 motorcycles.
The bikes will take a slow ride through Searcy ending up at the Searcy Event Center by the soccer fields.
After a flag-raising with honor guard, Searcy Mayor David Morris and White County Judge Michael Lincoln will address the crowd. All day people can enjoy watching a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, see the display of entries for the 100-point Car and Bike Show, and enjoy a Kid Zone with pony rides, bounce house, face painting and more.
Live bands, including Little Rock favorite Jason Greenlaw and the Groove, will play all day. Free food (while it lasts) will be offered to all attendees.
"Our group started in June 2011 with a mission to serve foster children by providing resources to meet their basic needs, promoting public awareness of the needs of foster care, and ultimately increasing the number of qualified foster homes in White County," says Says Faran Hearyman, co-chair of Bikers 4 Foster Kids. "The Foster Friends Festival helps accomplish all of those goals."
White County typically has 80-100 foster children and an average of only 30 foster homes.
Since its inception Bikers 4 Foster Kids has given away thousands of dollars in clothing, necessities, school supplies, furniture, toys and other items to foster children in need.
(Source: Bikers 4 Foster Kids)