As we’ve seen in the past, festivals are sometimes created to help with the survival and development of a community (ie Hessler Street Fair).

One such festival ran this past Sunday in Cleveland’s Jefferson Park…

…for the Southwest Cleveland community of Bellaire Puritas.

Called the Bellaire Puritas Arts Festival, the event did have some interesting vendors to go along with the festival title…

…and they offered animal portraits carved from wood…

…Asian paintings and calligraphy…

…and even vinyl record clocks and 80’s purses.

And there were other festival offerings…

…including community booths…

…musical entertainment (Bluegrass Kings)…

…and grub that ranged from french fries to Cambodian cuisine.

But if there was one thing I was impressed with at this festival (and maybe it’s because I’m a new dad)…

…it was the attention paid to children.

Along with the sandbox…

…the jump house…

…the cool Nature Tracks scavenger hunt exhibit…

…and the face painter…

…there were plenty of activities available that helped children…

…express themselves through creative writing…

…paint a time capsule for future memory storage…

…and even construct a dream home from wood…

…talents and skills they might use one day to help preserve communities in the future.

.