Unable to hold a Vacation Bible School in their yard as they’ve done for nearly a decade, Justin and Rebekah Kline are instead leading a unique celebration — a “Bless the Block” parade — that will take place throughout their neighborhood Friday evening.
The Klines reside at the corner of 5th and Poplar streets, where for the past nine summers they’ve hosted a VBS for children in the neighborhood. Counting volunteers, as many as 200 people would show up each night.
“Of course with the pandemic, we couldn’t really do that,” Justin Kline said. “We brainstormed with some people about what we could do differently.”
He said they had seen schools and other organizations hold parades this summer, and it seemed like a viable option.
Event organizers worked with the City of Owensboro to set up a parade that will wind through the neighborhood.
The parade will travel between 5th and 7th streets, making their way from Elm Street to Orchard Street.
In addition to a parade of cars, a fire truck, an ambulance and motorcycles, Kline said they’ll have live entertainment, food — with ready-to-eat as well as packaged options, and cleaning supplies to give away.
There will also be a competition in which residents can vote for the “GOAT” of the neighborhood — choosing between Julius Maddox, Chad Morris and Travis Owsley. The winner gets the honor of having water balloons thrown at them while they ride a float.
“These are three highly respected men from our community that a lot of people look up to,” Kline said. “They’re all good sports. They all committed to be a part of this.”
Kline said the neighborhood typically has some iconic events in July, but so far everything has been cancelled — including the long-running Dust Bowl — putting a damper on peoples’ spirits.
Kline added that with the neighborhood being predominantly home to Black residents coupled with the unrest across the country due to racial inequality, there was a void that he hopes the parade can fill.
“We need something positive,” he said. “We need to come together. The timing just seems right for some sort of community event.”
The event’s name actually stemmed from a conversation Rebekah was having with one of her friends after VBS was cancelled.
“I said don’t worry, we still have plans to bless the block,” she said. “It kind of just went from there.”
The Klines were adamant in saying the event couldn’t go on without the help from people throughout the community, which has pitched in with donations and offered to help wherever they may be needed.
Though they won’t turn people away who show up, Kline said the event is really designed for their neighborhood because of restrictions on crowd size and distancing between households. Residents who participate are also encouraged to wait in their yards or spaced out along sidewalks rather than form even small crowds.
Kline said even though he’s not sure how it will turn out, he’s excited for Friday night. Most importantly, he wants to be able to help bless the community.
“It’s really kind of fluid right now because we’ve never done it before,” he said. “We don’t know what it’s going to look like or what the turnout is going to be. We want it to be a blessing on many levels, physically and spiritually.”
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