Young group hopes picnic can ignite positive feelings

Children lined up under the shade of canopies at Pearson Park on Sunday to get their faces painted, get a free soda and take part in a scavenger hunt. All the activities were arranged for a common goal; to spark more community activism and voter engagement. After weeks of community unrest and protests in Anaheim, the group of community-minded volunteers known as We Are Anaheim, Somos Anaheim decided it was time for a picnic. A simple picnic in the park, organizers said, was a good way for neighbors to come out of their homes and begin talking about where they want to see Anaheim go from here. This is just about getting the community to come out and meet each other and getting them to come together to show their support for our city, even if they don t agree on issues, said Veronica Rodarte, 25, a nonprofit employee and lifelong Anaheim resident. We Are Anaheim, Somos Anaheim was the brainchild of a small group of twenty something and thirtysom heim residents who saw protesters clash e City Hall on July 24. They wanted to provide a peaceful alternative to encourage dialogue. So they founded their group on Facebook and arranged a peace march, then a kids art project on Anna Drive - the street where a police shooting touched off the community unrest. We ve seen a lot of adults feel like they are past the point of being able to make a difference politically, so we focus on the children - the future - to give them the tools to speak up, Rodarte said. Juan Alvarez, 31, a teacher at South Junior High School, said he hopes the idea of a community picnic to get residents chatting about the future of the city - in a nonthreatening setting - will catch on in other parts of the city. The turnout on Sunday was light - about 50 people. I consider it a good start, said a smiling Elsa Covarrubias, 30, a leader of the group sitting under a sign that read Be the Change. We are a nonpartisan group, she said. We don e out and to vote - to show they care.