Rallying for Peace in the name of Frederick

I'm sure Octavius Veargis is quite proud of himself today as his newly formed, One Grove Foundation hosted a very successful Coconut Grove Fun Day yesterday at Esther M. Armbrister Park, in Village West. This is Octavius with his proud mother Dora Dukes, right and M. Peggy Quatro, left. You may recognize Dora and Peggy from CocoWalk.

Hundreds of people came out in the name of Frederick Gibson, whose senseless death brought the rallying cry of, "No more violence," from the crowd. Frederick's parents and family received a plaque in his honor and a local minister prayed with the crowd from the stage.

Frederick's mother, Sheena, told how he loved Coconut Grove, he was born here and lived here his whole short life. Frederick's family took to the stage to thank the crowd.

There were a lot of games and happy things, too, during the afternoon. Free food was handed out and a couple of kick ball games too place along with other things like an egg race, horse shoes, hula hoop and more. I was very impressed with the turn out and the attitude and friendliness of the neighbors.

The Fun Day will be the first of several planned monthly outreach events which are focused on bringing together the community to work on beautification projects, mentorship programs and safe, family oriented activities. Armbrister Park is a big, beautiful park that doesn't get enough use. Hopefully it will now.

The burgers and hot dogs were handed out in brown bags, along with chips and as you took your bag, you were handed water, juice or soda. Very organized and hundreds of people were served within minutes.


A friend who was with me said it best when she said, "This is what the Grove has always been about -- community." I'm sure Frederick was smiling down on everyone.