LYNN — Mayor Jared Nicholson brought city hall to Frederick Douglass Park on Saturday for the 3rd Lynnside Out festival.
The festival brought the city’s staff, including those from the Department of Public Works, the Police and Fire Departments, Lynn Public Schools, the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, and other organizations, downtown for interactive games, raffles, and informational sessions with residents.
“We have a lot of great departments, primary partner organizations, who are here, sharing the resources they have, the services they provide, and it’s really an opportunity to connect with our residents out where they are,” Nicholson said.
Residents also enjoyed free food and live performances.
During the festival, Nicholson took the mic to encourage community members to always reach out if they have concerns or questions.
“As always, a hallmark of our approach to making the most of these opportunities is to make sure that the progress in land benefits the residents of this city,” he said. “And we want to make sure that all of the good things that are happening… includes all of you, because ultimately, that’s what true progress is.”
George Vinson, a resident, said he was impressed by the community engagement the mayor has been doing.
“What Lynn is doing is great for the people,” he added. “It’s wonderful.”
Angeline Pojoy, a resident and student, said she hopes Lynnside Out continues to be held annually because it is informative for residents to be able to meet city officials in-person at an informal event to understand the resources that are available to them.
“Without this event, I feel like I wouldn’t know half the programs that exist here,” she said.
“It’s just a very fun event that I think unites the community,” Pojoy added.
Dan Shoup, a resident, said it was great to see people of “all different shapes and sizes,” together for the event.
He added, as a recovery coach, that he particularly appreciated the fire department providing information on how to do CPR at its informational booth, because some training courses are expensive.
