LEWISTON — In the first minute of the Back 2 School Youth Fair at Kennedy Park on Wednesday free T-shirts were flying off the table. 

Standing behind the table, Lewiston School Department employee Ayesha Hall worked hard to keep it under control as more and more parents and children swarmed the area when the fair opened at 5 p.m. 

“Come on now,” she cajoled a woman trying to get extra shirts. “Just one right now, OK? If I give you more than that, all these people over the next three hours won’t have any.” 

The bright blue T-shirts, donated by the Lewiston School Athletic Department, sport the message “Lewiston Proud” on the front. They were offered for free in collaboration with Motivating Other Voices Everywhere, or M.O.V.E.

By 5:05 p.m., a good half of the T-shirts were gone and Hall, the School Department’s social emotional learning and equity resource coordinator, had to assume a role that was half hall monitor, half auctioneer. 

“The smalls are all gone! All gone!” she shouted to the throngs in front of her table. “Mediums only. Come on, come on. Let’s get the kids up here so they can get one.” 

It was vigorous work, the job of T-shirt vendor, but Hall was as happy as can be. The fair was kind of an afterthought, and there had been some concerns that it wouldn’t draw many people. 

Those concerns were erroneous. Before it even got underway, Kennedy Park was crammed full of vendors giving away free school supplies and families getting acquainted just ahead of the start of a new school year. 

Hall and others were hoping the fair would help children transition into the new school year after last year, which was so disordered due to the pandemic. 

“It was such a messy end of the school year,” Hall said. “We couldn’t get everybody together. That’s what we’re here for tonight. We’re making sure to welcome the kids back. We needed something to soften the transition.” 

Hall and her husband, Malik, helped organized the event, which was sponsored by several local businesses and groups. 

Deeper in the park the Pathway Vineyard Church was giving out bright orange book bags. In short order, half of the children wandering through the park seemed to have one of them strung over his back. 

A little farther along, a Walmart tractor-trailer was in the park center to distribute still more school supplies. 

“This is our first time doing something like this,” Lewiston police Detective Joe Philippon said as he helped out. “It gets the kids excited and engaged about going back to school. That’s important given the fact that last year was such a challenging time. Hopefully this is just the start of building some positive momentum.”

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