A neighbourhood watch group in Chatham is looking back to when it first started in July of 1999 and celebrating its progress throughout the last 20 years.
To mark the 20th anniversary of East Side Pride, a community celebration will make a splash Saturday at the WISH Centre and Taylor Park.
The event starts at 10 a.m. and will feature swimming, a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting, free snow cones, and a free barbeque.
Outgoing chair Marjorie Crew and incoming chair Bev Webster said the event is sure to entertain families and will include giveaways.
"URide has sponsored two bikes to give away to a girl and a boy [in the four to nine age group] and then we have another large gift card for the older kids," said Crew. "It's going to be a great fun family event."
Although there will be some seats available at the event, residents are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair.
Crew said it's almost shocking to think that East Side Pride has been around for 20 years. It all started after a series of crimes took place in Chatham's east end and a group of people from the area came together.
"We had some issues that were pretty prevalent and there were some things that sparked us into action ... We were really lucky to have partners that stepped up and had confidence in us and mentored and supported us all through those years," said Crew.
The milestone celebration on Saturday will run until 2 p.m.
