FERRIDAY — The Rev. Simeon Green III has a vision to see Ferriday come together.

“Back in early June, God gave me a vision to have a community outreach and a picnic for the students going back to school,” he said.

“(The vision) wasn’t just focusing on the children, but on everybody in the community.”

After receiving his vision, Green shared it with his congregation at the Doty Road Church of God. Later, because he is a member of the Ferriday Chamber of Commerce, he shared his vision with chamber President Liz Brooking.

“From there, it grew and grew,” Green said.

“We began to realize that because of the location and the logistics of doing this we were not able to hold this at Doty Road Church of God.”

So Green went to Ferriday Mayor Glen McGlothin and to the Concordia Parish School Board to share his vision, and when all was said and done he had gotten permission to use the field where the old Ferriday Junior High was located.

Working with the town and the chamber, Green and the others involved began to draw more support from the community for the outreach and picnic, and Green said — as far as he knows — the picnic will be the first community picnic in the history of the town.

All of that work will come together Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting until 4 p.m.

The picnic — which Green said he hopes will draw 1,000 people — will have door prizes, live music and moon jumpers, as well as representatives from the D.A.R.E. program, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts and the LSU Agcenter to present educational activities.

Representatives from the census bureau will be there, as well as the LaCHIP program, and one of the offerings at the picnic will be a health fair.

The event will conclude Sunday at the Doty Road Church of God, where all are welcome to a unity and fellowship service, Green said.

“Rome wasn’t built in one day, so we are hoping this will be a continuance service or event down through the next years,” Green said. “We hope it will never stop.”