FERRIDAY — Efforts to bring a vision of a united Ferriday to reality will all come together today in the Community Outreach and Back to School Extravaganza.

The extravaganza begins at 10 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m., and will be in the field next to the Florida Street gym across from Ferriday Town Hall.

The event will include games, educational activities, a health fair, live music, contests and door prizes. Admission and food at the event are free and open to all.

The theme of the event is “Reach out and make a friend,” and the Rev. Simeon Green III said that theme came from a vision that he believes God gave him and his church, Doty Road Church of God.

“I saw that a lot of the young people didn’t have places to go to, and I felt the church had to take a lead role in letting the community know we were there for them,” he said.

After sharing his goal with other members of the community, the work began to take off, and the extravaganza picked up two other sponsoring organizations, the Ferriday Chamber of Commerce and Real Ministries, which is based in Monterey.

And after the real work started, people seemed ready to get on board.

“People are just coming out of the woodwork,” Ferriday Chamber President Liz Brooking said. “It is just unbelievable how the community — on both sides of the river — has been (asking), ‘What can we do?’”

Working to pull the extravaganza together has been one of the most rewarding experiences Brooking has had since joining the chamber, she said.

“As a major proponent of regionalism, it has been very exciting to see the way businesses, churches, organizations and citizens of the Miss-Lou have joined with us to assure that this community outreach extravaganza is a great success and is enjoyed by all,” Brooking said.

That was an experience Ashley Powell, who is affiliated with Real Ministries, shared.

“The community of Ferriday has really come together and supported what Pastor Green had in mind,” she said. “I think it shows a lot of commitment in the residents, not only of Ferriday but of Concordia Parish.”

At noon, there will be a hot dog eating contest, and at 1:30 p.m. will be a text messaging contest.

The text messaging contest may be broken into youth and adult categories, Powell said.

“I have a 15-year-old, and there is no way I could compete with her,” she said.

At 2:30 will be a special message for the children present.

The extravaganza will continue Sunday at the Doty Road Church of God, 211 Doty Road, where Green will preach and lead in a unity service.

Hopefully, today’s event will be the first of many for years to come, Green said.

“We are anticipating a great day, and we believe we will be able to build upon what takes place (today) in the future and on and on,” he said.