Grief turns into mission for Cedars park

By Ashley Paredes

For the third summer in a row, kites will be flying in Old City Park June 20 while hundreds gather to grieve as a community and honor their loved ones through the lively Avy’s Sunshine Festival. 

The festival works to raise money to construct an outdoor recreational playground in the park near the Cedars neighborhood. 

Three years ago in May, the Hill family lost their 22-month-old daughter Avy in a tragic car accident on the way to Amarillo. In the car was her mother Naima, her brother and their dog Kemosabe, who was also killed in the crash. 

Avy would be turning five on June 24, the same week the event is held annually. 

Ever since, Naima has worked to create a space where people can grieve their lost loved ones through her nonprofit Avy’s Sunshine Tribe. Naima described her daughter as “bright and vibrant.” She wants the event to be a place where people don’t have to hide who they are, where they can dress up in bright colors if they want and meet people who are feeling similar to them.

“I still feel very alone. It’s very isolating for this to happen, you lose a lot of people, and then your own priorities are different, because you see the world through a whole different lens,” Naima said.

Inspired by the annual Sumpango Giant Kite Festival in Guatemala, Naima started sketching kite designs in the fall of 2023 to honor her daughter and selling stickers on her Instagram story to raise money for the playground.

“When that happened, I started searching online for the grief community and everything, and everything that I found I just didn’t resonate with,” Naima said. “Then, I was like, all right, I need to broaden my search, like, where around the world are people doing grief differently?”

Bright and vibrant kites up to 60 feet tall will fly through the park during the festival. All kites are provided by the nonprofit and event entry and parking is free.

This year, there will be free food for the first 300 people, face painting stations and free ice cream for eventgoers. 

“Avy loved to paint on herself so, I was like, why don’t we just set up stations, and the people do their own painting, and it’s so fun because kids love to do it.” Naima said. “Sometimes, siblings will do each other’s, or a parent will jump in and try to help, or the parent will let the kid do it for them, and so it’s so much more of an engaging process.”

Donations are encouraged to help build the playground and keep the event running for free in the future. 

“We just want to create a space that you can come to feel like you can honor somebody if you want to, but also it’s just a family fun day, too,” Naima said. 

Avy loved watching Ms. Rachel, a YouTube creator and educator best known for her playful Songs for Littles videos. Ms. Rachel has done a lot of advocacy work and, once Naima reached out, Ms. Rachel supported the cause. 

The board of directors for the nonprofit are all moms, and they have supported Naima throughout her work. 

Naima discussed the importance of the festival as everyone deals with their own loss in their life. She wants to make culture more “grief inclusive” and her festival aims to do that. 

“We’re carrying them [lost loved ones] with us, we’re loving them out loud,” Naima said. “If you come to Avy’s Festival, you’re making a kite in their honor. We want it plastered all over, to talk about them, tell us who they are and tell us what they liked.”

The event has raised more than $50,000 for the cause through grassroots fundraising. They host other events throughout the year and have donated toys to the hospital where Avy took her last breath. 

The nonprofit received their first grant in February and, after running into some difficulties in getting the playground created, Naima is now working on drafting deal points to get a development agreement started, with a projected finish date in April 2027. 

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