The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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September 27, 2007

Kenwood district plans historic festival for ’08

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer

Kenwood Historic District is planning a festival next year to show off the historic district and all the progress being made in restoring homes.

Although the festival will be held during the 2008 Cherokee Strip Celebration, a number of events are planned throughout the year leading up to the festival, said Becky Cummings, of the Kenwood Historic District.

During the festival the Kenwood district will be divided into three sections in an area three to four blocks long.

A Native American section will feature a 20-foot teepee at the corner of Adams and Maple. Another section from Elm to Jefferson Streets will devoted to Hispanic culture, and the 300 block to 400 block of Elm will be dedicated to historic Kenwood.

“Each section will have food and entertainment corresponding with that section. There will be food and stories in each section,” said Cummings.

She said church choirs from every church in the county will be invited to send at least one member, and a church service is also planned from a balcony in the Kenwood area during the festival. The Kenwood Historic District is raising funds now to help pay for festival activities.

Also during the festival a number of recitals are planned in some of the homes, so the public will have the chance to get in the air conditioning and also see the interior of some of the homes.

Activity or craft booths during the festival are available for $50.

A number of events are planned in the Kenwood district leading up to the festival. Some of the older homes will be open to gatherings of all sizes for varying prices.

Several homes will host teas for girls from pre-school through grade school, little girls and their grandmothers and one pre-teen to teenage tea for both boys and girls. At appropriate age levels, a program will be presented telling the youths what type of activities would be occurring when the Kenwood district was new.

Some teas also will feature etiquette classes and other activities appropriate to the group. The teas will be sponsored by Kenwood Historic District. and there will be a fee.

In December there will be a Christmas house tour in the Kenwood district. Cummings said she was in the process of obtaining the houses. A group of about 25 people have been planning the tour and the festival for the past six months.

Anyone wanting to hold a meeting in one of the historic homes in Kenwood district should call Becky Cummings at 237-3551.

Cummings also said Enid Public Schools have been very cooperative and the historic district is printing books for the schools that tell the stories of the first people to settle in the Kenwood district.

Kenwood Historic District includes 95 buildings, most of which were built between 1895 and 1935. The majority of the buildings are single-family dwellings with a few multiple-family apartment buildings and one funeral home.

Most of the buildings are wooden frame and wooden sided with a few brick residences scattered in between. The predominant styles of the neighborhood are Craftsman bungalows and Prairie School American Four-squares.

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