Sweet Potato Festival has cemented itself as one of my favorite New Orleans events. The event, held at a local elementary school, allowed me to spend more time with the community relative to the other service events I attended. I got to work with the students as they made sweet potato smoothies using a bike blender, a bicycle flipped on its back and chained to a blender base. I honestly don’t know who was more excited about the bike blender; me or the youths. Deshawn, an absurdly bright second grader, talked to me about the gardening program at the school and explained how they learn to grow vegetables and learn to cook healthy foods with their garden. I couldn’t help feeling a little jealous as I wished I had a garden at my elementary school. However, I was more impressed with the attendance at the festival, how well the community came together, the number of vendors and volunteers working for free, and the fact that Deshawn, a second grader, knew w