“When I took over the administration of juvenile court, the school system was arresting thousands of kids for fights and sending them to juvenile detention,” he said during our lunch on the patio at Ki’ Mexico. “That’s part of the reason we’re overcrowded.

“It’s kind of like a new life, or a new beginning, every spring,” said Margaret John, vice president of the Red River Crossroads Association, which puts on the festival. “It’s a community effort to beautify our part of north Caddo Parish and to give back to the community.