New Iberia City Councilwoman Deedy Johnson-Reid, State Rep. Marcus Bryant and Zion Hill Christian Fellowship organized a Christmas gumbo giveaway at the site of the upcoming Ann Street Park on Thursday.

Cars began lining up down Ann Street at noon, patiently waiting for gumbo and Christmas cheer.

Johnson-Reid said that the event was a great success, with hundreds of bowls served.

“It went really well,” she said. “We had a lot of people in the community walk up, we had people lined up in cars. We served almost 200 bowls of gumbo. It was a great community event.”

The event was not only a way to give back to the Ann Street community, but also a preview of the work Johnson-Reid is bringing to the area with the creation of a new park. (See related story, Page A1.)

“The lady who currently owns the land gave us permission to be there and they’re really excited about selling to us,” Johnson-Reid said. We just got everything approved by the city council so the sale should be going through in the first week of January.”