SAYLove beautifies D Street ahead of 143rd Bok Kai Parade

Jeff Larson, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·3 min read

Feb. 1—Three weeks before the start of the 143rd Bok Kai Parade and weekend festival, SAYLove hit the streets of Marysville to clean up D Street between 6th Street and 1st Street on Saturday in its first cleanup event of 2023.

SAYLove, which has expanded to four locations since it opened in 2018, according to its website, meets on the last Saturday of each month in Marysville, Olivehurst, Yuba City and East Nicolaus High School to beautify locations around the Yuba-Sutter area.

In Marysville, the SAYLove group partnered with the Marysville Public Works Department to scope out the areas in most need of a good dusting, according to veteran volunteer and Saturday's organizer Johnny Burke.

Burke said the group began at 6th and D Street and moved toward 1st and D Street — the location of the Bok Kai Temple — picking up trash, painting curb surfaces and providing extra tender loving care to the community.

D Street was picked in part because it is the route of the annual Bok Kai Parade and festival and it needed a scrubbing, Sean Davis, crew member of Marysville Public Works, said.

The Bok Kai Festival is scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 25-26.

"We see it during the week when we are working," Davis said of D Street.

Then Davis joins SAYLove at the end of each month to clean the noted areas as a part of the monthly event.

Davis said last year Marysville Public Works took down the wall at Bryant Field and SAYLove cleaned up the area afterward.

Burke called it a great partnership with entities that really care about Yuba-Sutter.

"It's a great place to live and when people put a little time and effort into it, I think it can be the best place to live," Burke said. "We come out, help out and be a part ... It's rewarding when you go out and something looks better than it did before."

Burke has been a volunteer with SAYLove since it was formed as a grassroots organization by Jeff Stephens in 2018.

"Picking up trash is fun for us," Burke said.

Burke said prior experience is not necessary for individuals looking to join up with a future SAYLove event.

The only prerequisite, Burke said, is a can-do attitude with a mindset for beautification.

Davis, who has been a SAYLove volunteer for about as long as Burke, said he tries to join up with the Marysville group each month.

"I like driving through the city saying, 'Hey we (cleaned) that and it looks good because we were a small part of it,'" Davis said. "We are proud of where we live."

SAYLove meets on the last Saturday each month at four different locations beginning at 7:30 a.m. The four locations are 1104 J St. in Marysville, 4902 Powerline Rd. in Olivehurst, 600 North George Washington Blvd. in Yuba City and East Nicolaus High School.

For more information, visit https://www.saylove.org.