SAN BERNARDINO >> Former Mayor Pat Morris raised his left hand above his head and chucked a yellow softball at a red metal target.

He connected, taking pleasure in submerging Councilman Benito Barrios in a tank of water.

A few paces east of the dunk tank, a group of 15 women, The Striders, a Zumba group, stepped to music with mothers and children looking on, some swaying to the beat.

At the other corner of Perris Hill Park the teenage rap group, Young and Talented, spit lyrics about love as a cluster of young adults danced under the shade of a tree.

The middle of the park’s field resembled a flea market with people hawking T-shirts, jewelry and electronics or pitching others on their nonprofit organizations.

There was something to catch just about everyone’s interests Saturday at CommUnity Fest, hosted by San Bernardino Generation Now, a group of mostly young adults attempting to unite and revive the city, which is better known for its bankruptcy and high crime rate than positive events.

“We just did this to bring everybody together and enjoy the beauty of San Bernardino and take advantage of our parks,” said Matt Greenleaf, a Generation Now member who helped coordinate the event.

Friday night, Greenleaf and fellow members of the group installed new doors on the park’s bathrooms and cleaned up litter in the park — a biweekly event for the young community activists.

While Greenleaf thanked all the vendors and residents for coming out under the hot sun, children climbed a rock wall and Louie Solano, 32, spray painted a mural on canvas.

“We’re all about trying to connect the art community as much as possible,” Solano said of his Riverside-based venture, Gallery of Progressive Art, which hosts art shows and allows artists to display their work on the collective’s website.

As former Mayor Morris walked away from the dunk tank, smiling about his double-dunking of the councilman, he took a second to compliment the hosts.

“Generation Now is a great group of people who want to help the city and bring us into a renaissance time,” Morris said.