Baldwin Day

The Friends of Baldwin Schools celebrated the success of the first Baldwin Pride & Unity Day with incoming Superintendent James Scannell and County Executive Mangano.

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Jason and Patrick, from Cub Scout Pack 824.

Maureen Lennon

Lee Streithorst held a board for Michael Acevedo to break during a demonstration by Shunato karate students.

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Andy Randazzo and County Executive Ed Mangano stood in front of the We Are Baldwin booth.

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Will Shelley rocked out with his band, Crucial Experiment and the CT Weather Report. The group is made up of Baldwin Middle School teachers.

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MIa, Darlene, Abigal, another Mia, Regan and Clair got sweeping for Baldwin. Mia’s sister helped with hugs.

Maureen Lennon

First-grader Alisa Reid thought the inaugural Baldwin Pride and Unity Day was the cat’s meow. The event, which organizers hope to turn into an annual affair, was held last Saturday and coincided with Sanitary District 2’s yearly Big Sweep cleanup. Pride and Unity Day featured entertainment by local musicians, exhibitions by various Baldwin groups and the dispersal of information about Baldwin causes.

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Baldwin observed its first Pride and Unity Day last Saturday — an event organizers hope to turn into an annual affair. The day was sponsored by the Friends of Baldwin Schools (www.facebook.com/BaldwinSchoolsFriendsof), a non-profit organization founded this year to preserve the quality of education in Baldwin. Approximately 250 residents turned out for the festivities in spite of skies that threatened, but never quite delivered, a downpour.

The event provided Baldwin organizations an opportunity to present themselves to the public, and more than a few took advantage. On hand were parent teacher associations from various schools, the Baldwin Teachers Association, the Baldwin Assistant Teachers Association, the Baldwin Booster Club, the Baja Man, We Are Baldwin, the Pampered Chef and the always - energetic folks from Relay for Life.

Entertainment at the event included demonstrations by Shunato Karate, Dance Plus, and several groups made up of local students and teachers including BMS’s Crucial Experiment and the CT Weather Report. DJ Arthur Prysock spun music to keep things lively, and Agostino Arts provided facepainting.

The Pride and Unity events were preceded by Sani2’s annual Big Sweep, which drew its usual crowd of volunteers. (www.sani2.com.)

Gathering at 9 a.m. outside Sani2 to receive assignments, Big Sweep workers, scrubbed, weeded, planted, picked up garbage and scrubbed out graffiti. The event was, as Sani2 stressed in its promotional materials, BYOB — Bring Your Own Broom.