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Overcast Celebrating 25 years of East Meadow pride
Annual family-friendly festival to be held Saturday at Speno Park
For the past 25 years, residents have had the chance to see what everyone in the neighborhood has to offer at East Meadow Community Pride Day. Leaders and locals will celebrate the milestone anniversary of the festive and free event on Saturday.
Pride Day 2016 will be held at Speno Memorial Park — at 745 East Meadow Ave. — between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on June 11. While the East Meadow Kiwanis Club hosts the event, organizers said the efforts and dedication of the entire community have made Pride Day successful for the past quarter of a century.
Alan Beinhacker, who co-chairs the event with Liz Fries and Ellen DeRosa, has been involved with the organization of Pride Day for about 20 years. He said that Gregory Peterson, an East Meadowite and the former Town of Hempstead supervisor, along with his assistant Jim Richards, came up with the idea; longtime Kiwanian Sal Napolitano, who helped run charitable projects such as the offering of Christmas gifts and meals to senior citizens and families living under trying circumstances at Borrelli’s Italian Restaurant for decades before his passing, was soon brought into the fold to facilitate the event.
To Beinhacker, the significance and spirit of the event is all in the name. “You should take pride in where you live and where you work,” he explained. “There are definitely draws to being part of East Meadow — it’s a tight-knit community, the schools are great and the people who own businesses here couldn't be nicer. [Pride Day participants] show that they're here, they're here to stay and that they want people in the town to know it.”
Participants, or those who run their own booths to showcase their work, range from politicians, police and firefighters, religious leaders, community and civic groups officials and business owners. Noting that the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce has become extremely involved in Pride Day over time, Beinhacker said more than 50 businesses and local organizations support the event.
Fries said that one of the most unique things about Pride Day is that everything is free. She encouraged residents to come down and sample food from restaurants like Burger City, the Green Turtle, Bagelicious, Pietro's and Borrelli's.
Fries, who is also an aide to Nassau County Legislator Norma Gonsalves (who is an East Meadowite herself), said there are also plenty of activities for children. Youngsters may get their faces painted, run through a maze, tumble down an inflatable slide, participate in “Velcro Olympics,” play games and sports, peruse an art show featuring the work of East Meadow School District students and watch live musical performances.
“I love kids, and this is all about the children,” Fries said. “In these hard times, sometimes people don’t have the money to spend at Adventureland. Here, they can play and learn things…it’s a way for people to spend time together as a family.”
Adults will also have the opportunity to get to know their community leaders. Fries noted that residents are always pleased to take home pamphlets and learn about government resources available to them from locally elected officials; this year, leaders like Gonsalves, State Assemblyman Tom McKevitt, Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino and Councilman Gary Hudes will all be on hand to answer questions and share information.
Fries said the chamber’s support of Pride Day has been critical to the event as well, and that all involved encourage residents to shop locally. Beinhacker added that East Meadowites should stop by the Pride Day festivities and learn about the types of products and services business owners provide to the community.
“If you go to a restaurant, you may not know whom the owner is,” he said. “This is a great way to meet these people.”
Pride Day also serves as a time for the chamber to congratulate longtime business owners. Kiwanis also honors their members and those who’ve given back to the community by dedicating plaques and planting trees in the park for them; this year, Leon Drucker and Steven Eisman, Esq. will be commemorated.
A free bus shuttle from Veterans Memorial Park, at the corner of Prospect and East Meadow avenues, to Pride Day will be available on Saturday.
