This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Elmont Cultural Center, and they will be hosting their annual Family Night at the Elmont Memorial Library on Monday, Dec. 23.
Events at Family Night will include stocking decorating, ornament painting, candy or cupcake decorating, a decked out hot chocolate bar, gift giving and musical chairs. There will be 100 free gifts for children to take home.
“The fun is just watching the kids have a good time,” said Mimi Pierre-Johnson, president of the Elmont Cultural Center. “I like the community choir that sings. Just to see the look on the kids’ faces when they come in. They don’t know what to expect.”
The Elmont Cultural Center Community Choir sings at Juneteenth and Family Night every year. The choir includes anyone who wants to come, of any age, from any town.
“It’s another way of bringing cultures and people together,” Pierre-Johnson said. “We don’t try to choose songs that’s specific to a religion or choir. We just want people bringing their voices together for that event.”
New to the event this year will be accommodations for autistic children who join the festivities. This year they’re planning a special activity for them, which will be sensitive to their needs. There will also be a quiet space for those who are over-stimulated by the event.
“If they get a little stressed, they’ll have that quiet time,” Pierre-Johnson said.
It takes a large amount of volunteers to host Family Night. The core crew includes Pierre-Johnson, her daughter Paoli-Bailey, Nikki Long, Rebekkah Sievers, Claire Leon, Lucy Hyppolite, Judy Cataldo, Warren Wint and Greg Senat and his family, plus teens from the local Key Club and other volunteers.
“The hardest thing is, honestly, meeting the financial need,” said Tamar Paoli Bailey, Pierre-Johnson’s daughter.
Multiple donors provide the gifts. The first year there was only one table of toys, and last year there were three tables. But, this year, there will be 100 or more toys.
They will also be giving out a gift exclusively for the parents. While they’re not sure if it will be a bag of fresh fruits and vegetables, or a gift certificate, they do know Whole Foods will be providing it.
“If it was up to me, if a spa wanted to give a discount for the parents, that would be great,” Pierre-Johnson said.
Family Night is all about connecting with the community. Last year, the cultural center team met a family of four who had just moved to New York and had nothing. They are still members of the cultural center today.
In addition, people from the community who are connected to the cultural center donated furniture, household linens and supplies, food, brand new clothes and coats to help families get through the winter.
“We always hope that someone who comes to family night knows that there’s an organization that cares about the families; and maybe they need help and didn’t know that we existed,” Pierre-Johnson said. “That’s always a good thing too. We’re always ready to receive any new people in the community.”