Pittsford Values Its Youth & Families
Published: 10/30/2002
One of the prime objectives of the town community events is to promote activities that bring our youth, families and community together. Positively Pittsford and Pittsford Celebrates provide an opportunity to take time out from our busy lives, gather in the center of our community and enjoy a night of food, music and friends.
The Summer Concert Series held from June through August provides residents with an opportunity to sit by the Erie Canal and hear a variety of music. Families often come with picnic suppers, sit on blankets and are able to simply enjoy an evening together.
This past Saturday, the Town of Pittsford and St. John Fisher College partnered for our first Family Halloween Fest. This event was designed to provide a safe and fun Halloween experience for families and kids aged 3 to 10. As you plan an event like this for the first time, you never know what to expect. However, I must tell you, that we are ecstatic with the results of this event and look forward to this being an annual date on our community events calendar.
Seeing the fun that the kids seemed to be having was my Halloween treat. They came in an incredible array of costumes, many of which were just downright adorable. They were given lots of things to do to keep them active and entertained. Therefore, in the end, they accomplished what every kid wants to do on Halloween, which is to come home with a big bag of candy and treats.
Another positive aspect of this event was the amount of food that was donated to the Pittsford Food Cupboard. The price of admission to the Family Halloween Fest was the donation of a canned good and let me tell you we are all amazed at how much food we collected. Your help and support of our food drive will help the Pittsford Food Cupboard meet their mission.
The real success story of the Family Halloween Fest was the role that the youth of this community played in every aspect of this event. It was they who provided the ideas and creativity. It was they who created almost all of the props and decoration. It was they who provided the support for all of the various activities that went on during the event. We estimate that between 75 to 100 kids donated their time and talents to this event.
Students from St. John Fisher College were instrumental in the success of the Haunted Forest. "Dorothy" from Oz escorted groups of kids through the forest with the hopes that they could help find Toto who had escaped and was lost in the forest.
St. John Fisher students showed up early Saturday morning to create the forest and stayed all day to help provide the support characters. Students were also active in providing a Trick or Treat station of their own and served as guides and hosts for the event.
I want to thank all of the St. John Fisher students for their help and support. They were an integral part of the success. I would also like to specifically thank three people from the college. Kylee Howe, a sophomore, served as the Student Coordinator and provided a lot of the enthusiasm for the event as well as enlisting the help we received from the Student body. Additionally, I would like to thank Patty Gaudy and Steve Salluzzo, who work at the college and provided us with tremendous support and encouragement.
We also received a lot of support from a number of youth groups including YOWSA, National Honor Society, the Rotary Interact Club and Girl Scout Cadette Troop 815. Additionally, a number of students from our high schools and middle school volunteered their time and energies to our event. It was these groups, as well as those who designed the greeting area and various trick or treat stations. They also provided the manpower to run each of these stations.
A number of community organizations supported us by sponsoring a Trick or Treat station - face painting, fortune telling, and pumpkin decorating, to name a few. These sponsors included Wegmans and Chase Pitkin, Michaels craft store, Rotary, Pittsford Youth Services, Pittsford Food Cupboard, Chamber of Commerce, Women's Club, Pittsford Schools PTSA and the Pittsford Fire Department. Thank you to each of these organizations for your help.
As with all events, a lot of the organization and behind the scenes work falls on members of my staff. In particular, I would like to recognize Linda Dillon and Dan Barnes for their role in achieving another great community success.
A full and varied calendar of community events is an important part of what I have tried to accomplish as Supervisor. This has been continually reinforced by feedback I receive after our events and was further reinforced by the Pittsford Community Forum. We now believe we have a nice array of events to offer the community and will work toward their future success.
Other Supervisor columns are available here.