The biggest weekend in Broad Channel starts off Sept. 4 and promises to be a fun ride all the way through.
Jim Mangan and the Broad Channel Athletic Club crew and everyone else involved has been working all summer long to make Mardi Gras a success. They have definitely put the fun in fundraising.
On Aug. 29, 59 kids ages 12 to 16, with a crowd of supporters to cheer them on, had a grand time at the Amazing Race and the Children’s Scavenger Hunt. In teams of two Amazing Race contestants had to use their skills and their heads to complete an interesting obstacle course that took them all over town. First they ran down to 20th Road to kick a soccer ball through a maze, and then knock down a bottle of water with the ball from 10 feet away. Next it was on to PS 47 where they had to identify 15 states on the outdoor map correctly. Then they ran back to the BCAC Clubhouse atMemorial Field and upstairs to correctly put five Broad Channel events in chronological order.
At the field, our intrepid contestants then faced an obstacle which included a tunnel crawl, throwing a sack in a corn hole board, putting together a puzzle and getting a horseshoe ringer. Then they ran through Hula Hoops arranged like a football tire drill, went head first through a slip and slide and tagged their partner who then did the same obstacle course. After both members of the team finished every obstacle in the course they ran together to the finish line.
For this Scavenger Hunt had 31 super contestants, all 11 and under, racing around the field to be the first to bring back a variety of unusual items.
Ready? On each of their lists was a straw, a green crayon, blue rubber band, small hair tie, a paper clip, bobby pin and plastic spoon. They set to it with amazing determination and every contestant walked away with a prize.
If you held a similar scavenger hunt in Rockaway and added “single lost flip flops” to the list, kids would be coming back with a wagon full of them.
So what’s happening this weekend?
Well, on Sept. 4, there is the Countdown and Annual Kickball Tournament. There will be a DJ, 50/50s, raffles, rides and bounce house for kids and much more. Registration for Kickball Tournament is at 6 p.m. sharp. It’s $30 per player and includes all you can eat and drink. You must be 21 or older to play. Space is limited to 10 teams, so it’s first come first serve.
Sept. 5 is Annual Family Day at the Field. Starting at 2 p.m. there will be running races, a He-Man Contest, rides, a bounce house, giant water slide, a dunk tank (!), face painting, raffles and 50/50s. Food and beverages will be sold. (Note: Please no coolers or smoking will be permitted on grounds.)
On the 6th, you guessed it, not a day of rest. In grand Broad Channel tradition there will be hammering, sawing and banging of boards (and the occasional thumb, often leading to the stream of very special occasion swear words) as the parade floats are being built. It will very often sound like the whole town is under reconstruction.
It all leads up to Monday, Sept. 7, and the grand Mardi Gras Parade. Registration starts at 12 noon at the All American Channel Market. The parade steps off at 1 p.m.-ish.
It is a rolling, rollicking caravan of floats, wagons, fire trucks, walkers and more parading down Cross Bay Boulevard with music, color and fun. At a certain point the parade turns around and starts down the other side of Cross Bay Boulevard. So everyone gets a chance to watch it, cheer and clap all over again!
Afterward at the BCAC Field trophies will be given for the best parade entries, and the big $10K Raffle winner will be picked! The after-party will feature DJ music, a King Kong ride, bounce house, food, beverages and much more fun!
Wherever you are in town, down at the Field, out on a boat or at a backyard barbecue, at the end of the day together we will all enjoy the sunset on a beautiful summer.
Then we’ll all be rested and ready for even more fun.
For those who are not familiar, Mardi Gras is tradition we share with our neighbors in Roxbury andBreezy Point. It started in each of these once summer holiday communities as an end of summer celebration to say goodbye to seasonal friends and neighbors. A bit over 100 years ago, somebody decided to enlist all the dances, parties and summer events in Broad Channel to raise funds to build a new firehouse. Since then every year in BC, Mardi Gras is a kaleidoscope of ever imaginative activities where the proceeds got to a nonprofit community cause.
Enjoy.
Well, even in the best of times, rain must fall. This week Broad Channel says goodbye to Edna Weise who was a fixture of our town. She was a congregant of St. Virgilius and caretaker of the church and school for many years, and also a Columbiette. She will be missed by her friends, family, neighbors and larger Broad Channel family
I am also sad to report that a month after he disappeared, the body of Broad Channeler Gary Russo was found in Howard Beach. He was a great performer and more importantly a genuinely good man. When he smiled it came straight from the heart and included everyone around him.
He was a fine gentleman, and of course one of our own. He was my friend. I will miss him.
Thanks for reading.
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