Help Bring Christmas Cheer to Broad Channel
Christmas is just seven weeks away and Stephanie Wagner is hoping to deck the roads of Broad Channel once again for the fourth season. Motivating locals with a potential $5,000 top prize, Wagner has launched a fundraiser raffle for the Fourth Annual Broad Channel Christmas Lights.
The Broad Channel Christmas Lights, featuring decorative illuminated garlands across Cross Bay Boulevard, is a tradition that came after Hurricane Sandy. “I was raising money after the storm to help out residents and someone suggested we decorate the town a little bit because it was so depressing. We reached out to different companies and partnered with P.C. Richard, which donated gift cards, so we were able to have a Christmas party in the town and raffle off the gift cards and we used the rest of the money to put our lights up. Now this has become a tradition,” Wagner said. “In light of all that our little town has been through, I like to remember this as one good thing that came from a disastrous time. Now, these lights serve as a reminder of all that we are capable of. We are a small town, but we are a mighty one.”
Before Sandy, the town of Broad Channel didn’t have Christmas lights above Cross Bay Boulevard. Wagner hopes to keep it an ongoing tradition. “I just love the lights. They look great and they light up our town. It’s something we never had. I always loved Christmas decorations and driving around other neighborhoods to see them. Broad Channel is a very tightknit community and we do a lot of stuff ourselves because we’re small, but it shows a sense of unity and that everyone is here to help each other,” Wagner said.
The past four fundraisers have been a success, showing that Broad Channel is capable of lighting up in the face of darkness. Selling raffle tickets online has made the event even more of a success, since the raffle is open to a wider audience. “We have a lot of Rockaway people that donate and now that we do it online, we see names we don’t recognize, which is nice to see that a lot of people are sharing it. It has been easier every year. Now that we’ve been doing this for a few years and people know what it is and what the money goes towards, it is easier to sell tickets,” Wagner said.
From now until the big drawing on Friday, November 20, all are welcome to purchase a chance to win the $5,000 or nine other cash prizes, which helps make spirits bright for the town of Broad Channel. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased on Eventbrite by going towww.eventbrite.com and searching “Broad Channel Christmas Lights.” Only 400 tickets will be sold, so people are encouraged to buy them sooner than later.
Even though tickets sell out each year, Wagner says people tend to wait until the last minute to buy them. “The deadline to sell the tickets is tough. A lot of people will buy last minute, so sometimes it’s hard to stay positive and know that they’re going to sell out, but we always pull it off,” Wagner said. “Last year we were scrambling toward the end but we sold out on the day of the drawing, which was awesome.”
Wagner, a Broad Channel native, recently moved to Long Island City, so having the online sale of tickets, plus the help of her mother Margaret Wagner, friend Ashley Keane, and others in the community who have offered to sell tickets to coworkers, have made the process easier. “The help and ticket sales show that I’m not the only one who wants to see the lights. People are excited about it and that’s a great feeling,” Wagner said.
The money raised for the event will go toward the light display along Cross Bay Boulevard and any leftover money goes to the Broad Channel Athletic Club, which holds an annual Christmas tree lighting event for the community in addition to its many sports programs.
The winner of the $5,000 and the nine other cash prizes will be announced at the Bungalow Bar on Beach 92nd Street during a party from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday, November 20. The drawing will be held that night but the winner does not need to be present. The drawing party will feature a DJ and drink specials. “It’s really a fun night for everyone,” Wagner said.
The fun continues the next day when the lights go up. A Brooklyn company called Illuminations by Arnold installs the annual display and maintains it throughout the season, fixing anything that may break or be damaged due to wind or other circumstances. The decorations stay up until mid-January, when the company takes it down. Yet each year they return and Wagner says she hopes to keep it going for many years to come.
For any other questions or ticket information, contact Stephanie at Swagner.bc@gmail.com.
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