Broad Channel Bits

By Dan Guarino

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful...” Yes, just when you think the cold has finally set in and you’re ready to be shut up in the house for the next few months, the outlook shifts. Suddenly it’s 50 degrees and raining. Or it’s so sunny, bright and warm, you’ve just got to take your coat off. Then there’s a new blast of cold air and a strong wind to freeze your face off. Or fog.

You can’t say it isn’t interesting.

Forget Black Friday, Saffron Saturday, Blue Monday and Walla Walla Wednesday. This weekend, the Broad Channel Crafters and the American Legion Auxiliary are having their 27th Annual Craft and Christmas Gift Sale. It will be over at the Legion Hall, 209 Cross Bay Boulevard, on Friday, Dec. 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a whole variety of new items, handcrafts, gifts, ornaments and decorations, jewelry, baked goods and more. There will also be raffles and the kitchen will be open to buy hot food and refreshments. Proceeds benefit the Wounded Warriors Project.

Nope, you didn’t miss it! The Broad Channel Christmas Tree Lighting is now on for this Sunday, Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. down at the BCAC Field. There will be special performances by the Broad Channel Girl Scouts, the PS 47 Chorus and Thomasina’s Dance Company. They’ll also accepting new unwrapped toys for children undergoing treatment for cancer.

Making a list? In two weeks the VFW is holding their Last Minute Christmas Bazaar! That’s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19 and 20, at the VFW Hall, 713 Shad Creek Road. Vendors are wanted! Call Crystal at 917-246-3126 and reserve your spot. Proceeds benefit the VFW’s programs for vets. By the way, you don’t have to be from Broad Channel to come and enjoy these things!

Do some painting, have some drinks and have a lot of fun doing it. Join Jessica and Jennifer from the Channel for their Paint Party NY’s next outing on Friday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. They will be at the Knights of Columbus on Beach 90th Street in Rockaway, and the event is a fundraiser for K of C. They provide all the materials and guidance to paint holiday lights, wine glasses and beer mugs. There will appetizers and a cash bar. You don’t need to be an artist to have fun with this. You do need a ticket though. Go towww.paintpartyny.evenbrite.com.

On Sunday, Dec. 6 you can join Jennifer and Jessica at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club on Beach 87th Street to do a “Season’s Greetings” 16 x 20 canvas painting.

Start your engines. The 2nd Annual NYFAC Foundation Toy Run is this Sunday, Dec. 6. A fleet of bikers will be delivering a flotilla of toys starting from the Forest Park Band Shell at 1 p.m. and ending up at the VFW in BC. Food and live music will follow. Want to join in? It’s $25 per bike. Go towww.nyfacfoundation.org.

Before the holiday shopping stops, and the holiday bills start, stop by the BC Library. On Wednesday, Dec. 16, they are offering Guided Meditation from 5 to 5:45 p.m.

Zumba with Cathy McCarthy is still going strong every Thursday night at Christ Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m. sharp. Check it out.

The 2016 Broad Channel Historical Calendar is out! They’re still only $5 and available at Rock and Roll Bagels and the All-American Channel Market. They make great gifts and are even easy to mail!

Last year Relay For Life from our area raised nearly $80,000 for the American Cancer Society. You can join this good cause this year. Look up “The Relay for Life of Broad Channel, Breezy Point and theRockaways” to find out more.

There will be a Memorial Mass for Father James Dunne, who we lost one year ago, at St. Camillus Church on Friday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m.

The Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department is offering a “big thanks to outgoing Chief of Department Robert Leonard for a hard working year and a big welcome back to Chief Dan McIntyre who will be taking the reins again this year.”

There is still time to make donations to the BCVFD. Also the Volies note that there is “a very real possibility the new firehouse project could go out to competitive bid as early as January of next year.”

The BCVFD is once again helping Santa deliver to extra special children this year. Contact the firehouse at 718-474-8888 weeknights from 8 to 11 to make your reservation.

Harvard University could use your Sandy experience. Student of Sociology Taylor Benninger is doing a study on people who lived in Brooklyn or Queens in 2012 and were affected by the storm. All she needs is an hour of your time for an interview. All your info is confidential. Contact Ms. Benninger athurricanesandy.study2015@gmail.com or 617-925-7093.

You can help put our BC Library over the top. The NYC Neighborhood Library Awards is looking for the best library in each borough. Go to www.nyclibraryawards.org/theawards to nominate ours. The five winning branches win $20,000. The rest of the top 10 finalists will receive $10,000 each. Finally, I am expecting a shipment of brand new copies of Images of America: Broad Channel this week from Arcadia Publishing. This is the book that my late wife, Liz, and I wrote that details the history of the Channel with text and nearly 200 vintage photos. If you’d like copies for yourself, your kids or relatives, would like to get some as gifts or lost yours to the storm, contact me. Email workingstories@aol.com or leave a message at 347-246-6820. It’s $20 a copy and I will be happy to sign yours and deliver them right to you. The first 25 copies sold will help me cover the cost of the shipment. Broad Channel memories make great gifts, even for yourself.

Thanks for reading.