Parade

Fireman’s Day Parade: Chance to Honor First Responders

August 25, 2019 by Charlotte Harter

On May 31, Pleasantville children and parents alike crowded the streets, excitedly watching our volunteer firefighters and their fire trucks parade through the town in the annual Fireman’s Day parade. However, being a volunteer firefighter isn’t just parades and celebrations. Our local volunteers work hard every day to ensure the safety of their community members. Whether they’re responding to a house fire, a carbon monoxide detector going off, accidents, or downed wires after a storm, the brave Pleasantville volunteer firemen selflessly sacrifice their time, and often safety, to keep their friends and neighbors out of harm’s way. Each year, the parade presents a way for the community to honor the men and women who risk their lives to keep everyone safe.

This year, the parade coincided with some local news pertaining to helping spur volunteer efforts. In order to make volunteer firefighting an equal opportunity for all who choose to be involved, NYS Senator Pete Harckham recently announced the passage of two new bills by the New York State Senate. These bills, S5418 and S5419, both aim to protect volunteer firefighter disability benefits in order to make sure that they will have access to critical disability benefits and medical treatments warranted by their duties. It is important that the NYS Senate passed these bills as it acknowledges the peril volunteer firemen put themselves into every day in order to save the lives of others. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for the Pleasantville Fire Department, applications are available online through their website, pleasantvillefire.org.

Get Ready for Frosty the Snowman Homecoming 2017

October 22, 2017 by The Inside Press

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVE HILLEBRAND AND ROBBY MORRIS

SAVE THE DATE: November 26 in Armonk

The annual homecoming of America’s favorite snowman, Frosty, will be held right here in Armonk on Sunday, November 26, the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend.

The Frosty Day fun-filled family activities will be downtown Armonk at 12:30 p.m. with the annual Frosty Parade scheduled for 4 p.m. The parade will be followed by the annual holiday lighting ceremony at the gazebo in Wampus Brook Park.

The Frosty Parade is the only holiday-themed parade in the area and all activities are free to the public. Almost every business, shop and merchant in Armonk is involved somehow in Frosty Day; there are individual corporate sponsorships available for events and activities during the day and the parade.

There will be new activities and rides this year including more of the popular animated animals and the creation of an ice sculpture in the center of town. Favorites such as the miniature trains and horse-drawn wagons will be back again, along with dancers, singers, marching bands, magicians, clowns, elves, Santa and of course, Frosty. Shops and merchants will offer face-painting, frosting cookies, decorating holiday ornaments, refreshments, and making your own Frosty the Snowman to carry in the parade. A list of the times and places of events and activities are available on the Frosty website: armonkfrosty.com.

Events and activities will be held for three hours around town before the parade which will travel north on Main Street to Maple Avenue and then into Wampus Brook Park. Everyone is part of the parade, joining in at the end to help welcome Frosty home for the holidays.

More than 35 local and county-based groups and organizations will participate in this year’s Frosty Parade with floats, lights, dancing, costumes and music, going past the Historic District in downtown Armonk which was the inspiration for the “Village Square” where Frosty dared the children to “catch me if you can.” Steve Nelson, who was the lyricist of the classic holiday song, was a long-time resident of Armonk.

Friends of Frosty Inc., a non-profit group of local volunteers formed to oversee the day’s events, encourages visitors to Armonk to contribute to its “Help Frosty Help Others” campaign, with donations either in Frosty jars during the event, or with contributions to the Winter Warmth Project that collects outdoor jackets and gear for those in need. People can make clothing donations during a one-time drop-off of clothing items at North Castle Town Hall on Saturday, November 4th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The group’s president, Robby Morris, reminds us that “Frosty Day is an event that the town looks forward to every year. It’s a great time for everyone to come together and have some fun.”

Down to the Village for the Annual Frosty Day Parade

October 21, 2016 by Matt Smith

For the residents of Armonk, the cool weather can only mean one thing: Frosty Day is right around the corner.

Now in its seventh year, the winter spectacle has become an annual town staple, ushering in the holiday season with style and flair. Originally conceived by North Castle Historical Society Vice President Ed Woodyard as a Winter Walk and Tree Lighting in the Park, it morphed into Frosty Day in 2010, when the NCHS decided to recognize the contributions of New Castle resident Steve Edward Nelson. Nelson, who penned the lyrics to the snowman’s iconic anthem while he lived in White Plains, was a frequent visitor to Armonk and Nelson’s love for the hamlet is said to have provided inspiration for certain moments within the song. The “Village Square”–which Frosty “runs all around… with a broomstick in his hand”–is supposedly referencing the Bedford Road Historic District, while the town’s first police chief, John Hergenhan, inspired “traffic cop [who] hollered, ‘Stop!’”

“Because of these connections, [we thought], ‘Why not ramp this thing up?’” explains Robby Morris, President of Friends of Frosty, Inc., the not-for-profit organization in charge of planning the day’s events.

“We took it from a small little winter walk, into a full-out Disney production of ‘Frosty the Snowman,’ with costumes and activities galore.”

That they did–and this year promises to be no different. The day-long extravaganza kicks off with a host of activities throughout the downtown area, including train rides, face painting, a hot chocolate tasting, and the return of “Build-A-Frosty.” “From decorating a cupcake to creating an ornament from scratch, we’ve got something for everyone,” says Morris, with a smile. He also notes that Frosty himself will, of course, be visible throughout the day, spreading holiday cheer by posing for photos and giving warm hugs.

He’ll also anchor the main parade event, which commences on Old Route 22 and continues along Main Street toward Maple Avenue, before finishing up at Wampus Brook Park. As Frosty passes, he’ll invite all spectators to join the parade to its final destination. “We get almost 40 participants each year, from cars and floats to marching bands and other groups,” Morris continues. “They all come together, and It’s a lot of fun.” From there, the day culminates in the park with the original Tree Lighting ceremony, wherein Frosty will pull switch and set the park aglow.

As one would probably imagine, it’s a huge undertaking for all involved. “We probably work six months on this one-day event,” Still, Morris acknowledges the payoff simply can’t be beat. “It brings out the best in our community,” he says, noting that local businesses take in upwards of 300 visitors throughout the day. The fact that around 60 percent of them are coming in from out of town is another plus, as it not only boosts town vibrancy, but provides out-of-towners “good exposure to what Armonk has to offer” and may hopefully entice them to return in the future.

“The whole thing is at no cost to anyone,” explains Morris, adding that all expenses are covered through local sponsors, including Breezemont Day Camp, White Plains Hospital Medical and Wellness, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Hickory and Tweed, and The Bristal Assisted Living.

There’s indeed no “official” cost of admission, but the event does act, in part, as a fundraiser. As part of their Winter Warmth project, “Help Frosty Help Others,” members of Friends of Frosty, Inc., encourage attendees to donate winter clothing (jackets, hats, mittens), which will be distributed to a local charity following the parade. Bins will also be available prior to the event, at area schools, restaurants, and the North Castle Public Library. “People can drop items in as they walk through,” says Morris. “Anything is appreciated.”

While the lights and razzle-dazzle are indeed alluring–especially with the added bonus of the hamlet’s connection to the famed lyricist–Morris is quick to stress the true importance and meaning behind all the flash. “It’s a great event for that time of year where you’re giving back,” he says, with a broad smile.

He’s happy to report that year after year, the Armonk community never fails to deliver, and “when you’re watching everyone come together and get involved,” he says. “It’s a wonderful thing.”

The seventh annual Frosty Day Parade will be held November 27 from 12 to 5 p.m. in the Armonk Town Plaza. For more information, including schedules and sign-up sheets, please visit www.armonkfrosty.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBBY MORRIS

Matt Smith is a writer and regular contributor to The Inside Press. For further information or inquiry, please visit www.mattsmiththeatre.com.

NYC Pride: Proud, Loud and Record Crowds

June 27, 2016 by Inside Press

Article and Photos By Bobbi M. Bittker

If you have not attended NYC Pride, whatever you think it is, you’re wrong.

My day began on the Metro North with three queer teens and a newly minted 11 year-old festooned in flags, tutus, pride Converse and slogan t-shirts. We hit Fifth Avenue in time to procure a decent spot before the parade began.

Why Pride? The LGBTQ community experiences fears and oppression the hetero-normative community does not. We kiss our partners goodbye in public, think little about exposing our relationship and who we are at job interviews or when renting a home, walk into a business and expect to be served if we have greenbacks on hand and doubt our attire, or who holds our hand in public, will bring violence. But not so for those who need Pride.

Heterosexual, cisgender people are the majority. Never forced into a closet, never criminalized and never attacked for being straight or cisgender, we enjoy full rights and privileges with no effort. The LGBTQ community had to fight every step of the way for those same rights, still lacking many. How lovely to be able to ‘marry on Friday and get fired on Monday’ in more than half of the states due to sexual orientation or gender identity.

Pride is satisfaction with qualities attributed to you. But it is also a group of lions forming a social unit. LGBTQ Pride is typically the former, but this year, it was the latter. After Orlando, the community displayed their fierce persona. Ferocious, but protective. There was no silencing them. There is no stopping them. You will not impede their progress. You will not stop them from dancing.

Soon after 49 queer people of color were killed at Pulse, a traditionally safe space, Pride transformed. How? Naturally, increased security. Fewer attendees due to fear? More people as backlash to hate? Parents of LGBT teens were unsure whether their kids should attend their first Pride this year. A friend asked if I was concerned about safety at Pride, and would we still go?

9/11 happened. We returned to the city. As a Jew, still targeted worldwide, we return to synagogue as fish in a barrel. Hours before the Orlando shooting, I left the Philly Trans Health Conference, where security was already tight because transgender people are at risk. I answered, if we don’t show up, who will? Why should anyone? We must.

Parading by, signs urging us to ‘keep dancing 4 orlando,’ ‘control guns, not love,’ ‘I see the world through rainbow colored glasses. check out my view!’ contrasted with 49 marchers dressed in shrouds, each marked with the name and photo of an Orlando massacre victim. There were moments of unbridled joy coupled with sober reality. A reflection of LGBTQ truth.

Shrouded participants bring uncharacteristic silence to spectators as they pass, each adorned in the name and photo of an Orlando Pulse nightclub victim. It was a poignant, somber moment on a day of celebration.

Participants ran the gamut from New York’s Finest and Bravest to Jewish, Quaker and Mormon groups. From ACT UP and Gays Against Guns to Senator Chuck Schumer and Democratic Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton. It was campy pop culture fun with the Orange is the New Black, RuPaul’s Drag Race, reality TV star and activist trans teen, Jazz Jennings, a Pride stormtrooper and the NBA float.

Intersectionality was King. Marchers wore ‘black queer trans lives matter’ t-shirts, senior disabled gays rolled by in wheelchairs, and inclusiveness was the key to the city. If you were marginalized elsewhere, NYC Pride took you in.

Drag queens glittered. Politicians smiled. Activists chanted. The crowd cheered for all. There was not a boo, nor a jeer to be heard, regardless of the politician, nation or religion represented. It was a slice of the American ideal. LGBTQ community, Pride is for you, and there is no greater welcome mat than 5th avenue.

Bring your children to Pride. Surrounded by young people, older folks, families, tourists, Pride crosses class, race, ethnic, nationality and, of course, gender lines. Explain that we accept, not tolerate, differences. No one is excluded. These are New York values.

We must strive for equality for all, every day. Pride is a reminder of what we have to work for. Pride is New York City on its best day.

Bobbi M. Bittker is a stay at home mom and attorney, on the Board of the Bedford Community Theatre, a Girl Scout troop leader and a vocal supporter of Israel, gun safety and LGBT, women’s and civil rights.