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GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Children all around Greenburgh are getting their jackets and paintbrushes ready for the weekend.
The Greenburgh Parks and Recreation Department has once again teamed up with the Hartsdale Kiwanis Club for the annual Halloween window-painting contest. From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, children age 5 through 12 in Edgemont, Ardsley and Greenburgh Central 7 schools will showcase their spookiest Halloween paintings on local businesses.
"Halloween has become the major holiday of the year for young kids," said Claudia White, a member and past president of the Kiwanis Club. "This event has swelled with anticipation over the last few years. The kids seem to love it."
More than 75 children are registered for this year's event, said Keith Wright of the Parks and Recreation Department. Each child is set up with window space on participating businesses, and ribbons are awarded in different categories like Scariest and Funniest, he said. Registration for the event is closed.
All of the registration fees will be donated back into the community through the Kiwanis Club, White said. In past years, proceeds have gone toward purchasing emergency service vehicles and trauma kits for the town. White said the club hasn't decided where it will donate this year's proceeds yet, but a portion will go into the Thanksgiving baskets the club puts together for needy families every year.
Though the Hartsdale contest is not a large as the annual Scarsdale window-painting contest, White said it gives Greenburgh students the chance to participate in an event with their local community.
"Parents are looking for more and more activities for the kids to participate in," she said.
Comments (2)
Yes the window painting is a tradition and it's a good one.
But that doesn't mean it is exempt from criticism.
The money collected is $10 per child which is not a small amount to parents with more than one child participating. And with more than 75 children registered the Kiwanis Club is talking about taking in $750+.
Nor am I saying either that the money collected is spent on frivolous items like the Valhalla School District did with their gifted amounts.
But what I'm seeing here is "the cart pulling the horse". Aren't the Kiwanis supposed to be doing good works for the Community, free of charge? Taking money from adults for adults is one thing but creating peer group pressure among children to whine their parents into submission is hardly "the nobler than Caesar" deus ex machina to raise funds in harsh economic times. While I'm not so concerned about the pocketbooks of Edgemont parents, or even Ardsley and Hartsdale, I suspect that the entire population of Greenburgh Central 7 might be caught up in "keeping up with the Jones".
Yes, $10 PER child may NOT be an insignificant amount to everyone. At the TDYCC, this would be the rollout call for "scholarships". That's why one often encounters the existence of "Suggested Donation" at not-for-profit events and venues. Shame on the Greenburgh Parks Department for going along with promoting this event directly to the children. Bah, humbug.
Finally, Feiner has stopped using interns to fix the Town and gone to grade school kids.