On Saturday, June 13, the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade marched down Main Street in Huntington Village.
Hosted by the LGBT Network, an association of non-profit organizations working to serve the Long Island and Queens LGBT community, the parade featured an array of marching groups, including community organizations, social groups, LGBT corporate employees and other constituencies.
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A parade marcher is decked out at the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade in Huntington on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Long Island Pride Parade participants march through Huntington with a large rainbow flag on June 13, 2015. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
The grand marshals of the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade get colorful in Huntington on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Huntington's Main Street is full of pride at the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
The 2015 Long Island Pride Parade starts in Huntington on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Huntington's Main Street is full of pride at the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
A parade marcher is decked out at the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade in Huntington on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Huntington's Main Street is full of pride at the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
A parade marcher is decked out at the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade in Huntington on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Marchers in the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade enter Heckscher Park in Huntington on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Heckscher Park in Huntington is dressed up for the 2015 Long Island Pride Parade on June 13. Photo by Steven T. Licardi
Beer, one of the world’s great social lubricants, is ideal for celebrating Father’s Day, or any other day for that matter. Beer is a generic term for all alcoholic beverages that are fermented and brewed from malted barley — other ingredients can be used such corn and rice — hops, water and yeast. Beer is subdivided into two distinct categories — ale and lager.
Ale is fermented fast and warm, producing richly flavored beers with a slightly darker color than lager beer. Ale usually has more hops in its aroma and taste, and is often lower in carbonation than lager-type beers. It is usually bitter to the taste, with a slight tanginess, although some ale can be sweet. Ale is originally from England, where it is referred to as bitters. Some examples of ale are brown, pale, scotch, Belgian, Trappist, stout and porter.
Lager is fermented slow and cool, producing delicately flavored beers. It was developed in Germany around the 15th century. The Germans first introduced it into the United States in 1840, in Philadelphia, through a Bavarian brewer named John Wagner. Lager comes from the German word lagern — to store — and is applied to bottom-fermented beer in particular because it must be stored at low temperatures for a prolonged time. Lagers were traditionally stored in cellars or caves for completion of fermentation. They are bright gold to yellow in color, with a light to medium body, and are usually well carbonated. Unless stated otherwise, virtually every beer made in the United States is a lager. Some examples of lager are pilsner, bock (including doppelbock, eisbock, maibock), märzen/fest beer, Vienna style, dortmunder, Munich helles and pale lager.
Beer, a most versatile beverage, can also be used in cooking in place of wine in most recipes.
Cooking suggestions: Replace the wine with beer in your favorite marinade for chicken, pork, beef, turkey, or even lamb. When making a flour, water and egg batter for frying foods, such as eggplant or zucchini, substitute beer for the water. For seafood pasta with shellfish, like shrimp, scungilli or calamari, cooked in tomato sauce, add a bottle of dark beer and some hot pepper flakes for increased flavor and texture.
Bob’s Beer Bread
3 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 12-ounce bottle of your favorite beer — not light — at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, melted
Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Sift flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the beer and continue to stir until dough no longer sticks to sides of bowl (about 1 minute). Put dough into a lightly greased and floured 9” x 5” loaf pan. Bake at 375°F for 1 hour or until golden brown. Spread melted butter over the top of the bread during the last 10 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 -20 minutes before slicing.
This Father’s Day, sit down with dad and enjoy a frosty cold one.
Bob Lipinski, a local author, has written nine books, including “Italian Wine Notes” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple,” available on amazon.com. He can be reached at boblipinski.com or [email protected].
Northport celebrated new and old traditions on land and by sea this past Saturday, June 13.
The Northport Running Club held its inaugural Northport Nautical Mile Run, a downhill 1.15-mile race with hundreds of participants through the heart of Northport and ending at the foot of the harbor.
Afterward, the Coast Guard auxiliary and local clergy held the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the village docks to mark the start of the summer season.
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The women's heat of the Northport Nautical Mile gets heated on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
A child runs the Northport Nautical Mile on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
The men's heat of the Northport Nautical Mile on June 13 is crowded. Photo by Dan Woulfin
Observers cheer on the runners at the Northport Nautical Mile on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
A dog in a life vest waits for the boat he's on to be blessed at the Blessing of the Fleet in Northport on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
The US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla Band provides musical accompaniment for the Blessing of the Fleet in Northport on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
A blessing is read over the fleet in Northport on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
Members of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 22-7 salute the American flag during the Star Spangled Banner on June 13 at Northport's Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. Photo by Dan Woulfin
Clergy members Fr. Petter Dooley, Rev. Penny Gadzini and Msgr. Peter Ryan prepare to bless the fleet in Northport on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
A blessing is read over the fleet in Northport on June 13. Photo by Dan Woulfin
Many dads don’t plan the same way moms do. Sure, we want what’s best for our kids, and, of course, we think about the present and the future while remaining aware of the past and the lessons it might teach us.
But, many of us have a hunter-gatherer mentality, or now-approach, to life.
Perhaps it’s easiest to illustrate this with a description. For my daughter, waiting for a big party six months away is something she savors. She can contemplate what she needs to do to prepare and keep the bigger goal in mind each week.
If I mention something, like, say, a trip to Yankee Stadium, to my son, he wants it now, now, now, even if it’s the middle of the winter. Something happening in six months might as well be happening in 2020.
When boys become men, many of us keep this view of the world. We see today as an unfolding series of decisions and not a script.
Like women, men follow the schedules we set out for ourselves and, more often than not, for our children. We don’t have the luxury of saying, “I agreed to coach this team, but I feel like taking a canoe ride today.”
The time known as now was often planned weeks and, perhaps, months ago, making it harder to react in the moment. As we grow up, we rarely pursue the impulse to do whatever we want most of the time because what we planned takes precedence.
As a father on Father’s Day, I imagine there are plenty of men out there for whom the greatest gift on the day would be the ability to make a decision in the moment. Feel like having a catch, son? Sure, dad. Feel like taking a jog and looking for deer, turtles and cardinals? Hey, why not? Want to head to The Good Steer for lip-smacking, spectacular onion rings? Definitely!
As Father’s Day approaches, I think about my own dad, who died over a quarter of a century ago. I remember those moments when as a family we walked along a trail in Quebec, stepping carefully through shallow, icy cold water on our way up the huge steps near a waterfall.
I recall those rare moments, which were much more unusual back then than they are today, when my father would put on a mitt and have a catch with us, or when, on vacation, we’d play family baseball.
How do we plan to be spontaneous? When we leave open some time, is there a chance we should be doing something better? And, what if something better, for one or all of us, comes along? Is it selfish to want to hang out, watch an old movie, sway in a hammock, drive to a farm stand to pick berries, or fly a kite?
Yes, I still love to fly kites and no, I’m not good at it. I find something about the way the wind in the moment sends the kite diving and climbing entertaining.
It’s ironic, really. When my father was annoyed, he used to say, “Oh, go fly a kite!” My response, especially on Father’s Day: “Don’t mind if I do.”
Taken in 1930, this aerial view of Selden’s Still Farm, owned by D. Benjamin Still and his wife Eva, shows their chicken coops and land. Photo above from Middle Country Public Library Heritage Collection
By Rachel Siford
After two years of researching, writing and editing, the Middle Country Public Library’s local history book is
finally in print.
From left, Luise Weiss, Theresa Arroyo, Jim Ward and Sara Fade lead creating the history book. Photo from MCPL
“Centereach, Selden, and Lake Grove,” an Images of America History Book was released on May 25. The book, which is published by Arcadia Publishing, is the latest in the company’s Images of America series that showcases small towns throughout the United States.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing for our staff to do because we have the resources and it’s our duty as a public library to preserve the history of our area,” Library Director Sophia Serlis-McPhillips said. “It’s like we are giving back to our community.”
The book documents the history of the Middle Country area dating back to the 1700s, and features images collected from residents that show the transformation of Centereach, Selden and Lake Grove from small, rural communities to the commercial, vibrant area it is today.
Four librarians, Luise Weiss, Theresa Arroyo, Jim Ward and Sara Fade, headed the research and making of the book.
The book’s researchers utilized neighboring library archives, local historians and photos and information they already had at the MCPL Heritage Collection.
The Centereach 1934 fourth- and fifth-grade classes were held in a one-room schoolhouse. Photo from Middle Country Public Library Heritage Collection
“I learned so much about the area, and we wanted to be able to pass that on,” said Arroyo, the coordinator of adult reference and cataloging services.
All four had to find pictures, track down and confirm information and then write a description detailing a special event or place in town.
“Local history is so much fun because you can put a historical lens on things you drive by every day,” Arroyo said.
Since the area does not have its own historical society or a main street, there haven’t been many books written about its history, according to Arroyo.
“Most people wouldn’t think that this area was full of farms and that Selden was known for its watermelons,” Arroyo said, smiling. “Middle Country Road is such a busy, commercial road today that it is hard to imagine it being a dirt road with no lights.”
Serlis-McPhillips said there has been a lot of public support and interest and a positive reaction so far: “People don’t realize how rich in history we are.”
The view of Middle Country Road near New Village Congregational Church in the early 1900s. Photo from Middle Country Public Library Heritage Collection
While most Images of America books end around the 1920s, the Middle Country one is unique because it delves into historic moments from the 1950s and 1960s.
Arroyo and Serlis-McPhillips both said their favorite history tidbit was learning about the cycling craze of the 1890s, which led to the creation of Bicycle Path, a road that stretches from Patchogue to Port Jefferson.
According to the librarians, riders were called wheelmen, and needed license plates and registration to ride.
To accompany this book release, the library is revamping its heritage collection by changing how the current section is organized, and will add genealogy resources for patrons to use.
The library will begin reconstructing the section in late June with the hope of opening in early fall.
“We felt is was really important since we don’t have a historical society for our area,” Serlis-McPhillips said. “We really wanted to be able to do something for our community.”
John Martin demonstrates how to administer Narcan at a training session in Northport. File photo by Rohma Abbas
The Northport-East Northport Community Drug and Alcohol Task Force wants to recruit 18- to 25-year-olds in the fight against drug addiction and fatal overdoses.
Next week, the group will host a workshop that will train participants in administrating Narcan, a drug that thwarts opioid overdoses. Task force leaders say they hope to attract members of a young age group to attend because those individuals have the highest overdose statistics locally.
The workshop is on Wednesday, June 17, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Northport Public Library. This training session and hands-on workshop is hosted by the task force, and will be run by the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. The training is easy to understand and free for anyone who registers.
“I want to equip the kids with the awareness and knowledge to battle this ongoing problem the youth today is dealing with,” Anthony Ferrandino, co-chair of the task force, said this week.
Narcan is a prescription drug that reverses an opioid overdose. An opioid describes drugs like heroin, morphine and oxycodone. Narcan cannot be used to get high and is not addictive. It also has no known negative side effects, so it is completely safe to administer this drug, even if there is uncertainty about a person having a drug overdose.
“The Northport [Village] Police Department has a 100 percent success rate for overdose victims when they have gotten to the scene in time,” Scott Norcott, the public relations coordinator for the task force, said in an interview.
In 2013 alone, there were 216 confirmed opioid-related deaths in Suffolk County, according to Ferrandino. In 2014, the number declined slightly to 167 deaths. More than half of the opiate deaths in 2013 were individuals in the 20-29 age group.
Ferrandino wants to focus on teaching kids not only how to administer the drug and the process of calling for help, but also the workings of the Good Samaritan laws. These laws protect the caller and the overdose victim from arrests for drug possession or being under the influence. Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have varying policies that provide immunity from arrests for minor drug-law violations by people who help on the scene.
“I don’t want them to be scared to call 911 — that is a common fear — that they don’t want to get in trouble for being at the scene at all, so they become fearful of calling for help,” Ferrandino said.
The training session will include instructions on how to administer Narcan. Each participant will be given a prescription that allows him or her to carry and administer Narcan wherever they are, along with a free kit. New York State covers the costs of Narcan and the training.
Ferrandino was motivated to spread the word about Narcan to as many 18- to 25-year-olds as possible by a former student who graduated from Northport High School. When she was at college, a student overdosed at a party she was at, and she felt that if she had been trained in Narcan administration, she could have helped save the student’s life.
The task force has participated in many programs this year to try and spread awareness of the rising number of drug overdoses in town. Recovery, awareness and prevention week is an annual series of events throughout the Northport-East Northport school district with forums and events to help students learn how to avoid drugs and how to help friends who might be struggling with addiction.
Narcan training sessions will also be held in Hauppauge at the Suffolk County Office of Health Education in the North County Complex on Veterans Memorial Highway on June 15 and 29, and July 20.
“Narcan is really a Band-Aid, it’s a great one, but the endgame here is to get the kids to hear the facts, to smarten them up and see the dangers, so that one day we won’t need the Narcan training,” Norcott said.
The Long Island Maker Festival debuts in Port Jeff
Spectators view demo of the Voxiebox which will be on display at the Long Island Maker Festival Sunday. Photo by Sean Kane
Opening my web browser the other day, I was dropped into the middle of an Apple “special event” product unveiling where an executive enthused about some app or service or the other. It was something to customize my newsfeed. Since I’m good with the way I currently get my news, I didn’t pay too much attention and moved on.
Sometimes it can be overwhelming — keeping up with apps, worrying about issues of privacy and multi-tasking — all of which can erode productivity and promise access to more content than we could ever properly consume. And yet, we can either be intimidated by technology or energized by it.
People who turn that energy into creativity — makers, doers — can be an inspiration to us all. That’s why this Sunday, June 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Maritime Explorium in Port Jefferson Village and KidOYO are hosting the Long Island Maker Festival.
The largest maker festival in Suffolk County, it will showcase the work of people who have seized technological innovations and turned them into opportunities to become innovators, says Cindy Morris, the event’s organizer.
As Cindy describes it, the maker movement stems from accessible innovation.
“Technology has changed so much, you can do almost everything from your own home,” she says.”
You don’t need millions of dollars or fancy hi-tech facilities to realize your ideas.
I have to admit that I love the word “maker.” People who create, contribute and value utility. It’s the opposite of consumption and requires grit and ingenuity. How could anyone not be excited by that?
Sunday’s family event will bring together 50 volunteers from ages 11 on up to the Port Jefferson Harborfront Park. There will be scientists from across the island wearing shirts saying, “I’m a scientist. Ask me a question.” They want to encourage those who attend to learn more about the science behind what they will be seeing. And Cindy assures there will be lots of science — professional robotics, a children’s science exhibition, a demonstration of green screen technology and a hologram machine built in a garage — to name just a few offerings.
Festival participant takes in the Voxiebox 3D video consul. Photo by Sean Kane
The maker movement encompasses more than just science and technology, Cindy says. There’s art, performing art and crafting, much of which will also be seen Sunday.
Stony Brook University’s theater department will demo theatrical make-up, while attendees can take sewing lessons, observe an African drumming circle, or take in other musical performances. Workshops from computer coding to organic gardening will also be offered.
“We always talk to our children about being imaginative, but as we get older, we stop doing it ourselves,” Cindy observes.
This event, this gathering of creators and entrepreneurs, is to show that “anybody can do this,” she says. “We want our children to know that they don’t have to be adults to be creative, and for adults to realize that they don’t have to be children to be creative.”
All of this came together in four months, which Cindy sees as a show of the community’s interest and desire for such an event. There are close to 100 makers participating, and organizers expect the festival to draw some 3,000 attendees.
Cindy’s background as a strategic planner for non-profits — she owns The Benson Agency — definitely came in handy when gathering sponsors. Without them, the undertaking would have cost anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000, she estimates.
Port Jefferson Village is allowing the organizers to use the Harborfront Park rent free, while The Rinx, the roller rink at the Village Center, is offering all attendees free roller skating for the day. Stony Brook University College of Arts and Sciences and its department of technology and society, Stony Brook Medicine, Hofstra, The Science Academy Camp at Park Shore, Long Island Parent and PSEG are among the other sponsors.
If you are a mover and a maker, or you want to be one, head “down Port” this Sunday. Maybe something you see will spark your sense of invention!
Tickets: Purchased in advance $10/person or $40/family. Day of $15/person or $60 family. www.limakerfest.com
Suffolk officials discuss environmental issues facing Long Island after thousands of dead fish washed ashore in Riverhead. Photo by Alex Petroski
The estimated nearly 100,000 dead bunker fish that have washed ashore in Riverhead may seem astounding, but it wasn’t all that surprising to the panel of experts brought before the Suffolk County Health Committee on Thursday.
In late May, the thousands of dead bunker fish, formally known as Atlantic menhaden fish, began appearing in the Peconic Estuary, an area situated between the North and South Forks of Long Island. According to a June 2 press release from the Peconic Estuary Program, the bunker fish died as a result of low dissolved oxygen in the water. This shortage of oxygen is called hypoxia.
Walter Dawydiak, director of the county’s environmental quality division, who serves on the panel, which was organized by the health committee chairman, Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport), testified that the number of dead fish was at or approaching 100,000.
“This one is bigger and worse than any,” Dawydiak said.
According to the PEP, which is part of the National Estuary Program and seeks to conserve the estuary, bunker are filter-feeding fish and an important food source for many predatory fish, including striped bass and blue fish.
Alison Branco, the program’s director, said the fish are likely being chased into shallow waters by predators, but are dying because of low dissolved oxygen levels in the waters. In addition, an algae bloom is contributing to the low levels and is fueled by excess nitrogen loading. Much of that nitrogen comes from septic systems, sewage treatment plants and fertilizer use.
“We’ve reach a point where this kind of hypoxia was run of the mill. We expect it every summer,” Branco, who also served as a panelist, said following the hearing.
While magnitude of the fish kill was astounding, the experts said they weren’t so surprised that it happened.
“I definitely thought it could happen at any time,” Christopher Gobler, a biologist at Stony Brook University, said in a one-on-one interview after the panel hearing. “There’s been an oxygen problem there all along.”
Gobler called it largest fish kill he’d seen in 20 years.
According to panel members, the worst of the fish kill occurred between May 27 and May 30.
Branco did suggest that this shocking environmental event could be turned into a positive if the right measures are taken sooner rather than later.
“It’s always shocking to see a fish kill,” she said. “As much as we don’t want to have things like that happen I think the silver lining is that it did capture the public’s attention.”
Prevention of a fish kill this large is possible, according to Branco. While preventing the harmful algal blooms is not possible, reducing the frequency and severity can be done if the amount of nitrogen in the coastal water supply is controlled.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, an environmental policy advocacy group, agreed that curtailing the amount of nitrogen in the water is the easiest and most impactful way for prevention of a fish kill of this magnitude.
“The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step,” Esposito said in response to a question about the daunting task of fixing the Island’s sewage treatment techniques and facilities on a limited budget.
Esposito described the roughly $5 million from New York State, which was allotted to Suffolk County to deal with cleaning the coastal water supply, as seed money. Esposito and Branco both said they believe the commitment of time and money required to solve the nitrogen problem in the water supply will be vast.
“We can do this,” she said. “We have to do it. We have no choice.”
RampShot starts taking over as a new summer favorite
Josh Bonventre shows off a RampShot prototype. Photo by Alex Petroski
Lots of people have ideas. Some say they do their best thinking in the shower. Josh Bonventre’s big idea came while driving home from his day job as a physical education teacher in the Shoreham-Wading River school district.
A few years ago, Bonventre was a typical Long Island husband and dad of three. Now he is the co-founder of RampShot, an outdoor game designed for four players which involves four racquetball-like spheres and two ramps with built-in nets. Two players make up a team and score points by either tossing the ball into the net or catching the ball after it bounces off the top of the ramp.
The idea may sound simple, but taking it from a fleeting daydream in traffic to an award-winning, booming business venture is anything but.
Bonventre, along with help from his friend and co-founder Kevin Texeira, set up shop in Bonventre’s detached garage at his Center Moriches home about two years ago. Today, the garage is bursting at the seams with office furniture and packaged RampShots waiting to be shipped.
Texeira has since moved from Mount Sinai to the Finger Lakes area in upstate New York. He is a national sales manager for a cookie company in addition to his responsibilities with RampShot.
“Right now our biggest obstacle is getting them made fast enough,” Bonventre said. Bonventre and Texeira launched the company Shore Creations in November, though RampShot is their only game so far. Their trajectory as a company is hardly the norm.
The net in which players must try to toss a ball in order to score points in RampShot. Photo by Alex Petroski
Within the first two months of the company’s launch, the duo applied to be recognized by the National Sporting Goods Association as one of its top 10 new products. By April, they were on a plane to Austin, Texas, to attend an NSGA conference and be recognized as one of the top products. In addition, the game was featured on A&E Network’s “Project StartUp.”
“They’re a great partner for the sports industry,” Katie Nemec, director of marketing for the NSGA, said in an email about Bonventre and Texeira.
“Everyday I wake up I just can’t believe what’s happening,” Bonventre said about the success his company has experienced despite being in its infancy. “We’re still at the beginning so for us this is really exciting now. But to think about the potential for the future is sometimes overwhelming.”
Bonventre estimates that he and Texeira have invested somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000. Both said they dedicate between 30 and 40 hours a week to RampShot, on top of their normal work schedules and family duties.
Texeira remembers the moment when he decided it was time to fully commit to producing and selling RampShot. The partners received a phone call one evening from their attorney who informed them that their idea was 100 percent original and would not infringe on any existing patents. Texeira said that for him there was no looking back after that.
“It’s been fun for me personally,” Tim Goddeau, operations manager of Micelli Chocolate Mold Co., said in an email. His Long Island-based company manufactures the games.
“Anytime you have people who never been in the manufacturing business you get to show them how difficult it can be to make a product.”
Bonventre and Texeira are not alone. Rather than cut short this interview, Bonventre’s wife Jackie and son Tyler rose to the occasion when a UPS truck pulled up to their house to pick up an order of 16 games.
“It’s my exercise,” Jackie Bonventre said laughing.
Tyler was somehow able to hoist three of the boxes up at a time and haul them out to the truck, despite the fact that one box seemed to be about half of his size.
“Once I saw the product I knew that he had something so I was supportive of it,” Josh Bonventre said. “Whatever he had to do, I was in.”
Texeira fondly remembered when he decided to go to his parents and tell them about the idea.
“My dad was a Rocky Point music teacher for 35 years,” Texeira said. “He wasn’t someone who took a lot of risks. They loved the idea that it was a game and they trusted my business background.”
Bonventre estimates more than a thousand games have been sold in the past few months.
“The other day I come home and there’s a bunch of new orders that came in while I was at work,” he said. “They were from basically every corner of the country.”
The game is currently sold in sporting goods stores in the tri-state area, the Midwest, New England and online. Soon a few Bed Bath & Beyond locations on Long Island will carry RampShot.
“We just had somebody the other day on Facebook, somebody we don’t know posted to our wall and they have a picture of our game at the beach,” Bonventre said. “She writes ‘probably the best game to play in the sand. Probably the best game ever.’”
Bonventre stopped short of declaring RampShot and Shore Creations as his sole source of income in the future. Standing in his garage — turned small business headquarters — Bonventre daydreamed about the future again for a moment.
“Two years from now, three years from now, four years from now are we going to be selling 10,000 at a shot?” he pondered. “We obviously won’t be able to do it here.”
Fred Hall, vice president and general manager of the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, has been selected as the 67th Ringmaster of the Barnum Festival. The Barnum Festival, founded in 1948, is meant to build community spirit, as well as honor Phineas Taylor Barnum, a successful businessman, community leader and world-renowned showman, who was a resident of Bridgeport.
The festival will run from June 12 to 28, and every year a ringmaster is chosen to lead the festivities. The event, which will be held in various locations throughout the greater Bridgeport area, includes the Wing Ding Parade for Kids, the Ringmaster’s Ball, the Barnum Pub Fest, and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Pops Concert and Skyblast Fireworks.
Ringmaster Fred Hall, photo from Hall
Hall first joined the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company in 1976 and became vice president in 1985. He served as a judge on the royal family panel for two years. I recently chatted with Fred Hall about his newly appointed position.
Q. What are the duties and responsibilities of the ringmaster?
A. You are basically the master of all the ceremonies. You’re at almost every event and are the face of the festival. Some specific duties I’ll do is throwing the first pitch at the Long Island Ducks and Bridgeport Bluefish baseball game and putting together a friendly wager between Mayor Bill Finch of Bridgeport and Mayor Margot Garant of Port Jefferson during the game.
Q. Are you essentially the kickoff for every event?
A. Pretty much. I think I have 16 appearances in the month of June alone. One of the events that is not widely know, we actually go to nursing homes and convalescent homes and we put on small shows for the residents. I know we go to more than 10 homes and we do the show and stop in. For some of these folks it’s the highlight of their year. All the past ringmasters told me that is the most rewarding of all the events.
Q. Can you give me a bit of a preview of the show?
A. No, because rehearsal hasn’t even started yet!
Q. Oh, I see. So when does rehearsal start?
A. We need to find out who the winners of the Barnum’s Got Talent Competition on June 13 are. Right after that we go into rehearsals for the small road shows, with myself, the performers and the royal family.
Q. What exactly is the royal family?
A. The royal family is made up of six members: a king, queen, prince, princess, Tom Thumb and Lavinia. To find the king, queen, prince and princess, we ask for two high school juniors in the top 15 percent of their class, one male and one female, from every school we can get in Connecticut. They go through a two-part process; the first is a panel of judges who asks varying questions to each contestant. The two years I served as a judge, my question was “Who was P.T. Barnum?” Not everyone knows about Barnum, the philanthropist or the inventor. So we have to get the word out! After the panel we hold a social event for them, and we are looking for the kids that are getting other kids dancing and socializing. At the end of that event the judges select a king, queen, prince and princess, and they all get scholarships.
Q. Who are Tom Thumb and Lavinia?
A. They were little people that Barnum employed in his circus, and they were also married. So we have a competition with seven- or eight-year-olds. Interviews happen, they get a tour of the museum, and at the end of the event we chose a Tom Thumb and Lavinia, and they comprise the last two members of the royal family.
Q. Can you tell me a little about some specific events, like the Ringmaster’s Ball?
A. It’s a great social event. Last year there were 500 people. There are cocktails, dinner, dancing; and a lot of people from the area show up. We get numerous politicians; last year Governor Malloy attended. It’s a great event. The tickets are $175, and the money helps support the scholarships we give out every year, as well as the various activities during the festival.
Q. What are you most looking forward to this year?
A. Meeting new people, getting to know the entire royal family. There really are some amazing people involved in this festival, and frankly I am in awe of them. The volunteers as well are terrific people. I can’t emphasize enough how much this festival is about the people.
Q. What was the best piece of advice former ringmasters gave you?
A. Just to relax and enjoy it as much as possible. The previous ringmasters and Elaine Ficarra, executive director of the festival, built a tremendous organization here.