Neighbor News
Play2Learn Festival Draws Record Crowd to Harrison Library
Kids learn while they play at second annual Harrison Public Library festival
The Harrison Public Library Foundation’s Play2Learn Festival drew record crowds to Riis Park last Sunday, September 10. An estimated 2,000 kids and their parents thronged the park and the library itself in celebration of play as a learning process. Two dozen hands-on activities kept them both busy and delighted on a perfect September day.
“We are ecstatic about the response to our second annual festival,” says Harrison Public Library Director Galina Chernykh. “It really showed how much our community loves its kids and how much its library loves them, too.”
This was the second annual Play2Learn Festival. The event was created in 2016 to celebrate the importance of play in a child’s life and to help parents and their kids experience the many ways to learn while playing. The festival was free to the public.
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“The Play2Learn Festival was made possible by the hard work of 50 dedicated volunteers and generous donations from local businesses and individuals led by Fidelity Investments and Willow Ridge Country Club,” says Dave Donelson, president of the Harrison Public Library Foundation. “It is a prime example of how donors can really do something tangible to enhance the quality of life in Harrison.” The costs of the event were entirely covered by donations.
Popular attractions included the Bubble Bus, Nora’s Ovenworks cookie art, constructing Dr. Seuss characters with Legos, creating your own soft drinks courtesy of Pepsi, and playing an endless variety of musical instruments. Popular food vendors and representatives of the Harrison Farmers’ Market offered refreshments and musical entertainment continued throughout the event.
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Joining the crowd was County Executive Rob Astorino, who proclaimed the date “Harrison Public Library Play2Learn Festival Day” in Westchester County. NYS Assemblyman David Buchwald also delivered a proclamation honoring the festival in the 92nd Assembly district. Other notables in attendance included NYS Senator George Latimer and Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont.
The Harrison Public Library is at 2 Bruce Avenue in Harrison. For more information, visit http://www.harrisonpl.org.
