7th Annual Huntington Awareness Day Kicks off Saturday

Thousands of people are expected to turn out for the seventh annual Huntington Awareness Day parade to celebrate the community’s unity, diversity, solidarity and a few special honorees on Saturday.

Bands, floats, vintage cars, service groups and local merchants will come together to march down New York Avenue through Huntington Station from West Hills Road to the municipal parking lot between Railroad and Church Streets.

The Awareness Day fair, held in the parking lot, will include performances by local artists and booths offering crafts and services.

The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and the fair comes to a close at 5 p.m.

Honors will be bestowed upon a local soccer league and three members of the community.

“When we started in 2010, we hoped that an event would focus attention on all the good things going on in our community,” said Dolores Thompson, one of the co-chairs representing the Huntington Enrichment Center. “Six years later, we have even more progress to celebrate and an event that has become an institution bringing together government, the private sector, religious groups and agencies that provide vital services.”

Honorees include:

• The Huntington Hispanic Soccer League, which for the past 26 years has run programs at the Town’s Manor Field Park. Currently, the league has ten teams and about 150 players ranging in age from 16 to 40 years old.
• Dr. Lehti Laas Ramos, (pictured left) a lifelong Huntington Station resident who has been active in the Huntington Community First Aid Squad, helped found the Huntington Station Happy Helpers and has been affiliated with the Friends of the Huntington Train Station, the Huntington branch of the NAACP, the Friends of Huntington Station Latin Quarter, Gateway Park and the Blue Star Mothers’ water bottle collection.
• Frances Cerra Whittelsey, (pictured center) who as executive director of the Long Island Community Agriculture Network was a driving force in starting the Gateway Park Community Garden in Huntington Station. She has served as a member of the Huntington Town recycling advisory committee, was a board member of the Huntington Housing Coalition and was instrumental in the formation of the Huntington Interfaith Housing Initiative, which shelters homeless men every winter. She is an award-winning journalist, cited for her work focusing on consumer abuses and investigations.
• Sara Bluestone, (pictured right) a 30-year Huntington resident who has served as President of the Leadership Huntington Foundation’s Board of Directors and currently serves as a Co-Chair of the LHF President’s Council and Treasurer of The Huntington Community Council. Trained in the arts and photography, Ms. Bluestone’s career in the arts and arts administration has ranged from being the preservation curator of the famed Bettmann Archive in New York City, to administering NYS Council for the Arts grants for the Huntington Arts Council. She has volunteered her time for the Huntington Union Free School District PTA’s Arts in Education Committee and in 2001, helped found the Town’s Public Arts Advisory Committee. She served as its Chair from 2001 – 2008.

“This year’s fair should be the biggest and best one yet, bringing together many segments of our community to express our commitment to working together toward the common goal of improving our Town – the type of commitment exemplified by our honorees,” said Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone, another one of the event’s co-chairs. The third co-chair is Keith Barrett, of the Huntington Station Business Improvement District.

Images via Town of Huntington