2007 PADDLEWHEELER FESTIVAL A HIT!
The Paddlewheeler 2007 Spring fundraiser, held on May 5, raised an estimated $10,000--a nice boost at a time when, as P.S. 8 continues to grow, the PTA's ability to raise funds becomes ever more critical.
Click here for photos from Jonathan Barth
To everyone's delight, this year's Paddlewheeler fell on a gorgeous spring day. Families played games, shopped for books and enjoyed arts and crafts in the cafeteria and out on Poplar Street, which had been closed to traffic for the occasion. Many had their faces painted and ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream donated by Sven Lapiner. The P.S. 8 Cheerleaders performed in the auditorium in their new bright-red uniforms, followed by the P.S. 8 Chorus; musical act Opus Ditty and Ha-Ha the Clown also performed. The P.S. 8 Parent's Band rounded out the show, with Marc Dannenhirsh on guitar with B-string bender; David Atkins on snare drum with son Luke on bucket and mallet; Jeff Newell on lead vocals, tenor sax and washboard; Steve Marx was on bass and Nick Balaban on keyboards. Charlotte Balibar joined in to sing, "Beyond the Sea."
Meanwhile, parent volunteer and professional photographer Nathalie Schueller spent the day snapping portraits against a New York Harbor view painted by artist Davide Cantoni. That operation netted nearly $500. Scholastic Books reported $5,600 in sales, $800 of which will go to the school along with $1,200 worth of books. Fascati's donated pizza and Starbucks provided coffee. The raffle, organized by PTA fundraising Committee co-chair Joyce Farley, grossed some $2,400 in ticket sales. The drawing awarded nearly three-dozen prizes, including four Mets tickets, a freshwater pearl necklace hand-strung by Deci Tyson-Johnson, a Disney digital camera and other electronics.
The beautiful weather kept the festivities spread out, and the crowd more bearable than in previous years (it poured rain the last two years). "It made for a nicer day," PTA co-president Diane Miller said, adding that lead organizers of the event--Joanne Singleton, Amoi Baptiste and Miller's co-president Lisa Edstrom--deserved an extra special thanks, as did the many parent volunteers who pitched in that day.
Posted on: May 18, 2007
