Dreaming of a pink Christmas

Island Park residents gather to dedicate Christmas tree to Sandy Hook shooting victim

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Dozens of community members came to Masone Beach on Saturday to honor Caroline Previdi, who was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and whom the playground at the beach was dedicated to.
Dozens of community members came to Masone Beach on Saturday to honor Caroline Previdi, who was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and whom the playground at the beach was dedicated to.
Courtesy Barbra Rubin-Perry

While most people associate Christmas with red and green, each year the Island Park community gathers together to decorate a Christmas tree at Masone Beach in pink.

On Saturday, once again dozens of residents came to the playground at Masone Beach in solemn remembrance of Caroline Previdi, one of 20 Sandy Hook Elementary School students who were killed by Adam Lanza in a school shooting on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Conn.

In honor of her fondness for Christmas and her favorite color, the community lights the tree in pink each year. The playground at Masone Beach was dedicated to Previdi as one of 26 sites that the Where Angels Play Foundation has built playgrounds on, dedicated to each person who lost a life that fateful day. The foundation’s mission is “to create joyful places to play,” and to “provide hope, recovery, and a return to family values in the wake of senseless violence and tragedy.”

Island Park resident Cathi Hall has taken the mission a step further locally by organizing a Christmas tree dedication at the playground in honor of Previdi each year. The Island Park Fire Department donates the tree, while members of the community bring decorations, hot chocolate, treats and holiday cheer.

Each year since its dedication, the community decorates the tree in Previdi’s honor. It is mostly cloaked in pink — her favorite color — and adorned with solar lights. Hall said she corresponds with Previdi’s parents and that they are grateful for the community’s support.

“We keep her memory alive,” Hall said, “and she used to love Christmas and she loved pink. We were lucky enough to get her a playground, so I feel that we should keep her memory alive as best as we can.”

Barbra Rubin-Perry contributed to this story.