By JOSEPH KELLARD
Fresh off their concert at Shea Stadium, the Beatles tribute band Strawberry Fields will provide the musical entertainment at the celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 18. In addition to the pony and other rides, the festival will offers various foods, vendors, and arts and crafts. Additional fun will be provided by children's entertainer Lyle Cogan as well as Lucky the Duck and the Wheel of Fortune from radio station KJOY, a main sponsor of the event, along with the Herald Community Newspapers. (Other sponsors include Prime Time Guide, the Jewish Star, UJA-Federation of New York, Oceanside United Soccer Club and Dr. Norman D. Jacobskind.)
"We are celebrating our beautiful building that has been providing for the community for all these years," said Joan Center, Friedberg JCC's assistant executive director. "While the celebration event itself is free, we're charging minimally for some of our features."
Prior to the celebration, the Friedberg JCC invites people to don their sneakers and take part in a Chai 5K Walk/Run on the Long Beach boardwalk. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m. at National Boulevard on the boardwalk, and the race is set to begin at 9:15. "We're holding the walk so people can get out, enjoy the fresh air and, hopefully, the beautiful weather," Center said. "At the JCC, with our large health facilities, we're about fitness and working out, so we thought this walk would be a great thing to add to the day and to warm up for the festival."
The center, established over 40 years ago, was originally known as the South Shore YJCC. Over the decades, the community center has been in various locations throughout Nassau County, and before setting up shop at the new building, it operated out of School 6 in Oceanside for 15 years.
"Once the school district told us they needed to take back the space we were renting, we started looking for someplace to go," said Sheryl Smith, Friedberg JCC's associate executive director. "At that point we had about a $5 million operating budget and had a lot of satellite programs, and so we couldn't just go away."
After a few years of extensive searching for new property, the South Shore YJCC met with Barry and Florence Friedberg, North Shore residents who were retiring and willing to donate their half of a building that housed their Oceanside printing business. When the Friedberg JCC opened its doors in Sept. 2000, the 57,000-square-foot facility offered an indoor pool, health club, gymnasium, day-care center and pre-school, and various programs for children, teens, adults and seniors.
Today, the JCC services about 10 towns on the South Shore, and has expanded to include an infant day care center and additional health and fitness services, not to mention continuously growing older-adult programs. "Our retiree population has just become huge over the past few years," Smith said. Further, the JCC has opened camps on Long Island, one of which provides for children with special needs, and is now trying to open another camp for kids with cancer.
"We want people in the community to come join and celebrate in our beautiful day," Center said. "And if people would like a tour of the building, they can certainly ask and we'll provide it."
For more information on the Chai Five Celebration, call Amy Schiller at (516) 766-4341 ext. 130. For details on the Chai 5 Walk/Run, call Robin Furman at ext. 132.
