Corona celebrates ‘Feast of the Three Kings’

Thousands of kids turned out for a royal celebration in Corona recently, and in honor of the Feast of the Three Kings, Councilmember Hiram Monserrate, Assemblymember Jose Peralta and hundreds of volunteers handed over more than 3,000 toys to the excited youngsters, some of whom waited on line for nearly two hours.
“This is what I’ve wanted my whole life,” exclaimed nine-year-old Sammy Garcia, as he tore into a package of magnetic building blocks. The Rego Park resident also got a second gift during the four-hour festival - a chance to hug his hero, Mr. Met.
Ten-year-old Chelsea Socias of Elmhurst got a two-foot-tall plush penguin as her gift.
“I’m very happy,” she said, while clutching the large stuffed animal, adding that it reminded her of one of her favorite movies, “Happy Feet.”
For kids like Socias, who is half Cuban and half Ecuadorian, the Feast of the Three Kings remains an important celebration to commemorate the trip made by Kings Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar to present gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem.
“We have food, have a party for the family,” Socias’ mom Greta Fernandez said of their family’s celebration, explaining that Socias’ Ecuadorian heritage focuses more on Christmas, while her Cuban half concentrates on Three Kings. In addition to a party, the kids usually get a present in the morning, and Socias found a Nintendo D.S. waiting for her when she awoke on Sunday, January 6.
The Corona celebration - touted by organizers as the largest in Queens - has been happening for the past seven years, and during the past two years, organizers have been able to close off 108th Street between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue with help from the 115th Precinct and the Parks Department.
Other event sponsors included Congressmember Joseph Crowley, Assemblymember Ann-Margaret Carrozza, Gotham City Mortgage, Latin Tech/L.I.B.R.E., Amerigroup, Resumen, Paragon Honda/Paragon Acura, Fodera Foods, The NY Mets, Lee Engineering, Koeppel Nissan, The Mattone Group, RWDSU Local 338, and Dr. Robert Mittman.
Monserrate, who officiated the opening ceremonies, thanked all those involved and revved up the crowd before the children were allowed into the ELMCOR building for their gifts.
“Raise your hand if you want a toy,” he told the children. “Raise our hand if you want a house,” he joked with adults.
Soon afterward kids like five-year-old Lady Landa and 10-year-old Carlos Corona, both of Corona, clutched their new playthings.
But the best toy of all for six-year-old Thalia Delrio of Maspeth was of course the one that barely cost a thing - a balloon that she and other kids spent hours trying to keep in the air.