The Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic group was proud to give the neighborhood five days of fun with a carnival on the grounds of St. Helen Roman Catholic Church for the second year in a row.
The event, better known as the Howard Beach Feast took place from Aug. 9 to Aug. 13 with carnival rides, games, food vendors and booths set up on the parking lot of the church property just south of the Belt Parkway, and along 157th Avenue.
Phyllis Inserillo, co-president of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic group, explained why her group decided to pick up the event that has been a tradition in the community for decades.
“It is so important for my children and all the children in the community to keep family fun and traditions going,” Inserillo said. “This was something that I always looked forward to as a kid and I’m so happy to be able to make sure that our children can make those memories too.”
First responder and Sept. 11 hero Dominick DeVito and his wife Karen, along with Howard Beach Flagman Eddie Earl, were on site nightly selling 50/50 tickets to raise money for a new flagpole for the HBL Civics September 11th Survivor Tree site. All of the hours spent planning, setting up and maintaining the event paid off for the group after they were able to raise nearly $34,000 for St. Helen Church and all of the funding needed to install the Sept. 11 Memorial Flagpole and dedication plaque for the upcoming memorial at the site on Sept. 11 at 2 p.m.
“The community was able to have fun and we were able to raise money for two important causes,” Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic co-president Barbara McNamara said. “That’s what our work is all about.”
The civic group is already planning to host a third annual Howard Beach Feast next August.
