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Third Avenue Merchants Assn.Getting Ready For 2008 Ragamuffin Parade, Festival and 15th Annual Pioneer Reception at the Greenhouse....
Once again , Third Avenue in Bay Ridge will continue to lead the way to a joyous and community-oriented Fall and Winter season!
The three biggest 2008 events taking place on Third Avenue have been set and may now be inserted in the calendars of the thousands who will be taking part starting in late September.
First, there's the 42nd Annual Ragamuffin Parade which Committee President Colleen Golden has confirmed will take place on Saturday, September 27.
The next day comes the 35th Annual Third Avenue Festival which Merchants of Third Ave. Pres. Bob Howe, the Festival Chair Chuck Otey and the hard-working Festival Mgr. Chip Cafiero happily pronounce will, occur on September 28.
"It'S so important that we work in conjunction with Ragamuffin," said Pres. Howe. "Holding the Festival the day after thousands of kids, parents and spectators imbue the avenue with a wonderful community spirit sets the stage for the Festival and beyond," he added.
The third big event on Third will be the 15th Annual Pioneer Reception which is set for October 27 at the popular Greenhouse Restaurant with the cooperation of proprietors Bob Daquara and John Keegan.
"The Pioneer Reception recognizes members who have provided extraordinary service to the avenue and to the community," said Pioneer Chair Chuck Otey. who has headed the event since its inception. "In addition to the Pioneers we reach out to Bay Ridge leaders with solid civic credentials and are active in various walks of life to receive our Civic Service Awards."
Thanks to volunteer leaders such as President Golden, the Ragamuffin Parade has become a successful and sustaining tradition which requires thousands of hours of no-cost effort by her and her committee. Although Ragamuffin in the words of its legendary founder, the late great Cliff Scanlon "is for the kids!", certain adults are also singled. out and honored at a pre-parade luncheon in September. They will be the 'Person of the Year" and 'Grand Marshal" of the Ragamuffin Parade.
The M.T.A. Pioneers will be honored first at the. Festival, which annually draws upwards of 300,000 people to the avenue in what is acknowledged to be the "biggest and safest" continuing festival in the city.
On Oct. 27, the Pioneers and Civic Award winners will be accorded "star status" at the Greenhouse Reception. Current Pioneers, cited in 2007 at the Vesuvio Restaurant are Dr. Jeff Hyman, marking 25 years with his Treat & Release Center, Luigi Ritorto, owner of the popular Panache Salon and John Bennett of the BallyBunion Restaurant.
A traditional theme of the Pioneer Reception is "A Taste Of Third Avenue" which reflects the thoroughfare's deserved status as "Brooklyn's Restaurant Row", an accolade underscored in the annual Brooklyn Restaurant Week celebration where Third Avenue restaurants dominate-each and every year since its inception-- in greater numbers than any other place in the borough!
Accorded the 2007 Civic Service Awards were Ellen Lauer, who heads the Bay Ridge Senior Citizens Center on Fourth Ave., Maureen Stramka, a past president of the Bay Ridge Community Council and the Ragamuffin Parade Committee along with Susan Lavin formerly of the Bay Ridge Center.
Just a few weeks after the Pioneer Reception, the colorful holiday lights- which cost over $20,000 and are paid for by merchants dues-will brighten the length of Third Avenue for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays. The Lighting Committee is chaired by M.T.A. Vice Pres. Jay Sessa.
Names of the Pioneers and Civic Award winners will be announced at an upcoming Merchants of Third Avenue meeting.
Doing the work behind the scenes as volunteers are other officers who include , 2nd Vice Pres. Wade Jabour, Treas. Cathy DiTirro, Executive Secretary and Festival Chair Chuck Otey, Secretary Lloyd Berg, Corr. Secretary Rhea McCone and Rec. Secy. Kelli Kilbride.
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