A Picture Perfect Dinner

 Last night, with weather being hot, muggy and at times wet, it wasn’t an ideal night to be outside, but at the same time I didn’t want to stay home. Having one of my urges to try something new, I went to a dinner fundraiser at the old train station.

The Railroad Playhouse (at the old West Shore Station; 27 South Water St.) hosted the spaghetti and meatball dinner fundraiser to benefit Northeast Gateway to Freedom (104 Broadway) in support their Newburgh Kidz Summer Initiative, a free program for kids (1^st through 12^th grade) in the city of Newburgh.

It didn’t matter that I was by myself and didn’t know a single person in the place. I tend to occupy myself by taking pictures, and as soon as my camera came out, that broke the ice. Kwajae, one of the Kidz at my table noticed its size and was eager to try it. I took out a point and shoot camera for the sake of simplicity, asked him if he wanted to take some pictures for me, gave him a quick rundown on the camera (push this button, hold it from the sides because of the touch screen, and be careful where your fingers are not to block the lens) and sent him on his way, with the instructions simply to take pictures of anything in the room that looked interesting. Not wanting to be left out, his cousin Khalil was just as eager to try the camera, we went through the routine again, and off he went working his way around the room. Before I knew it, I had two miniature photographers taking pictures for me, and that set the tone for an entertaining evening; the entertainment not just being the people on stage. 

 

 On stage entertainment included inspirational songs sung by Pastor Rosey and Vinnie, keyboard playing (sorry, I didn't get a name, but if anyone knows, please let me know!), and a violin solo by Moline. 

 

 

Kidz were called on stage at times and recited short biblical verses. When Kwajae was called up, he suddenly turned shy and didn’t want to go. He had still wanted to try the big camera, so I made him an offer- if he went on stage, he could use the camera after.  Up to the stage he went, quickly doing his thing while trying to hide behind his hand. As soon as he was done, on we went to take pictures with the big camera, with his cousin wanting to do the same thing too.

   

 All the while food was being served by attentive servers. Dinner included the obvious spaghetti and meatballs, that being the dinner theme, as well as salad, pizza, breads, beverages, and a myriad of desserts to choose from (including homemade Italian Ices from Simple Gifts and Goodies). In addition, raffles were taking place throughout the course of the evening, with a wide assortment of prizes being given away.

The dinner was prepared by TheWherehouse (119 Liberty Street) and Simple Gifts and Goodies (19 Liberty Street). Panera Bread (1278 Route 300) and the Pizza Shop at the Railroad Playhouse (27 South Water Street) contributed to the meal.

Collaborators included American Cleaning, Baptist Temple, Minard Farms, Guardian Self Storage, Bon Ton, Aglow International, Dutch Sheets Ministries, Hudson Valley Christian Church, ARC, Stairway Ministries, Triumph Textile & Knitting, His Table Ministries, Simple Gifts & Goodies, Adams, Natures Pantry, Mother Earth, Shop Rite, A & P, Panera Bread, Skonberg Family Chiropractic Care, Windsor Dental, Pine Hill Farm, Clegg Bros, Stewarts, Cornwall Presbyterian, Soho Two, ADR Bulbs, Sorbello Landscaping, Star Quality Painting, Thomas O Miller, Sullivan County Correctional Facility, StewartsShops, Price Chopper, City of Newburgh, Little Sisters of the Assumption, Elozua Studies and Morehead Honda.

Local Businesses Are The Key

More often than not, I run to the big chain stores thinking I have better odds of finding what I need and the prices will be better. Lately, I've decided to stick to the "support local businesses" mentality, and find its really to every one's benefit. My latest experience involved locks and keys. I always thought going to a locksmith would be pricey, and I would be better off going to Home Depot or Lowe's. I had gone with the latter option previous occasions, so I know what to expect price wise, and wanted to see how a local locksmith compared. Finding something very specific tends to be hit or miss at the larger stores, and the last time I was in search of something similar, all I basically walked out with was a "sorry, we don't have those".

Walking into the store, I found it refreshing that it was a family business. A couple worked the business, and their children had just gotten off the bus after school, went straight into the shop and started their homework. It was really cute to see one of the girls getting a customer to help check her homework, and see the kids enjoying their Halloween surpluses as they unloaded their backpacks.

For starters, the locksmith is just around the corner, and that in itself might be worth an extra dollar or two for saving me the trouble of having to contend with all the traffic lights along Broadway and having to deal with busy parking lots and lines you expect to find at Home Depot or Lowe's. The prices were right on par, and I actually made out better, since the locksmith was able to advise me on less expensive options. Another thing about the local business is the variety of merchandise they had. Their displays were geared more towards the styles you'd expect the buildings in the area to have had years ago, whereas the bigger stores always tend to have the same generic styles you see everywhere. I don't remember the last time I saw those crystal-sort of door knobs, but when I saw them on display, it took me back to days when I was little and would pretend they were diamonds.

Whether its locks, food, hobbies, etc., don't overlook what's right next door. If not to "support local businesses", try going to one just to make your own life a little simpler- do you really want to go all the way to Home Depot, when in the time it takes you just to get there, you could have your entire job complete?