Carolyn Christmann, a former Friends Center for Children parent who lives in Fair Haven Heights, submitted the following write up and photos from the 8th annual Fair Haven Family Stroll & Festival in Quinnipiac River Park.
In the 1960s, as the site of the Schiavone scrap yard, iron, steel and cranes filled the acres between Front Street and the Quinnipiac River. Decades later, the once-derelict land has become a riverside park, and every spring a new generation of Schiavone helps fill it with fun, community and a great cause. Each May, the Friends Center for Children, led by director Allyx Schiavone, partners with Elm City Montessori School to throw a massive party in the park with a mission to promote high-quality early childhood education.
In its 8th year, the annual Fair Haven Family Stroll & Festival continues to grow in size and impact. This year, more than a thousand people joined the festivities, which raised more than $15,000 to increase awareness and access to developmentally-appropriate early care and education.
“This festival is about honoring the need for high-quality early care and education for all children in our community,” said Schiavone. “Providing access to high-quality early childhood programs for families of all economic levels is critical for addressing New Haven’s drastic achievement gap. And it’s critical to start early. Ninety percent of all brain development occurs before the age of five! Ninety percent! The impact of high-quality early care and education on the individual and the community is huge. For every dollar we invest in early childhood education, we see a $7-$13 return. We also see decreased drop out rates, decreased juvenile detention rates, decreased teen pregnancy rates, increased college graduation rates and earning potential — all from attending high-quality early care and education programs. Those of us who work to make the Fair Haven Family Stroll and Festival happen see the importance of this investment.”
Indeed many worked to make the event a success: a host of Friends Center parents and community high-school volunteers, generous sponsors and donors, awesome entertainers, and dozens of non-profit and community organizations.
The event kicked off with a 1.5 mile stroll along the Quinnipiac River led by the rousing beats of Southern Connecticut State University Drumline. Returning to the park, a suggested $10 donation gave families access to hours of entertainment and fun, emceed by Genevive Walker, chief operating officer of ConnCAT. From stage to tables to lawn, activities included making buttons and magnets with Make Haven, rescuing avocados and other produce from Food Rescue, chasing massive bubbles, drumming with Gammy, exploring the inside of a police car, selecting a free book from Read to Grow, dancing to the rhythms of Thabisa and the Caribbean Vibe Steel Drum Band, enjoying the magic of the Amazing Andy and Cyril the Sorceror, crafting with the New Haven Early Childhood Council, and learning yoga poses with 108 Monkeys.
At one table, children and parents were invited to chart their feelings by adding their names to a mood meter. The mood meter — a tool developed by the Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence — is used to help children understand and express their emotions in order to build emotional intelligence, an important part of the culture at Friends Center for Children and the theme of this year’s stroll. The mood meter itself is a square divided into four color quadrants — red, blue, green, and yellow — each representing a different set of feelings, from joy and serenity, to sadness and anger.
Adding to the emotional intelligence theme, children had a chance to participate in a collaborative art project by adding colors to a massive mood meter on the ground. And volunteers’ shirts proclaimed “How are you feeling today?” and “¿Cómo se siente hoy?”
As for Friends Center and Elm City Montessori, they are feeling thankful for another great event, for all the families and groups that participated, and for the generous sponsors who made it possible, including: Patriquin Architects, Eder Family Foundation, Friends Center for Children, Trust for Learning, Webster Bank, Carmody, Torrance, Sandak & Hennessey LLP, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Elite Property Services, Regional Water Authority, GHP, Petra Construction Corporation, TYCO, Superior Auto Body, TM Byxbee Company, Connecticut Communications LLC, Pristine Cleaning, EBP Supply Solutions, and Alfresco Landscape & Design.
Always such a diverse sun-filled day!