West River Celebrates

Paula Panzarella sent in this write-up about a recent West River holiday celebration: 

The West River Neighborhood Services Corporation sponsored its Annual Holiday Party for the neighborhood on Saturday, Dec. 17. About 200 children and 150 adults crowded into the solarium and community room of Berger Apartments, the senior housing complex at 135 Derby Ave.

The party was a cooperative effort of neighbors, organizations, businesses and non-profit institutions. The staff and residents of Berger Apartments welcomed the neighborhood into its usually-sedate ground floor. Neighbors who hadn’t seen each other for months had the chance to reconnect, and the talking and laughing was non-stop throughout the day.

Pre-school students from Barnard Environmental Studies School made ornaments for all the seniors and a Barnard 8th grader helped youngsters make holiday cards at the party’s arts and crafts tables, Walgreens gave gift bags for all the seniors and food was donated from the Hospital of St. Raphael, Lupi Legna Bakery and Stop & Shop. Yale-New Haven Hospital, Start Bank, Beauty Plus, BJ’s, Sam’s Club and neighbors donated towards the expenses and toys were provided by the Police Athletic League and the Marines’ Toys for Tots. To add to the fun, there were many raffle prizes: gift certificates from Jet Cleaners, Stop & Shop gift cards and Avon gift baskets from the neighborhood Avon representative. John Fitzpatrick showed his slideshow of photos he took during the many West River projects of 2011, Porsche Edmundson did a two-hour stint of face-painting. Frank Panzarella played guitar and sang Christmas songs to the crowd.

The space was packed, the tables were filled, there was enough food for everyone, and every child got a toy. The neighborhood had a great celebration of optimism, hope and friendship.

Planning for the party started in October. At the fifth and final planning meeting on Dec. 13, sixteen people came together to work through all the details of the event. The hard work of the volunteers brought unending smiles to everyone at the party. Berger Apartments was packed with a glorious multigenerational mix of happy people.

The West River Neighborhood Services Corporation meets the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. at the cafetorium of the Barnard Environmental Studies School at 6 p.m. All West River residents are welcome to participate in the meetings. For more information about West River
projects for the coming year, please contact Board President Stacy Spell, (203) 777‑2192.