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BOROUGH PRESIDENT HOSTS SPECTACULAR HOLIDAY CELEBRATION FOR 2400 BROOKLYN CHILDREN

Photograph by Sarah Liriano
	A holiday circus, live music & plenty of toys and books for all the kids! .

On December 21st, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz helped 2400 Brooklyn children from low income housing get into the Christmas spirit when he hosted the Best of Brooklyn Holiday Celebration 2002 at the former Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in Park Slope. The Brooklyn Tabernacle graciously donated the use of its old home after recently moving into its beautiful new Downtown Brooklyn church earlier this year.

"I think I have the best job in the world, especially when I get to be around so many wonderful kids," Borough President Markowitz said. "There is nothing more heartwarming than seeing a child smile. Today the former Tabernacle is filled with thousands of them, thanks to the generosity of so many Brooklynites. These children are our future, and it is so important that every single one of them know that Brooklyn cares deeply for them. This fantastic show, combined with the gifts of books and toys, is a great way to do that."
This live, family-style show had something for everybody including performances by Deep, Brooklyn's own hot R&B trio; a Holiday Circus with performances by David Sharps, juggler extraordinaire, an award winning acrobat, the King Charles Unicyclists and "Oodles of Poodles," a group of incredibly talented poodles who can even play jingle bells!; dance sequences from "The Brooklyn Nutcracker" by the Brooklyn Music School; and the Sesame Flyers Steel Pan Drummers.

There were two one-hour shows. After each performance, every child got to choose a new book and a new toy. The kids had plenty to choose from including classics like Monopoly, Scrabble, Legos, Hess trucks and all kinds of sporting equipment, and the hottest new toys such as Dora Explorer, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Bratz and Bob the Builder.

50 New York City Housing Authority Tenant Presidents chose children from their complexes to attend the shows. Dozens of other social service organizations also sent children.

Best of Brooklyn is a not-for-profit charity with the mission to make life better for all Brooklynites by supporting culture, social services, health and education initiatives, tourism and most important, our youth.

This event was underwritten by generous contributions from:

The Jacobson family & the Lady Linda Cake Company.

Astoria Federal, Bay Ridge Automotive Management, Best Buy, Brooklyn Community Events, Inc, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Citibank, Con Edison, Fleet Bank, Fulton Mall Improvement Association, Inc, GHI, Health First, HIP Health Plan of New York, JP Morgan Chase, JETRO, Home Depot, The Korean American Brooklyn Association, “Law and Order,” Liberty Mutual, North Star Medical, PFIZER, Subway Sandwiches, Toys R Us, United Federation of Teachers Local 2 and Western Union.

American Media Concepts, Inc, Brooklyn Cyclones, Brooklyn Federal Savings Bank, Charmer Sunbelt Group, COSTCO, Cumberland Packing Corporation-Sweet N Low, El Caribe Caterers, Flatbush Avenue BID, Key Food Stores, KeySpan Energy, Pepsi Cola, Petroleum Tank Cleaners, Inc. and Target Corporation.

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Hyperion Disney and Scholastic Books.

The Borough President was joined by his good friend Santa and a number of very happy children.