by Bea Peterson
Saturday was a gloriously beautiful pre-autumn day. It was perfect for the fifth annual HAYC3 community Pumpkinpalooza. This year there were more events, more volunteers and more participants than ever before. It was certainly a day filled with activities the whole family could enjoy. [private]It began at 8 am with a yoga class for runners participating in the First Annual Rolf Max Sternberg 5k Race for Vibrant Communities and ended with the Harvest Moon Dinner Dance. In between there was a pancake breakfast, Punkin’ Chunkin’, geocaching, arts and crafts and sweets, pumpkins for the kids to decorate, wagon rides, antique tractors to look at, a Pet Parade, a Youth Recognition Ceremony, announcement of the Gnome Winner, the Twirlettes, the Hill Country Cloggers, the HFCS Jazz Band, K-9 demonstrations, a chowder cook-off, Medieval Combat Demonstrations, Triviapalooza and family yoga.
5k Race
Community member and attorney Rolf Sternberg passed away earlier this year. His daughters Shira and Tava Sternberg, together with family and friends, including members of his Bennington, VT, and Hoosick Falls law firms, chose to honor him with the First Annual Rolf Max Sternberg 5k Race for Vibrant Communities. Sternberg friends came from Boston, MA, New York City and Washington, DC, to participate. As a result, it was the largest Pumpkinpalooza 5k race to date, with more than 90 runners and walkers participating.
First place race finishers were Ben Levitt of Boston, followed closely by Hoosick’s Brittany Pine. Male and female first place finishers in their age groups were: 14 and Under-Max Kipp and Daisy Perez, 15 to 19-Noah Conety, 20 to 29-John Constantino and Brittany Pine, 30 to 39-Ben Levitt and Shira Sternberg, 40 to 49-Christian Bradley and Kelly Legacy, 50 to 59-Rick Stowell and Karen Scharfstein, 60 plus-Alan Scharfstein and Eve Kennedy.
Meanwhile Girl Scout Troop 1259 was busy serving breakfast to hungry folks in the Immaculate Conception Church hall.
Punkin’ Chunkin’
At 10 am the Punkin’ Chunkin’ competition began in the Town of Hoosick Athletic Field. This year there were only two very competitive participants. According to event organizer Tony Malikowski both machines were trebuchets. The Murphy’s Law machine was a modern floating axle trebuchet (FAT) design. The Big Blue Bazinga was a more traditional hanging counterweight trebuchet design.
Malikowski said Team Orange Justice (team captain Jack Murphy, with several team members from Hoosick All Saints Church) with Murphy’s Law won the competition over the Hoosick Falls Siege Monkeys (Co-captains Devin Weingold and Darrel Holovach) and their machine, the Big Blue Bazinga. The final score was 523 to 447, and once again it came down to the last shot… if the Siege Monkeys had been able to come within six feet of their final target they would have won. Both teams did a great job. In spite of some very high winds that really played havoc on both precision and accuracy, both teams registered one direct hit.
The highlights of the competition were Orange Justice’s fourth shot that blew a big hole in their target, and the Siege Monkeys fifth shot that overshot and almost went out of the park at 317 feet. In the end, Orange Justice was able to come closer more often and take away the Golden Pumpkin.
Pet Parade
The animals in the Annual Pet Parade ranged from a kitten small enough to fit in a hand to chickens to llamas that were over six feet tall. Many of the pets as well as their owners were in costume. It was a great turnout.
Tractor pulled wagon rides shuffled folks from Wood Park to the Town Park and back all day long.
K-9 Demonstrations
The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department showed off members of its canine patrol. Labrador Retriever Sid showed how quickly he could find a bomb, or a doggie treat. Labrador Retriever Inferno, who looks for accelerants at fire scenes, found a few drops of gasoline in the grass in a matter of seconds. The third dog was a rescue dog who showed how quickly he could protect his handler and how quickly he could bring down a bad guy. It was a fascinating display.
Chowder Cook-Off
Yum. Folks had a chance to taste eight varieties of chowder. All of them were different, and all of them were tasty. The winner was Weeb’s fish chowder.
Triviapalooza
A new event this year was Triviapalooza. It was spearheaded by Tom McMartin who worked with the Town of Hoosick Historical Society to formulate the questions on local history. It was sponsored by the Voice of a Vet and Heroes at Home. The winning team was made up of Bill and Joanne Brown, Pastor Jon Youngmann and Loyce and Luke Youngmann. There were two participants in the Youth Division and each received a prize. They were Zachary Crawford-Smith and Luke Youngmann. The program was such a hit they are already gearing up for next year’s contest.
Harvest Moon Dinner
The day ended with a spectacular Harvest Moon dinner catered by Thyme Tables of Shaftsbury, VT. The menu included delicious seasonal items such as butternut squash lasagna and roasted pork with stuffing topped with cinnamon pear chutney. The Armory was nicely decorated, as were the 160 guests who “dressed to impress.” Ron Seifert quickly auctioned off the painted owls and elaborate dinner table centerpieces in his usual gracious style. Some of the bidding was fast paced and high. One owl flew away for $1,050! The auction produced over $12,000 for HAYC3.
More Than A Million
Though the auction and dinner were a fundraiser, there is no doubt that more than a million dollars in volunteer effort was put into the day. Every event was organized and hosted by volunteers, with HAYC3 staff support. Sponsors supported every event. Volunteers served and kitchen-crewed the dinner. Every detail was beautifully orchestrated.
Recognitions
HAYC3 Board President Mike Baker thanked the community for its support of the organization and what it is doing. The progress in the Armory, he said, was phenomenal since HAYC3 had owned it for less than a year. He recognized HAYC3 Director Aelish Nealon for her outstanding efforts and staff members Deb Alter, Patti Zilinskas and Aaron Buzzinski and Board Members Kate Bradley, Gary Contessa, Krissy Fauler, Margaret Restino and Amanda Rudzik for all their help and support.
Earlier in the day all of the young people who volunteer countless hours to the many HAYC3 programs were recognized by Nealon in Wood Park.
At the dinner Andy Nolan was recognized with the HAYC3 Leo McGuire Basketball Volunteer Award for the many hours he gives to the basketball program at the Youth Center.
The HAYC3 Volunteer of the Year Award for overall community service was presented to Harold McClellan.
The evening concluded with music for dancing provided by the Sage City Six. It was one heck of a Pumpkinpalooza day!
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