Mr. Kazam does magic for children at the Brockway Community Christmas Party.
BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – It was standing-room only at the Brockway Community Children’s Christmas Party on Sunday.
The annual event had to move locations, settling into Failte (pronounced fall-shet) Acres for 2019. The Christmas Party grew out of other venues and the last venue moved out of town. Failte Acres split the venue to have children ready for magic and adults seated or mingling. Organizers put carpets down on the concrete floor of Claddagh Hall. Kids sat on the carpets, waiting for Mr. Kazam to do his magic show. Mr. Kazam, or Mike Catanzarito, opened the event, entertaining the children with various magic tricks, taking volunteers from the children and even having the children volunteer their parents. After every trick, the children punched their fists in the air and yelled, “Kazam!”
Claddagh Hall is the largest completed structure in the old Girl Scout Camp, as the recreation center is not open currently. The family who owns Failte Acres said they were happy to bring the community inside for Christmas.
“We’re happy to do events like this for the community,” Cullen Beatty said. “When we were asked about hosting this event, we immediately said yes. We want to do events like this to bring the community together.”
“The people at Failte Acres offered us the location at no cost,” explained Tammy Stansell, the chairwoman of the Christmas party for the Block Parents Association. “And the place is really nice.”
The hall had Christmas decorations and white lights hanging from the rafters. Two fireplaces roared on either end of the hall. Christmas trees twinkled in every corner, and two rocking chairs beside a big bag from the North Pole waited for Santa and Mrs. Claus. Beatty said that the Christmas bulbs were from his sister’s wedding, but the lights will stay up when Christmas is over.
Beatty said his family fell in love with Brockway when they saw it. Their goal was to find somewhere for the whole family to live close to each other and run a family business.
“Brockway is one of those towns you don’t see much anymore,” he said. “We loved it when we saw it.”
Beatty said he was happy with the turnout. The families filled the hall so much that the venue started to run out of chairs.
After the magic show, children got a chance to eat while some ran around outside the hall. Mr. and Mrs. Claus came, sitting in their chairs and getting pictures taken with the children. The Block Parents had food for the families, with cookies from local families, milk from the Jefferson County Dairy Promotion Board, and pizza from Paesano’s.
Children prepare for for Mr. Kazam at the Brockway Community Christmas Party.
Stansell said that the event was a successful one. She thanked her helpers, who did their best to keep the food line moving and pizza coming in.
“A lot of good-hearted people helped out, ” she said.
The Brockway Community Children’s Christmas Party started 35 years ago, but has had a resurgence in the last decade thanks to the work of the Brockway Block Parents Association. The hope is to continue the event year after year, bringing the community together for Christmas.
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