HOBOKEN FAMILY ALLIANCE NEWS: MARCH 2008

2008 Cabin Fever Festival A Huge Success!

The short windy blizzard held off just long enough this year to make for another successful event at the Elks Lodge. We had about 300 families attend the event this year. Unlike previous years where the event was open to the community for free, we did charge a $20 admittance fee for families that were not currently HFA members, and as a result we were able to enroll 34 new families into the alliance. We see this as a great feat since our goal is to have the alliance include as many local families as possible.

The event was filled with entertainment from several local vendors, games from Big Fun Toys, photo booth from kennethchenphotography.com, HUMC Infant CPR demonstrations, balloons, face painting and arts & crafts. Thank you to all of the people and merchants that offered time and resources to make our event extra special. We are especially grateful to the Symposia Bookstore for lending us a sound system in the Baby Lounge, Dana Lockett-Harrison for the mats and baby tunnels for the Baby Lounge and to Councilperson Beth Mason for supporting both the face painter and the arts & crafts section downstairs in the Pub! Without the continued support and generosity of these vendors we would not be able to host such a large scale and successful event.

The baby lounge got a large showing for the Puppet Show from Puppetonia, Romparoo playtime, Surya Yoga demonstrations, songs and dance from Monroe Street Movement Space and some Itsy Bitsy Yoga by Lexi Coen. This safe padded area created a great place for parents of little ones to let them crawl wild while experiencing some demo classes just in time to sign up for the spring semesters.

Our downstairs "big kid" stage was really rocking for the day. We started out with Italian singing and dance from Giochiamo in Italiano, followed up by Latin dancing sponsored by Creative Little Monsters/Bailemos. The Monroe Street Movement Space got everyone dancing along and then the newly named FuzzyLemons packed the house with hundreds of tiny feet.

During the event our Director of Philanthropy, Cheryl Keleosglu, gave out two grants; one to the Jubilee Center and the other to Hudson CASA. We were able to raise over $7,000 this year, and these funds will be used to help support our awarded grants next year. These generous donations come from our local sponsors and the wonderful raffle prizes that were collected.

A special note of thanks to all the people that helped solicit local businesses and collect raffle prizes as well as those that gave up time on Sunday to help run the event. Your continued support is as always appreciated.

Please be sure to check out our website for even more adorable photos from the event by Kenneth Chen Photography, with excellent accompanying music by Dave Lambert. CLICK HERE!

All in all the event was a great triumph and if your kids were anything like mine they fell asleep on the floor an hour before regular bedtime, making a great day an even better evening for us parents!
-Heather Khazen
HFA Special Events Director

The Hoboken Family Alliance would like to thank the following major sponsors for the generous donations that helped to make the 2008 Cabin Fever Festival a big success. Please help support these local individuals and businesses throughout the year.

Drs. Brescia, D'Alberti and Migliaccio
Black Bear Bar & Grill
Robert De Ruggiero, Inc. Realtors
Fast Frame
Foley Perlman & Campbell, LLC
Ford Wealth Management
Greetings From Hoboken
Hair Cult
Hartshorn Portraiture
Hoboken University Medical Center
Hudson Psychiatric Associates
Kelly Chiropractic
Liberty Realty
Marma Day Spa
Councilperson Elizabeth Mason
Mimosa Digitalv Monroe Center for the Arts
Priority Chiropractic
Progressive Pediatrics
Romparoo
ShopRite of Hoboken
Singleton Galmann Realty
Stevens Cooperative School
Symposia Bookstore/Puppetonia