Come meet our talented guest artists and help them turn trash into treasure on Sunday, April 22nd, 10-4PM, Stanley Deming Park

See this stunning Tree Spirit by Karen Decher, and find out what Chris Van Vooren, Jennifer Hippely, Dan Mack, Eric Stormes, Amanda LIght, and the Ladies of INC (Interactive Noise Collective) have been cooking up.

The Earth Day Festival - Warwick NY has been a "GROUPS" effort.  Several area organizations balanced complicated schedules to come together, raise eco-awareness and are building a memorable event for area residents.  
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Special thanks to all involved organizations:
Sustainable Warwick
Wickham Works
Greenwood Lake Coalition Teen Center 
INC: Interactive Noise Collective
Milkweed Sugar Loaf
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And the Artists:
Femi Ford
Eric Stormes
Amanda Light
Karen Decher
Chris Van Vooren
Rebecca Pry
Ava Burgos
Dayna Christison
Daniel Mack
Jennifern Hippely
Dan Walsh
Aurora Robson

Now in its 3rd year, our very popular collaborative, community art project, Treecycle, is partnering with Sustainable Warwick’s free recycling event, Too Good To Toss, under the banner of Warwick Earth Day Festival. It will be held in Stanley Deming Park on Sunday, April 22nd, 10AM-4PM, and will culminate in an Illuminated Forest Walk at 7PM through the completed sculptures.

With the help of  local guest artists, the public is invited to create tree sculptures using “art supplies” salvaged from the waste stream.  While turning trash into treasure, participants learn about the importance of reducing their environmental footprint, how waste can be reused in fun and creative ways, and why we should bother to recycle. 

In addition to multiple hands-on making opportunities for all ages–fairy houses, light-up bugs on sticks, patch screen printing and more–there will be vendors selling goods made from repurposed material, an Eco Raffle, and live music.

Sustainable Warwick's Too Good To Toss event is the perfect chance to do some spring cleaning. Items to be donated are dropped of on Saturday, April 21, 10-4PM at the basketball courts. All items must be clean, have all their parts and be in good working order. Find a complete list of accepted/unaccepted items here. Shop for free items on Sunday 22nd, 10-4PM, during the Festival.

 

This year's Thanksgiving Made Local Holiday Market was a big success, thanks to the many talented vendors, and the crowds that turned out to support them by shopping locally.
To be part of the month-long Made Local initiative, you can join our growing list of Makers or Retailers  by adding your name under the LoveLocal tab.

Warwick hosts Orange County Pride Parade

Despite the ninety-plus weather, this year’s Pride Parade was a rainbow-hued celebration. The theme of the day was family, and it showed. LGBTQ youth and adults, friends and allies, came out to strut their stuff. “Warwick is an open, inclusive village, and the Pride Parade was the only one in the county and drew hundreds of people --- many of them young -- from an even wider area,” says Bill Steinhaeur, board president of the Warwick Valley Community Center who hosted the event.

The party began at noon at the Center with plates of rainbow-colored bagels. Going with the color scheme, marchers brought tie-dyed T-shirts to screen print with this year’s logo. Advocate groups were on hand to talk about their locally supportive organizations, including The Orange County Youth Bureau, who helped fund this year’s parade. Food donations came from Shoprite and Price Chopper in Warwick, and from local volunteers.

Melissa Shaw-Smith, who coordinated the event with the Community Center and Danielle Barbour from Safe Space America, says, “We invited folks to come and put their own touches on the parade design, led by a talented team from Wickham Works.”

Student volunteers from the Center’s Youth Advisory Board, Acting Out Playhouse, and the Library’s Teen Advisory Board helped decorate the floats. Marchers painted their faces, and made signs to carry. Karen Decher from the Warwick Arts Festival was on hand with her stunning hats and puppets to add another layer of creativity to the parade.

Grand Marshals Danielle Barbour and her family, rode in the gaily-colored Pride Mobile, and as part of the Village of Warwick’s Sesquicentennial celebrations, Mayor Michael Newhard led the crowd. Afterwards, he stressed the importance to the assembled crowd of providing Safe Spaces in our community for all.

“Diversity is a top priority at the center,” says Bill Steinhaeur, “and under Executive Director Karen Thomas’ guidance, the Pride Parade and LGBTQ initiatives have been a reflection of that for several years. Especially in today’s political climate, we’re proud to give the LGBTQ community a voice.”
 
The Center has recently launched a support group, Outloud that offers a forum for the adult LGBTQ community, their friends, and allies to explore common concerns and share triumphs through social and educational events. Outloud is facilitated by Bonnie Schonfeld, a long time member of the WVCC family and an advocate for civil justice: "Advocating for social change that embraces and applauds gender diversity and human rights can only serve to promote balance and well-being for our community and our planet!" Outloud meets the second Monday of the month at the WVCC from 7PM-8PM.  A similar group for youth is starting soon. For more information call 845-986-6422 xt 4.