_________________ FREEPORT _________________
HERALD Also serving Roosevelt
NHS inducts new members
Church holds holiday feast
Moore4U Center serves Freeport
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Vol. 89 No. 50
DECEMBER 5 - 11, 2024
$1.00
Freeport’s Nautical Mile to shine bright By MoHAMMAD RAFIQ mrafiq@liherald.com
Courtesy Randy Milteer/Village of Freeport
A festively lit boat brought holiday magic to the waters during the 2022 Holiday Boat Parade. This year’s parade is expected to feature dozens of decorated vessels.
Freeport’s beloved tradition— the annual Holiday Boat Parade — is set to return to the Nautical Mile on Saturday evening. Festivities will begin with a Christmas tree-lighting at the Freeport Recreation Center at 6 p.m., followed by a second tree lighting on the Nautical Mile Esplanade at 6:30 p.m., and then the highlight of the evening— the boat parade — at 7 p.m. Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy expressed great enthusiasm for the annual tradition and said he was looking forward to the two tree lightings, followed by the boat parade, a unique spectacle featuring brightly decorated vessels that has become a hallmark of Freeport’s holiday season. Boats will line up at Woodcleft Canal, at 271 Woodcleft Ave., before embarking on a route through Randall Bay, offering stunning views to spectators gathered ConTinued on PAge 5
Monthly open mic poetry night breathes life into arts By MoHAMMAD RAFIQ mrafiq@liherald.com
Spoken Wordz, a New Yorkbased collective of poets, musicians and perfor mers, has carved out a unique space in Freeport. The village’s Sparkle on Stage Cultural Arts Center has become a welcome venue for the group’s recurring spoken-word poetry and musical open mic series. Founded by Valley Stream resident Paul Kretz, who is known by most as Paulie, the events blend poetry, music and storytelling in a facility that Sparkle owner Robyn Workman describes as a “home for cre-
ativity and good vibes.” “About almost three years ago,” Kretz, a union building porter in Manhattan, said, “I was pretty much either (going to) die or just keep being on my BS, drinking, drugging, and all the rest of that. I went to rehab, and then … I tapped into writing.” “I started to realize my darkness contains a lot of light,” he added. After rehab, Kretz began attending open mics, where he realized his words resonated deeply with others. Spoken Wordz held its first event in February 2022, and Kretz hosted monthly shows at
I
started to realize my darkness contains a lot of light.
PAUl KREtz Founder, Spoken Wordz a friend’s bar. They quickly grew from attracting 15 to 20 people to drawing as many as 80. Today there are a number of gatherings each month in the five boroughs and on Long Island, and there are plans to expand to New Jersey. Jared Schutz, who met Kretz
at an open mic on Long Island, now leads the Long Island chapter. Spoken Wordz found a home at Sparkle on Stage after Schutz moved to Freeport from Queens, making his residence on the floor above the space on the Nautical Mile. The most recent event at Sparkle on Stage, on Nov. 24, doubled as a food drive, with
attendees donating items for the Soup to Nuts food pantry located in the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church at 61 North Grove Street in Freeport. “This was their third event here, and it’s going to become a per manent monthly event,” Workman said. “It’s really starting to hit home on Long ConTinued on PAge 10