_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______
Graduation Keepsake Edition
June 26, 2025
HERALD Also serving Lakeview
Meet the
GRADUATES 2025
VOL. 32 NO. 26
Cornwell school honors kindness
Lakeview Library begins summer
Page 4
Page 7
JUNE 26 - JULy 2, 2025
$1.00
Dancing of the Giglio at St. Thomas the Apostle By MADISON GUSLER mgusler@liherald.com
Stu Goldman/Herald photos
Over 100 Long Islanders with Italian roots gathered in West Hempstead on June 21 to take part in the annual Dancing of the Giglio.
The Sons of San Paolino celebrated 20 years of ItalianAmerican tradition with its annual Dancing of the Giglio last Saturday. The event was the highlight of a four-day festival held at West Hempstead’s St. Thomas the Apostle Church. The Dancing of the Giglio has roots in Italian religious traditions. For over 1,000 years, the feast has honored Saint Pa u l i nu s, o r Pa o l i n o, t h e patron saint of Nola, Italy. The celebrations, which take place in various Italian towns and COntInueD On paGe 3
Summer reading program takes flight at library By MADISON GUSLER mgusler@liherald.com
Bird sounds played as dozens of children and their guardians g athered for an exciting program to kick off summer reading at the Malverne Public Library on June 18, when the library hosted two shows of Nature Nick’s Animal Adventures in front of packed audiences. “It’s a fast-paced, 45-minute show,” Nicholas Jacinto, who goes by the moniker “Nature Nick,” said. “In my show, I hit a bit of history, education, science, and feature animals from
all over the world.” The crowd-pleasing entertainment includes raptors, bird of prey, reptiles and exotic mammals. “It’s a lot of fun,” Jacinto said. “If you see me coming somewhere, you definitely want to catch the show.” Jacinto runs a mobile wildlife program, which is based in Shoreham, and has spent 18 years working with these animals. He has held this fun, educational experience at festivals, schools and libraries around Long Island. Jacinto enter tained the crowd that gathered at the Mal-
verne library, bringing many of the animals on stage, while sharing fascinating facts about each one. Spook, the tawny owl, can turn her head 270 degrees to look behind her, and Jaws, the 5-month-old American alligator, will grow to be 10 feet long. Inviting Nature Nick’s to the library was all part of an effort to encourage children to pick up a book and read. “We just want to get them excited about reading,” Carol Lagos, the library’s director, said. Summer reading registration can be completed online or
in person by Aug. 1. Children ages 3 and younger can receive their bingo card at the library. Then, between June 30 and Aug. 8, they can collect up to three prizes for getting bingo. To achieve bingo, complete the reading tasks on the card. Children ages 4 through fifth grade can pick up a reading log at the Malverne public library.
Beginning June 30, for every 20 minutes of reading they complete, they color in a circle. For every five circles colored, they can collect a weekly prize. At the end of the summer, they’ll have accumulated six prizes and celebrate with an end-ofsummer program. “We don’t want the kids to COntInueD On paGe 11