Every now and again it’s nice to come together as a community and spend time with neighbors. Niskayuna is holding it’s 28th annual Niska-Day celebration this month on Saturday, May 16. This year’s celebration centers on Niskayuna’s 200th birthday.
It’s a day where we put everything aside and get together and have a good time in the town, said Denise Leader, co-chair of Niska-Day.
This year, activities start at 8 a.m. with a `family fun run` at the Van Antwerp Middle School. The next activity starts at 10 a.m. with the ever-popular Niska-Day parade, which kicks off at St. Helen’s Church on Union Street and ends at the St. James Square parking lot around 11:30 a.m. Events will continue for the rest of the day at Craig School on Balltown Road.
`Niskayuna is a wonderful community, and sometimes people live in wonderful communities and don’t realize how wonderful they are, so it [Niska-Day] was [created] to raise awareness that this is a fantastic place to live,` said Mardy Moore, a former supervisor of the Town of Niskayuna and a co-founder of Niska-Day.
Each year, there is a grand marshal of the parade, which is chosen by the Niska-Day Committee.
`Ed Reilly will be leading that group because he’s involved with the historical society,` said Leader.
She said that each year the committee tries to pick someone who will enhance the parade’s theme.
`He’s written some books [about the history of the area] and done a lot of things within the community,` said Leader.
She said that there are still families living in the town that are descendents of many generations of Niskayuna residents, and many of them have been asked to ride on the float.
`There are a lot of people who are still here who owned big farms, and their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still living here in some of the homes that their ancestors lived in,` said Leader.
She said that she thought that inviting them to sit on the float with Ed Reilly, who will be pointing out historical facts about the town throughout the parade, would `be a good way to tie in the theme the 200th anniversary celebration.`
Other activities families can look forward to include an expanded food court with longer hours of operation, including access to Giffy’s barbecued chicken all day.
This year also marks the 200th anniversary of Schenectady County.
`There will be a tent designated just to history, and there will be some talks and different things going on about the history of Niskayuna,` said Leader.
Other activities at Niska-Day include karaoke, which will go until 6 p.m. when the fireworks start; a craft tent, which will be open until 7 p.m.; and caricatures, which will be done from noon until 7 p.m.
`We’ll have bands and rides and entertainers and jugglers and face painters and all sorts of things,` said Town of Niskayuna Councilwoman Maria Freund, who is also chairwoman of the parade.
Other amenities guests can expect include shuttle service from Craig School to St. Helen’s for those who are participating in the parade, or St. James Square to watch the parade. The shuttle bus will begin running at 8:30 a.m., stopping at St. James and St. Helen’s. When the parade reaches St. James Square, shuttle busses will begin making return trips to Craig School. Parking is available on and around school grounds.
`We hope for the best. If the weather is good it’s an even better Niska-Day. If the sun is shining and the community is out in force it’s always a good [day],` said Leader.
`It’s the one day where people get together and get to see neighbors and friends that they don’t always see and that’s been holding true for the 28,` said Leader.
For more information, visit www.niskaday.org.
The Spotlight is a sponsor of Niska-Day 2009 and will publish a special Niska-Day supplement in the May 14 edition of The Niskayuna Spotlight. The supplement will also be available at the event.“