Residents take part in PortFest

Sarah Minkewicz

Port Washington residents participated in the Fifth Annual PortFest on Saturday to help raise money for new arts programs and initiatives for the district. 

The event, organized by HEARTS (Help Enrich the Arts of Port Washington), took place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Paul D. Schreiber High School. 

“This year’s Portfest was a phenomenal success!” Port Washington School District Superintendent Kathleen Mooney said in an email. “Parents, community members and staff came together beautifully to support the art and music programs for Port Washington students. Once again, HEARTS organized a very special community event that centered on the artistic and musical talents of our students in addition to showcasing staff and community talents. I was extremely impressed with the enthusiastic turnout and enjoyed visiting all the different activities. The District is very grateful to HEARTS for devoting so much time and effort into scheduling the festival and donating the proceeds to further enrich our creative arts program.  It is a huge undertaking that exemplifies teamwork, collaboration, and dedication. Bravo!”

HEARTS is a local grassroots, non-profit community organization whose mission is to add meaningful value to children’s lives and our community by supporting, promoting and enriching the arts in Port Washington and its public schools, according to its website. 

HEARTS founder Damon Gersh said he started PortFest because he believes in the importance of arts in schools. 

The organization awarded nearly $55,000 for arts programs in Port Washington schools for 2016 along with The Peter & Jeri Dejana Family Foundation, which gave a $15,000 grant.

The event included an arts and craft booth; a Schreiber booth with tattoos and face painting; a Weber booth with tie dye and wearable art; a Sousa booth with candle-making; a Salem booth with a bulletin board design; a Daly booth with yarn wrapped containers; a Guggenheim booth with a make you own flip flops workshop; and a Manorhaven booth with light-up paper lanterns.

The event also included exhibits from The Art Guild, Child’s World Nursery, Community Chest, The Ed. Foundation, Landmark on Main, Plant a Row, Port Summer Show, Port Crisis Relief Team, Port Play Troupe, Port Washington Police District, Port Public Library, Residents For a More Beautiful Port Washington, Sands Point Preserve.

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