Balloon parades, Friendsgiving, cultural feasts and food drives: Brooklyn and Queens Catholic schools get ready for Thanksgiving.
Throughout November, students at several Catholic schools in Queens will walk through their gyms and hallways with homemade balloons and floats, their own small versions of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Four-year-olds will march their balloon characters, and a whole school will make floats inspired by the picture book Balloons Over Broadway. It’s part of the Thanksgiving celebration by students and staff at the Catholic Schools of Brooklyn and Queens.
Here’s what’s happening:
The Balloon & Float Parades
- Our Lady of Fatima: The Fatima OLF Balloon Parade is Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 8:30 a.m. Students from nursery through second grade show off balloon creations they’ve made themselves.
- St. Kevin: Balloons Over SKCA is Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 11 a.m. Every child builds a Thanksgiving float, and the whole school takes part.
- Sacred Heart Bayside: The PreK 4-year-olds parade their balloon characters on November 25 at 12:30 p.m., with the school running a food drive at the same time.
The Friendsgivings
- Friendsgiving at Our Lady of Fatima: (November 24 at 11 a.m.) Parents and the PTA are hosting a feast for every student, along with turkey giveaways and raffles.
- Friendsgiving at St. Gregory the Great (Friday, Nov. 20, about 11 a.m.): Families bring dishes from their own cultures and share a meal at the school.
Other Activities Throughout the Two Boroughs
- St. Helen Turkey Trot (Monday, Nov. 23 all day): Students pair up with their buddies and run a Thanksgiving-themed obstacle course with a canned food collection alongside.
- Bay Ridge Catholic (Thursday, Nov. 19): Seventh graders present their Native American Heritage Month projects through reports, posters and classroom displays. The point of the project is for them to learn that Native peoples have distinct histories and traditions, not a single shared one.
- St. Athanasius: (Monday, November 16 at 12:30 p.m.) The Civics Club and Student Council are putting together bags of toiletries (combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissues) with handwritten notes and religious cards from students. The Parish will deliver them to homeless New Yorkers along with its Saturday food runs.
