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<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Overcast skies and a little rain didn\u2019t scare away the crowds who came out to celebrate the season during the Second Annual Fall Freedom Festival in Stapleton on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Staten Islanders who came to Tappen Park for the six hours of festivities were greeted with activities for all ages, featuring vendors, community resources, and local entertainment.<\/p>\n
Local vendors, such as NeeNee\u2019s Food Fantasy and Auntie Sheila\u2019s Kitchen provided food for the event. <\/p>\n
Vincent Giles \u2014 who performs as DJ Thrilla \u2014 and other acts provided live music throughout the day. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/9<\/p>\n
2nd Annual Fall Freedom Festival<\/p>\n
Dorcas Meyers, president of Roc-A-Natural Cultural Foundation and event organizer said that the second year of the Fall Freedom Festival presented an opportunity to bring together a unique blend of cultures to the North Shore park.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the culture. We\u2019re constantly bringing in a new culture because it\u2019s all about diversity. Tappen Park belongs to everyone,\u201d said Meyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told in the past \u2018Dorcas, you\u2019ve turned this Tappen Park into a cultural center\u2019 and it is so true. It is a cultural center,\u201d Meyers continued. <\/p>\n
During the festivities, children were able to enjoy a host of activities in the park, including chess lessons, face painting, a haunted walkthrough, and pumpkin picking sponsored by NYC Parks.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest hits was the fall festival\u2019s pumpkin painting tent, which provided all materials necessary for kids to decorate their pumpkins as they saw fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they saw the pumpkins, they ran and got the pumpkins and came running to the table,\u201d said Diana Daniels, who organized the festival\u2019s pumpkin painting.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the paintings, I love it. I see young artists blooming at my table and that makes me happy,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
For adults, the festival had health screenings by Richmond University Medical Center, yoga, dance and live music.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had a little something for everyone, something for the kids and adults,\u201d said Natasha Wheeler of Graniteville. \u201cWhen I came in I was able to dance, we got to stretch our bodies. It was a great event all around.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to all the activities, some in attendance said that what\u2019s most important is that the Fall Freedom Festival continues to build upon itself for years to come. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re planting a seed,\u201d said Mark1, a local graffiti artist who had a live mural painting demonstration at the festival. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the second annual, next year will be the third and that\u2019s how you build with positive energy from the ground up. Not from the top down,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
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