A Celebration for the Kids

Some of the winners of the Bocce Club’s bike parade
decoration contest. (Photos by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

by JAMES STURDIVANT

As they have for the past 89 years, the bikes rolled and games were played at the Chestnut Hill Bocce Club’s Independence Day celebration at the Water Tower Recreation Center.

The day’s festivities began just after 9 a.m. with the singing of the national anthem and a reading from “Patriot Poet” Tom Woodruff, who spoke on the theme of “favorite places” and the importance of appreciating the connection between the Declaration of Independence and the freedoms we enjoy today. Woodruff dedicated the reading to a young relative who, after finishing college, volunteered for service in Iraq.

After the solemnities, the parade got underway, with dozens of flag- and streamer-clad youngsters rolling down Hartwell Lane in front of the Bocce Club judges. All children were given a free T-shirt and a chance to enter a drawing for one of two bicycles donated by Kilian’s Hardware.

After the parade, kids enjoyed games, rides and activities in the field behind the Water Tower, including an inflatable slide, bouncy castle, pony rides, face painting, clowns with balloons and — the perennial favorite — a magic show. Out front, families lined up for free hot dogs, juice and ice cream, all served up by a troupe of hard-working Bocce Club volunteers.

Returning again this year was a special birthday cake provided in honor of local kids born on the Fourth of July. A group sang “Happy Birthday” for Jasmine Jain and Jonah Greenebaum.

Listed below are the first, second and third place winners of the field races.

BOY’S EVENTS:
Ages 5 and 6
30-yard dash: Peter Howell; Jason Bolei, Michael Reilly.
30 yard backward: Dominic Toso, Shane McDowell, David Alexander.
30-yard crabwalk: Joseph Block, Luke White.
Ages 7 and 8
40-yard dash: Alec Spear, Connor Herring, Philip Giovinazzo.
30-yard backward: Ben Peter, Liam Boyle, Joe Previdi.
30-yard crabwalk: Phil Gi, Brian Perkins, Jake Woodruff.
Ages 9 and 10
50-yard dash: Callum McEwan, Crosby Alvarez, Grayson Mameniskis.
40-yard sock: David Rothenberger, Robert Moran, Kyle Marion.
40-yard shoe: Alan Perkins, James Mellett, Kyle Marion.
Ages 11 and 12
60-yard dash: Aiah Moriwa, Brendan Boyle, Ben Krieger.
50-yard sock: Chris Alexander, Will Bruno, Mike Monahan.
50-yard shoe: Drew Wallace, David Halloran, Steve Buzgon.

GIRLS EVENTS:
Ages 5 and 6
20-yard dash: Betsy Sheppard, Kayla Perre, Maeve Corbett.
20-yard backward: Isabelle Boles, Lucy Corlett, Sara Murray.
20-yard crabwalk: Sinead Brierley, Maeve Hughes, Julia Giovinazzo.
Ages 7 and 8
30-yard dash: Sara Mathes, Kelly Carroll, Gianna Zolti.
30-yard shoe: Claire Bruno, Shannon Reilly, Victoria Perre.
Ages 9 and 10
40-yard dash: Claudia Kunack, Annie Block, Lauren Witorsky.
40-yard sock: Schuyler Nissen, Amaldos Focht, Lucy Spiller.
40-yard shoe: Angela Upright, Samantha Colti, Kate Hughes.
Ages 11 and 12
50-yard dash: Matthee Rile-Schmidt, Alexis Giovinazzo, Jane Hughes.
50-yard sock: Kelsey Turner, Katie Boyle, Andrea Giovinazzo.
50-yard shoe: Julia Boles, Alexis Giovinazzo, Constance Upright.