Pine Hill Community Center Holds Successful Holiday Fundraiser

By Robert Brune

PINE HILL — The Circle of Friendship is the collective of some of our most celebrated and creative artists in the Ulster and Delaware County area. These brilliant artists came together to create wreaths during this holiday season to raise funds to keep the lights and heat on at the Pine Hill Community Center (PHCC) over the past few weeks. The group effort concluded with Chilifest which had a broad selection of chili dishes, also to raise money for the center. While the Cuban Picadillo chili, made by Mercedes Gonzalez, was completely empty within an hour of the event, the big winner was Tito Bandito’s pork and hominy chili verde, which won the first-place crown for this year’s Chilifest.

The wreaths made by the Circle of Friendship were just astonishing in their creativity. Maria Garcia made a wreath that looked like clear taffeta with shades of green with butterflies, but when you looked closely at the wreath, it was made of zip-lock storage bags. It was utterly amazing! Another wreath made from basic household items, by Wendy Brackman, was pheasants made from paper plates. The ribbon/cloth wreath displayed a gorgeous color scheme of shades of purple, reds, orange, and white. While Jan Albert, who organized this event, requested non-traditional wreaths, Eustacia Marsales put together a delightful classical wreath made of dog fennel. A wreath made of hundreds of tiny toys was one of the more fun wreaths to see at this auction of forty wreaths.

In addition to the artistry of the wreaths and delicious selection of chilis, the Catskills Jazz Quartet performed for a packed crowd at the PHCC. Arts, crafting, and live music are a tremendous contribution to the Pine Hill area, especially through the cooler months of winter when locals are looking for something to do. Jan Albert, Colleen McMurray, and the entire crew, including all contributing artists and cooks, deserve high praise for such a fabulous event.

For more information on the Pine Hill Community Center see: https://www.pinehillcommunitycenter.org/