NEWS |
148-99: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , December 14, 1999
The entire airport community will be on hand today for the ninth annual "Operation Santa" holiday party in Continental Airlines Hangar 56, North Brewster Road, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sponsored by the Community Mayors of New York and New Jersey and Continental Airlines, and supported by the Port Authority and 300 volunteers, the event will treat 5,000 mentally and physically challenged and disadvantaged youngsters to a day packed with holiday festivities.
The Holiday Express Band will play seasonal songs; clowns, jugglers and costumed characters will keep the kids busy with balloons, face painting and magic tricks; and Chelsea Catering will provide lunch. Santa plans to arrive on a Continental DC-10 by noon to join the parade led by the Weequahic High School Marching Band.
The Newark International Airport Holiday Music Festival will take place Wednesday, December 15, through December 24. One part of the festival, the Youth Showcase, will feature community youth groups and student choirs and bands from local schools. It will begin on Wednesday and continue through December 22.
The Showcase will feature the First Avenue Hand Bell Choir and Small Choral Ensemble; Lincoln School Choir; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Choir; Dickinson High School Choir of Jersey City; Newark's Barringer High School Choir; Hamilton Middle School Singers and Christmas Brass Ensemble from Elizabeth; and Public School 41 Choir from Jersey City.
The choirs will perform in Terminals A and B at the Concourse level Monorail entrances, and in the Terminal C Atrium, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Festival also will include a variety of classical, jazz and traditional holiday music performed by professional entertainers during the late afternoon and evening hours from Monday, December 20, through December 24.
With a focus on showcasing local talent, the Port Authority enlisted the assistance of the Newark Arts Council in arranging performances by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Brass Quartet; Bradford Hayes Jazz Ensemble; Roy Cross Quartet; Leo Cruz Mariachi Tequila; and NCC/Stars of Urban Life (S.O.U.L.). Other well-known local performers, including Calvin Hughes and the Sophisticated Gents, will return to Newark Airport this holiday season to entertain travelers with jazzy holiday tunes and old-time favorites.
Newark Airport will celebrate Customer Appreciation Day on December 22. Thanks to the efforts of the Newark Arts Council, the Newark Boys Chorus will take center stage from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Terminal B, Concourse level near Gates 50 to 58. Santa, Mrs. Claus and their elves will greet passengers, offering candy canes and trinkets for children.
Amid these holiday celebrations, Newark Airport employees also will remember the less fortunate. Plans are under way for clothing drives, food and gift collections, hospital visits and other acts of kindness.