Spooky sustainability — that’s what you can expect at the upcoming Riverhead Parks & Recreation Department and North Fork Environmental Council Repair Café and Halloween Costume Swap.
On Oct. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m., bring any in-need-of-repair household items, clothes, toys and gadgets to the George Young Community Center in Jamesport for fixing by volunteer coaches.
The event, however, is much more than just a quick repair stop — it’s more about the opportunity to connect with fellow community members while learning how to do the repairs yourself.
Howard Scharf, a lamp repairman, has offered his skills at previous Repair Cafés.
“You volunteer your time and, in my case, I’m volunteering parts and the parts are not extremely crazy, but it’s doing something good for people and that’s a good thing,” says Scharf.
In the past, he sat beside and worked with a retired construction crane operator who showed up with a tool bag and a supportive spirit “out of the kindness of his heart,” Scharf says.
The Repair Café concept, which originated in Amsterdam, is not new to the North Fork. Margaret Rose de Cruz, board director of the North Fork Environmental Council, has led four installations of the event at the Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport and two in Riverhead.
“The reason I got into this is because I’ve been involved in something called the Transition Town Movement, which was about helping towns become resilient,” says Rose de Cruz.
The Transition Town Movement began in England prior to fracking for gas, when it was believed that peak oil discovery was reached and that standard living would become increasingly expensive, Rose de Cruz says. In an effort to become self-sufficient and take matters like repairs, growing food locally and other systems into their own hands, English men and women pushed for this movement according to Rose de Cruz.
Now, Rose de Cruz and the local organization’s iteration of this program has resulted in almost a dozen Repair Cafés where 40 to 50 items get fixed instead of being tossed in the trash.
“This is such a throwaway culture,” says Brian Armstrong, a Repair Café volunteer coach. “I think it’s [the Repair Café’s] just a really good idea.”
This rendition of the event will feature a Halloween costume swap, where community members can bring and grab used Halloween costumes to cut down on the waste that comes from the holiday.
“We figured this would be a good idea because people don’t have to buy new costumes,” says Rose de Cruz. “It’s fun; it’s community-oriented.”
Swing by to volunteer as a coach, bring something to be fixed or drop off a costume.
“The whole thing is about this growing community,” says Rose de Cruz. “Getting people together who don’t know each other at all, and then you start forming these bonds because you’re trying to figure out how to fix something or what’s wrong with it.”
Learn more here.
