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Luna Park’s ‘Frost Fest’ Offers Christmas-Themed Fun for Keeping Coney Island Open for Winter

By Jessica Easthope

You’ve seen it on TV and in the movies. It’s already one of the most iconic places on earth, but this year Coney Island is securing its place in the history books.

For 120 years the sounds of Coney Island’s amusement park have gone quiet once the weather got cold, but for the first time Luna Park is embracing the winter months, and Frost Fest is taking over.

“A real historic moment, we have all the entertainment, all the food, all the rides so really the best place to come and have a good time,” said Alessandro Zamperla, the president and CEO of Central Amusement International, the company that owns and operates Luna Park.

Zamperla believes Frost Fest offers a boost to the Christmas spirit and a financial boost for Coney Island.

“The holiday season is a great time for everybody to get together, that’s what we do, we’ve been doing it for a long time in the spring, the summer, and the fall so why not do it in the winter,” Zamperla said. “And in terms of economic initiative, everyone will have a benefit.”

With Santa’s workshop, rides, and attractions, a skating rink, and holiday market, Luna Park has it all, even some classic Christmas bites.

Vendors like Bilena Settepani said this is a day she never thought would come.

“For an iconic summer destination to now also be a winter destination it’s really special,” Settepani said. “I feel like I’m part of history in the making right now.” 

Dashing from ride to ride, no one seemed to mind the cold weather. Destiny Armstead came with her crew. The historic day for Coney Island is tied to a piece of her own family history.

“I came here as a little kid and my mom actually moved here again because she loved Coney Island so much,” Armstead said. “My mom passed away and it’s amazing the first time Coney Island is lighting up, is on my mom’s birthday and it means so much to me.”

Visitors can enjoy Frost Fest and all of the fun that comes with it until Jan. 7.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 11/29/2023

Harry D’Onofrio is the Pulse of The Parish at Our Lady of Angels in Bay Ridge.

The Tablet newspaper has a fun, new feature in this week’s paper that focuses on different priests in the Diocese of Brooklyn who come from other countries.

Pope Francis still made an appearance at his weekly general audience today, despite canceling his upcoming trip to Dubai on doctor’s orders.

The Rockefeller Center Tree will be lit tonight but you don’t have to head to Manhattan to get into the Christmas spirit.

Regis Student Reaches for the Stars Thanks to Futures in Education

It’s the second week of school for Regis High School freshman Lucas Contreras.

As he and his fellow classmates rush to class, he takes it all in.

For Contreras, just walking through these halls is a gift.

“The community has been very welcoming and my teachers are very kind and friendly so I’m excited for what’s to come,” Contreras said.

Contreras recently graduated from Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy in Richmond Hill. 

He was able to attend the school thanks to Futures in Education Angels, private donors who helped his parents with tuition. 

But long before graduation, Contreras had his sights set on Regis, one of the best schools in New York City.

“It was definitely a hard experience going through this whole process,” Contreras said. “I had to write essays and take multiple tests and then I had an interview and that was really nerve-wracking but I got past that and now here I am at Regis. I’m proud of myself and I’m proud to know my parents are proud of me.”

Since fifth grade, Contreras has been participating in the REACH program, coming every Saturday to Regis to take advanced classes, build leadership skills, and get in touch with his spirituality, preparing him to go to one of REACH’s seven partner high schools.  

“They just wanted you to get to learn more about not just yourself but how the world works, we learned a ton of different things everything from Algebra 2 to geometry and that has helped now that we’re actually in high school because we’re a bit more ahead of our peers in our work and it’s much easier for us.”

At Regis, money is no object. Every student here is on scholarship. REACH program director and Regis alum Russell Quinones said even in this pool of students, Contreras and his fellow REACH alumni are special.

“Our students first off are incredibly motivated to succeed,” Quinones said. “They come in hungry to learn and hungry to grow both academically and to grow in what it means to be young men for others.”

For Contreras, his education is a point of pride for his family. Setting an example for his younger brothers is what matters most.

His education in the Diocese of Brooklyn has proved invaluable. He sits in class as a freshman prepared, putting his best foot forward.

“Going to REACH really helped me,” Contreras said. “It felt like it’s a gift not only when I grow up will I have such a good education I’m also going to know what is right and wrong because of the classes I’m taking on morals and theology. I’m being a man for others.”

“At REACH and at Regis we know that talent is distributed equally and opportunity is not and at REACH we share a mission of using that gift of education and turn it into giving back.” 

With a strong Catholic faith and a school that has his back, for Contreras nothing is out of reach.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 11/28/2023

The generous donors from Futures In Education help hundreds of students attend Catholic schools.

Parishioners in the Diocese of Brooklyn got the chance to venerate a relic of St. Jude.

It was a celebration at Christ the King Church in Springfield Gardens as parishioners gathered for the parish’s 90th anniversary.

Bishop Brennan to Lead USCCB Cultural Diversity Committee

The Diocese of Brooklyn is home to many people from all walks of life and leading them in faith is Bishop Robert Brennan. 

Recently, Bishop Brennan was chosen to lead another major group, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Cultural Diversity. 

Following the vote at the fall meeting in Baltimore, Currents News Christine Persichette caught up with Bishop Brennan to talk about the new position.

Carroll Gardens Church Donates Sandwiches to Park Slope Pantry

by Katie Vasquez

Dozens of staff are hard at work, hoping to feed hundreds of hungry people after Thanksgiving weekend.

“We serve over 400 people per day and we do hot lunches and we give them a sandwich because we’re closed for dinner,” said Pauline Auguste, director of food services at CHIPS.

Community Help In Park Slope, or CHIPS, has been feeding the homeless for 50 years.

But they say this time is always the hardest.ter Thanksgiving it’s always a little bit intense on that first Monday where we’re always in need of extra sandwiches.”Fortunately they have some extra helping hands from Carroll Gardens. 

St. Mary Star of the Sea Church has been packing lunches for the pantry since last June. 

Parishioners pour their love into each of the 300 turkey, ham, or sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches.

“We shouldn’t take that kind of cold attitude of they should just be grateful that there’s anything. No we should serve them the way we would serve family,” said Mary Carriero, a parishioner at St. Mary Star of the Sea. “I think for us, that’s how we see Jesus in this.”

Every two weeks, they gather in the parish hall to help the less fortunate. 

“At the end, I think it made me feel good about it, like, ‘oh at least I’m doing a good deed back,’ ” said Oliver Naeder, another parishioner at the church.

But the good deed is also giving the parishioners a priceless gift for the Christmas season: spending more time with their spiritual family. 

“We see people every Sunday, but we don’t really get a chance to interact with them,” Kim Chinh, a parishioner, said. “And so here you really get a chance to try to figure out where people are from, what their background is, how long they’ve been a parishioner.”

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 11/27/2023

Hundreds of homeless people come to community help in Park Slope or CHIPS every day looking for food.

Bishop Robert Brennan is leading the Committee on Cultural Diversity for the U.S. bishops.

A tragic loss for the Diocese of Brooklyn and the FDNY Monsignor John Delendick passed away last Thursday after a long battle with 9/11 related cancer. 

Pope Francis canceled meetings and didn’t preside over his Sunday Angelus because of breathing difficulties due to lung inflammation.

Vatican Christmas Tree Arrives in St. Peter’s Square

The 2023 Vatican Christmas tree has arrived in St. Peter’s Square. Early this morning, a truck brought the fir tree to the Vatican from the city of Marca in the Piedmont region in the northwestern part of Italy.

The regional governor of Piedmont said that after the Christmas season, the wood of this tree will be used to make toys for children, which will be distributed through Caritas.

On Dec. 9 at 5 pm, the tree will be lit with the inauguration of the Nativity scene. This tradition of the Vatican Christmas tree began with Pope John Paul II in 1982.

Michelangelo’s Secret Room in Florence Is Now Open to the Public

Michelangelo’s secret room is now open to the public in Florence — the cradle of the Italian Renaissance. The walls are covered with his charcoal sketches, such as one of the face of the Greek figure Laocoon.

The room was discovered by chance. The former director of the Museum of Bargello, Paolo dal Poggetto, asked a restorer to carry out cleaning tests in the corridor under the New Medici Chapel. The room had been used to store coal until 1955 and then remained sealed and forgotten for decades.

While cleaning, the restorer discovered sketches that were under two layers of plaster. After studying the works, the director concluded that the room had been Michelangelo’s refuge in 1530 — around 15 years after finishing his work on the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo used the room to hide from Pope Clement VII, who was angry with the artist because of his support of the new republican government.

The secret room is about 30 feet long by 10 feet wide. Only small groups of four people are allowed to visit the room at one time.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 11/22/2023

Volunteers with the non-profit Covenant House spent the night out in the cold, sleeping in Times Square, to raise awareness about this critical issue. 

Some young men considering the priesthood got advice from someone living it—the Bishop of Brooklyn.

A friendsgiving was held in Greenpoint where everyone is considered a friend.

Before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, there’s the Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy Thanksgiving Eve Parade.