The Aisling Irish Community Center has announced October 7 as the date and Montessori Academy, located at 160 Woodlawn Avenue, Yonkers, N.Y., as the location for its upcoming Family Fun Day.

The event, which occurs from 2pm to 5pm, adds itself to a growing list of festivities within the neighborhood, most notably, the McLean Avenue Fall Festival and the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.

Órla Kelleher, executive director of the Aisling Irish Community Center, wants "to ensure our fundraising events provide entertainment and a good laugh for everybody."

Family Fun Day features a variety of games, rides, music and entertainment for young children, such as: bouncy castles, a cotton candy machine, face painting, sand art and a Yonkers Police Department K-9 demonstration. The center also has scheduled appearances by a clown, a magician and the Sesame Street characters.

A series of “novelty races” encourages active participation from the adults – both parents and seniors.
Kelleher said, "We are particularly excited about the 'Fred and Wilma' wife-carrying race and the 'McLean Avenue Drag Race' where local business owners, employees and male customers will race each other in high heels, dresses and skirts all for charity and, of course, the much-coveted title and winner’s trophy.”

Additional events include a backwards race; an egg-and-spoon race; a "Life in the Slow Lane" race; a piggy-back race; a sack race; a superhero/Disney character race; and a three-legged race.

J.P. Clarke’s Bar, located at 947 McLean Ave., will host a raffle draw afterwards, at 6 p.m. Prizes include an Apple iPad; a weekend for two in Atlantic City, N.J.; a one-night stay at Fitzpatrick’s Group, with two tickets to the musical Once; a Food Ireland hamper; and an upper-class tour to Oktoberfest in the Catskill Mountains, with dinner for two at N.Y.C.’s O’Lunney’s Bar and Restaurant.

The $5 raffle tickets seek to raise funds for programs and the services offered by the center.
Donations serve as admission to Family Fun Day. For more information, please visit www.aislingcenter.org.