OCEAN BEACH AREA Only Footprints

By Theresa and Patrick MacriSummer meteorologically started on June 21, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature! It’s been cooler than normal with temperatures expected to stay in the 70s for the July 4 weekend and beyond. For the first time in the past 10 years, we haven’t had a late June heat wave exceeding 90 degrees. Not great for the beach worshippers but it does make for great sleeping weather.Now that the school year is over and the families have come back, we can mark the official end of the “pre-season” and the start of the “season” in Ocean Beach. We wanted to provide a friendly reminder that this is a special time when visitors from all walks of life will be sharing our great village. OB is a place for all to appreciate, so let’s be respectful to each other and enjoy what we have, in a balanced way.To that point it’s a good time to remind everyone that there is no drinking or eating allowed on the public and community beaches, as well as carrying open containers within the village. All are subject to fines. This includes the beaches from OB to Atlantique. Thanks in advance for following these ordinances.This holiday weekend, there are a number of family friendly events for all to enjoy. Come out at dusk and prepare to watch the annual Point ‘O Woods fireworks display, on Friday, July 3, on the Great South Bay. There are many great viewing areas along the bay between Ocean Beach and Ocean Bay Park to see this great holiday spectacular, so come on out and bring the kids.Then on Saturday, the Ocean Beach Community Fund is pleased to bring us the Annual Fourth of July “Baby” Parade. All interested participants are asked to line-up at 10 a.m. on Midway in front of the Firehouse. The parade will commence at 11 a.m., starting down Bayberry then proceeding around the Village Green. As a special treat, afterwards there will be ice cream for all children, provided by our good friends at Scoops and Beaches and Cream establishments.On Friday, July 17, Ocean Beach will be hosting the Warrior Appreciation Night. There will be a cocktail party on the Ocean Beach ferry dock, from 5 -9 p.m., with beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are on sale for $50 through the Village of Ocean Beach.To get the most this summer, we thought we would provide a little information about some of OB’s favorite, longtime recreational activities. For this issue we will cover a unique, family friendly game called Trangleball.If you’ve been down to the beach at Corneille Estates or between Seaview and Ocean Beach, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a Trangleball game or two. The brainchild of OB resident, Mark Miller, this is a “born in Brooklyn, raised on Fire Island” game that has been a staple of Fire Island life for more than 20 years.Anyone can play, both young and old, as long as you have the energy for a burst of lateral movement in the sand, while throwing and catching the game ball off of a pyramid-shaped centerpiece. If you want to check it out, the “courts” are left up all summer long and the game balls are kept under the pyramid. For more information on how to play, visit trangleball.com, where you can get all the rules and watch some instructional videos.Speaking of Ocean Beach via Brooklyn, we wanted to celebrate another Fire Island classic, Kenny Goodman, on the 25th anniversary of his gallery in the village. Many know Kenny as a talented sterling silver jewelry designer, but did you know his original passion was carving sculptures out of wood? Did you also know that as much as he loves Fire Island, he really dislikes the sand and sun? He first came to Kismet in the late 1960s, which would seem quite odd since he doesn’t like the sun and sand. But ultimately, these factors helped to make him who he is today.When Kenny first came out to the beach, he was an art teacher enjoying his summer break. But as stated, he didn’t enjoy the beach so he would spend his time carving chalk and crayons until he realized he had a unique talent for creating one-of-a-kind, interesting looking objects. This sparked him to then try another medium, wood. He was so pleased with his efforts that he began creating wooden sculptures and the artist within emerged. Kenny wistfully recalled that he “was ready for a change in my life and decided to seek a new, more self-fulfilling path.” So he followed his newfound passion and decided to make it his full-time livelihood, both while living in New York City as well Fire Island.So how then did he begin his love affair with sterling silver? “If I created a sculpture, I would get compliments. If I created jewelry, I would get sales,” noted Goodman. After creating several pieces, his custom work caught on and soon he had garnered a great local following. To see a variety of his work, go to his web site, kennygoodman.com, or just stop by his shop on the corner of Bay Walk and Dehnhoff.Finally, we want to tip our hat to Rachel “Sunshine Cleaning” Sherman, her many friends, and the staff of Houser’s for their recent fundraiser on June 27, in support of The Morgan Center (themorgancenter.org). The Morgan Center is the only place of its kind in the U.S. where preschool age children battling cancer have the opportunity to learn and socialize in a safe environment. This is the sixth annual benefit Rachel, a pediatric cancer survivor herself, has conducted in Ocean Beach, to raise money for this well deserving organization. Thank you again, Rachel. If there were more people that acted like you, the world would be a much better place.In conclusion, we want to remind you once again to peacefully enjoy Ocean Beach and leave behind “only footprints.”Email Theresa and Patrick with your events and Ocean Beach news tips at oceanbeach@fireisland-news.com