July 18 – As a kid growing up, our Catholic Parish Church and other churches of various denomination in our community always held great summer picnics. The attraction for all the kids was always the games and rides (sometimes they would have pony rides) but mostly it was a huge variety of barbecue and homemade foods and baked goods. These picnics, no matter what your family’s parish, was a community event for everybody. St Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church will be holding their Annual Parish Picnic on Sunday, July 23rd. Did you know that St Peter and Paul with its beautiful traditional roof is the only Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Sullivan County? As with every Parish Picnic, the day will start with a Divine Liturgy and although I don’t speak any Ukrainian the soaring chanting and music is so wonderful. The picnic will feature traditional homemade Ukrainian foods for purchase like pierogis, kielbasa, sauerkraut, and stuffed cabbage. The last picnic I went to they had some wonderful side dishes and beverages as well. I know as I’m writing this column that our hard-working County Legislator Nadia Rajsz, a member of the Church, is hard at work with her other community members getting ready to cook up a storm of some delicious foods for the picnic. There were tents set up and plenty of seating. Because the food always sells out pretty quickly you can pre-order any of the above listed foods and then pick it up at the event. You can place an order by calling the Pierogi Hotline at 845-856-7441 or by email at peterandpaulny@gmail. St. Peter and Paul Church is located at 329 High Road in Glen Spey.

The Board of Trustees of the Sunshine Hall Free Library will be holding a Summer Fundraiser Dinner Dance. The event will be held on -Thursday, August 3rd from 6:30-9:30pm at The New Inn at Lackawaxen-188 Scenic Drive (right over the Roebling Bridge in Minisink Ford) in Lackawaxen Pennsylvania. The Inn has an enormous, covered deck and is beautifully located right on the banks of the Delaware River and makes for some very impressive views for seeing eagles. There will be a live DJ and some Karaoke and a Silent Auction. Tickets are $50.00 per person and can be purchased online at the library’s website or at the Library’s Main Desk during their normal business hours. For additional information about current programs and the Dinner Dance details go to the library’s website at sunshinehallfreelibrary.org. 

The 3,412 Wildland Forest fires are still burning across Canada, and we are getting air quality alerts all the time as the smoke settles in our heated atmosphere which is seriously polluting our air quality. The smoke is so bad that it can affect your lungs the same as if you were smoking cigarettes and the CDC is suggesting wearing a face mask if the air quality is bad and someone will be outside for a considerable amount of time. I found a one stop source for U.S. Government information called AirNow.gov. You can find the air quality index for your location and for other parts of the country. The site also has updated fire, smoke, and air quality maps. Check it out as a great resource and it’s free with no sign up required.