350th Anniversary Kickoff Fundraiser Held At Vanderbilt 8/22

At the Vanderbilt in South Beach and on the beach itself, on August 22nd, 2010, from 11am to 2pm, SI350, Inc. will host its first fundraiser and kickoff to Staten Island's 350th Anniversary year. Representatives of a range of cultural, educational, ethnic and religious institutions will gather alongside elected officials who represent the Island in local, state and federal government. Some of Staten Island's most prominent "storytellers" will be honored, including Staten Island Borough Historian Tom Matteo.

The celebration will take place at the site of the first European settlement of Staten Island. The 350th Anniversary commemorates August 22nd, 1661, when Peter Stuyvesant, the Director General of New Amsterdam, granted a petition authorizing land grants to nineteen families of Belgian, French and Dutch ethnicities. "We can't wait to dance to Calypso music at one of the most historic sites on Staten Island. And we're raising funds to celebrate a milestone birthday for our community," said Fran Reali of Safari Realty, one of the event's organizers.

The organizers of SI350 will debut the primary legacy of SI350, the identification of 350 sites of significance to Staten Island. To showcase various facets of Staten Island's past, present and future, from Business to the Arts to Food and Drink to Architecture to Military History, among other topics, these sites will be grouped as twelve themed trails. Each trail will introduce 30 or more sites significant to that theme to capture major accomplishments and turning points in Staten Island's history, with local, national and global significance. All of the lists have been drafted and reviewed multiple times by a committee of Island historians, educators and parents. Visitors to the SI350 website at www.SI350.org can track the tours on Google maps, while visitors to the Island can enjoy the trails as driving tours leaving the St. George area and moving clockwise around the Island.

Attendees will have the first opportunity to sponsor one or more of the signs that will be located at select sites of significance. Once pledges for 12 signs are received, one on each trail, SI350 will begin to create the "Staten Island legacy trail," modeled on the Boston Freedom Trail.

In addition, SI350's new logo and slogan, "One Island, Many Stories" will be featured prominently at the Vanderbilt event, with creative photography on display incorporating the logo into a variety of Staten Island iconic sites. Logo t-shirts and other logo items will be on sale. In addition, Kristi Pfister, painter, and Steve Nutt, potter, will be available to commission one of a kind SI350 pottery. Other commemorative items will be given to the guests.

SI350 honored several representatives of the great storytelling tradition of Staten Island: Borough Historian Thomas Matteo (for his dedication to telling stories of Staten Islands' past), Staten Island Cable (for broadcasting exclusive Staten Island stories), and photographer Willie Chu (for documenting the captivating images the diversity of our borough). Thomas Matteo, Ed.D., an associate professor of business at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, was appointed Staten Island's fourth borough historian in 2007. His informative guide, Staten Island: I Didn't Know That!, is one of several books he has published about the Island. His articles appear regularly in The Staten Island Advance. Willie Chu, born and raised on Staten Island, earned his BFA in Photography at the School of Visual Arts. He currently works in the field of commercial photography and video. His exhibit on Asian-American Staten Island earned a Premier Grant from the Council of Arts and Humanities of Staten Island. He is currently working with the Staten Island Museum on an oral history of African-American entrepreneurs on Staten Island. Each honoree will receive a framed print of a photograph from the collection of the Staten Island Historical Society depicting a young child reading a Staten Island newspaper, to recognize the vital role of newspapers-like the Staten Island Advance- in telling our community's stories.

At the Vanderbilt, SI350 organizers will also be disclosing the first calendar of the year's 350th Anniversary celebrations, which now numbers close to 30 individual exhibits or events hosted by and/or sponsored by a wide variety of Staten Island cultural and other institutions. These events will include an exhibit by the Noble Museum, a Children's 350th Birthday Party hosted by the Staten Island Children's Museum, a special new category of film at the SI Film Festival dedicated to Staten Island films, and a wide variety of existing events that will incorporate 350th Anniversary themes.

All funds raised during the Brunch on the Beach event will be dedicated entirely to the projects, events and exhibits that will comprise the 350th Anniversary celebration over the course of the upcoming 16 months, including the trail signage project and meeting the challenge of a $10,000 matching grant from Staten Island Foundation, which is restricted for use on SI350 education-based projects.

For additional information regarding SI350 and the many interesting events that will take place during Staten Island's 350th Anniversary year, please visit www.SI350.org.