By Forum Staff
Earlier this month, over 250 Police Athletic League children from PAL’s Edward Byrne Center and Goldie Maple Academy in Queens, and participants from centers and sites across the five boroughs, gathered to celebrate PAL’s annual Cultural Day event, held at PAL’s Harlem Center.
The theme of 2024 Cultural Day, “Reimagine the Magic,” gave PAL kids in 3rd and 4th grade the opportunity to reimagine and recreate their favorite movies. Youngsters put their own “modern-day” perspective on their selected movies to reflect the voices of their own communities.
Performances ran the gamut: from a colorful display of the Polynesian Islands of “Moana,” to the music and dance of Colombia in “Encanto,” to a creative representation of a Big Apple candy store straight off the streets of 1960s “West Side Story.
Cultural Day highlights included a banner and chant parade with young people carrying homemade banners from their PAL centers and performing lively chants, interactive booth displays where the PAL youngsters shared the knowledge of the movie they studied, in addition to performances with young people in costumes.
Through PAL’s 2024 curriculum theme, “Reimagine the Magic,” PAL participants dedicated time to learning about the stories and cultural backgrounds depicted in their selected movies. PAL’s Cultural Day included the movies: Black Panther; Hercules; Camp Rock; High School Musical; West Side Story; Big Hero 6; Alice in Wonderland; Lilo & Stitch; Coco; Moana; The Emperor’s New Groove; Encanto; Inside Out, and The Princess & the Frog.
“Cultural day is a day to celebrate not just what they have learned and created this summer, but also an opportunity to center the joy and enthusiasm they all have as PAL participants!” said Meredith Gray, Police Athletic League’s director of Program Development and Partnership.
“We studied the movie, Black Panther, and I learned how to be a good leader and that accessories have so much power. For example – masks protect you from negativity, bracelets can be used to communicate with each other and headbands soothe you and can make you breathe better if you are worried,” said Tyler, 10, of PAL’s Edward Bryne Center. “I learned about working as a group to protect what we love. The hardest part was learning the chants, but we did it!”
Chelsea, 11, of PAL’s Goldie Maple Academy in Arverne, “The movie Camp Rock was fun to watch and to learn about the character who had to work in the camp kitchen in order to attend the music camp. We’re going to perform an original song about being ourselves.”
Awards for PAL’s Cultural Day included: Best Banner & Chant – PAL’s Duncan Center in Manhattan; Best Interactive Booth – PAL’s Edward Byrne Center in Queens; Best Performance – PAL’s Edward Byrne Center in Queens. Overall Cultural Day Awards were given to: PAL’s Edward Byrne Center in Queens – 1st Place; PAL’s Webster Center in the Bronx and Duncan Center in Manhattan – tied for 2nd Place; and PAL’s Goldie Maple Academy in Queens – 3rd Place.
The PAL is a nonprofit organization that provides recreational, educational, cultural and social activities to 15,000 children and teens annually.
