Every year, Southampton Fresh Air Home hosts an American-style picnic, partly in honor of July Fourth, at a private residence in Southampton Town.
And while that nearly four-decade-old tradition remains alive and well, this year is a little extra special, as the year-round nonprofit center serving local children with physical disabilities through enriching educational and recreational experiences is also celebrating its 125-year anniversary. Festivities are set for this Saturday, June 27, at 1610 Meadow Lane, the oceanfront estate of hosts and honorary chairmen Margie and Michael Loeb.
A community-based celebration centered around family fun, the picnic features a BBQ dinner, cocktails, live music, a silent disco, food trucks, carnival rides, arcade games, crafts, stilt walkers, and sweet treats, along with a state-of-the-art drone show in the sky above. The party is tented, so the event will proceed rain or shine. Fun starts at 7 p.m. and while there are a slew of different donation tiers, individual tickets are $500 for adults, $300 for juniors (ages 21 to 25), $200 for children (under 20). For more ticket information click here.
Originally founded in 1901 by Louisa Robb Livingston, along with a small group of women from the summer colony, the organization, situated on four acres in Tuckahoe, was first called the Fresh Air Home for Crippled Children, formed to provide city-bound youth suffering from physical disabilities the chance to benefit from sun and ocean air. Initially starting out as a small summer camp with 10 children, the nonprofit has transformed into a year-round facility that welcome over 150 summer campers and close to 400 during off-season programs. Ages range from 8 to 18 year-olds.
According to the Southampton Chamber of Commerce, Southampton Fresh Air Home is one of the few residential camp facilities in the eastern United States that accommodates severely as well as mildly and moderately physically challenged children, providing an environment in which campers play, socialize, mature and develop physically, emotionally and psychologically.
Programming at SFAH runs the gamut, including a beloved summer camp which entails two three-week long sessions as well as one-week programs for younger children who’ve never been away from home or who require a higher level of nursing care. Each session has an optimal enrollment of 50 children, according to the organization’s website. Additionally, an adapted sports program (swimming, sailing, relays, tennis, basketball, baseball, archery, dodgeball, football and hockey), arts centric activites (dance, drama, music, cooking, games, arts and crafts), computer and iPad programs are all available.
