One Greenpoint mom is riled up after coming face to face with evil corporate sponsorship at this past weekend's Pumpkin Fest in McCarren Park. She tells Miss Heather:
"I just got back from Pumpkin Fest and I am appalled. To the point that I bought to my daughter a very cute $2 pumpkin at the green market. People were funneled like cattle to make sure they would give their $5 donation, then would grab a McDonald's bag full of decorations and then a Town Square, Inc. balloon… And is if the corporate co-opting were not bad enough, where was the social aspect? No table to decorate your pumpkin, no real socialization spot to have parents and children interact. Maybe I have no irony or no sense of humor or I am just too moralistic. But I am sure corporations do not need to run every event at every level- even the local Halloween celebration is not free from their influence."
As pointed out, Town Square also had Exxon Mobil sponsor Earth Day in Greenpoint last year. Miss H declares that if this continues, we are looking at a future of "parks for profits and bureaucratic intransigence." With naming rights up for grabs, next year's Pumpkin Fest may be held at McDonald's Park!
