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Ghoulishness and glamourousness dominated Friday afternoon’s festivities at the Whitman Branch, 200 Snyder Ave., as the facility helped children to prepare for Halloween by celebrating National Costume Swap Day. Fifty youngsters enabled the site’s initial participation in the two-year-old initiative to be a rollicking success, as they gathered goods for their impending excursions and knowledge of their altruism’s benefits.
For Christopher Flores, the event kept literal gloom from matching the season’s figurative kind.
“I was a ghost last year and want to be something more exciting this time,” the 8-year-old third grader at Abigail Vare School, 1621 E. Moyamensing Ave., said. “Today will help me.”
The resident of Fifth and Mifflin streets had been unsure he would receive his wish for a thrilling costume, as his family, including mother Elpedea and 9-month-old sister Stephanie, who joined him at the learning hub, is experiencing financial difficulties. He could not offer any items to trade, but that did not matter, as children’s librarian Heather Warren let any interested youth construct an outfit.
“I wanted to hold something that would have more of a purpose than a typical party might,” the resident of the 2400 block of South Chadwick Street said. “Because I favor conservation, I felt having such a celebration would give the children environmental lessons, too.”
In her first full year at the 35-year-old site, Warren has kept local youngsters busy through numerous programs. Learning of Swap Day through an American Library Association advertisement, she elected in the summer to welcome them to select garb for their candy crusades. Her decision made the library one of three Philadelphia swap locations and enabled the city to give Pennsylvania extra pride as one of 38 participating states.
Two tables teeming with an assortment of objects greeted the children as they entered a reading room complete with seasonal music. Warren and Laura McColgan, president of the Friends of the Whitman Library, instructed them to choose an initial item to which they could later add a complementary piece. Enjoying chats and snacks, the juveniles set themselves to determining how they would obtain the most plaudits from their sweet providers by decorating the provided clothing with various aids.
“I love this,” Christopher said as he grabbed a pirate’s hat. “How do I look?”
Courtesy of Swap Day, he and the environment will look quite impressive. Washington state resident Corey Colwell-Lipson established the initiative in 2010 as an offshoot of Green Halloween, which she devised in ’06 as a way to increase the health and safety aspects of All Hallows’ Eve. Due to the day’s popularity, she entrusted management to the 30-year-old nonprofit Green America in July. A Green Halloween study shows that having half of the children who celebrate Halloween swap costumes would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equal to the weight of 2,500 midsize cars.
“Not everyone is affluent enough to afford new costumes every year,” Warren, who aims to inform other local branches of the rewards of hosting Swap Day, said as she encouraged a group of children to join their peers. “Plus, something like this lets them bond and work on their creativity.”
The employee, who put out a request for items and purchased others, beamed as a young girl showed off her ballerina outfit. The attire drew praise from McColgan, of the 400 block of Tree Street, too.
“The only thing that limits them is their imagination,” she said.
Harley and Holden Sherman sought to show their ingenuity knows no bounds. The siblings often frequent the branch and are veterans of exchanging, having participated in a recent book swap through Warren.
“Heather has been so great to them,” Mercedes Amarant said of her offspring. “This is a worthwhile event for them to pick up more friends and build their art skills.”
The family offered two dresses, a cowgirl outfit and a baby tutu then inspected the tables, which included duck and tiger costumes for toddlers, oversized glasses, firefighters’ hats and garments. Among the first to arrive, the Sherman children, of East Moyamensing Avenue and Dickinson Street, displayed their enthusiasm as soon as Warren signaled the start of the 90-minute gathering.
A kindergartner at Vare, 5-year-old Holden concentrated intently as he applied eyeballs and paint to a shirt.
“I will probably add more to this when I go home,” the energized boy said.
First-grader Harley opted for glitter when adorning a shirt and likewise supposed she would continue her handiwork.
“I always have fun here,” the 6-year-old said before checking to see what others had accomplished.
With only minutes to go, the room resembled both a horror film shoot and a model convention, as the children compared their ensembles. Still in love with his hat, Christopher offered his best pirate impression to a couple peers.
“I feel grateful for this help,” his matriarch said through translator Iris Rivera-Selby, another library employee.
The rest of the nation and three Canadian provinces celebrated Swap Day Oct. 13, keeping with the intended aim to hold it on October’s second Saturday. As the Whitman Branch does not keep Saturday hours, Warren placed the festivities as close to the actual day as she could.
“I decided to have Swap Day because it really struck me as a great way to be inclusive,” she said. “I really loved the do-it-yourself aspect and am thankful for great parental involvement and volunteer help.”
Eager to fill his Halloween bag with as many pieces of candy as the day’s memories, Christopher likewise voiced appreciation.
“I hope everyone has a great Halloween,” he said. “I know I will.”
Visit greenhalloween.org for more information on seasonal ideas.
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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