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July 3-July 9, 2020
BAYSIDE RESIDENT’S FESTIVE DECORATIONS
BRINGS HAPPINESS, SMILES DURING PANDEMIC
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A Bayside resident is bringing
a smile to people’s faces
with his festive front lawn
decorations.
As one drives down Bell
Boulevard, one might notice
Lon Blais’s creative summer
decorations of vibrant pink flamingos,
colorful balloons, figurines
and Christmas lights.
Blais’s display is often referred
to as the “fun house”
that has attracted passers-by
who stop to take pictures and
video of the home at 33-58 Bell
Blvd. It’s a site you can’t miss,
especially at night when the
twinkling lights illuminate
the front yard.
“What I love is when people
walk by with the look of ‘What’s
this?’ on their faces and they
end up smiling. I love that,”
Blais said. “Some people walk
by and say, ‘Thank you, this
cheers me up’ and I’m not even
done yet — there’s more!’”
At the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic, Blais left
a bowl of chalk on his driveway
inviting people to write
messages and draw pictures.
Every once in a while,
a new item is placed on the
lawn, Blais said.
“No one has ever stolen anything
or written anything inappropriate
and that says something
about community and
Lon Blais’s colorful front lawn display is often referred to as the “fun house” that has easily attracted
passers-by who stop to take pictures and video of the Bayside home. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
what this does,” Blais said.
This isn’t the first time
Blais has received a positive
response for his decorations.
Throughout the years,
Blais’ home — both the interior
and exterior — decorations
have changed with the
seasons and holidays such as
Halloween, Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
“For Christmas, I decorate
in blue, silver and white
so when the holiday is over it
drifts into Valentine’s Day and
the windows are done, too,”
Blais said. “In the summer,
it’s kind of like a sad day when
I have to start putting up the
corn cobs and the pumpkins
and stuff because this is just
ridiculously fun.”
Blais’ wife loves to tease
him about his decorations, but
it’s all in good humor, he said.
Blais and his wife previously
lived in an apartment nearby
the Bay Terrace Shopping
Center. According to Blais, his
wife became ill with cytomegalovirus,
which affects people of
all ages. Their lives changed
when they purchased their
home on Bell Boulevard.
“I used to tell my wife that
if we have a house of our own,
it will be about a celebration,”
Blais said. “She was really ill
at the time with a migraine
and was sleeping at least 16 to
18 hours a day. It’s something
she’s been dealing with for the
past 27 years of her life.”
As his wife continued to
suffer from the debilitating illness,
Blais retired from his job
as a teacher at M.S. 67 in Little
Neck. Soon thereafter, he returned
to theater, launched a
web series, and wrote a oneman
show touring the country
and performing in Bayside.
Additionally, Blais established
his own business, The
Neighborhood Angel, which
provides services such as
clean-outs, junkyard removal,
reorganization and heavy
chores.
According to Blais, as his
wife became better, the idea
came to mind after neighbors
came by asking if he could lend
a hand helping them with one
thing or another around their
homes, which they couldn’t
handle on their own.
Read more on QNS.com.
Vol. 86 No. 27 28 total pages
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