FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com december 4, 2014 • The Queens Courier 37 HELP THE KIDS! QUEENS COURIER TOY DRIVE TO HELP LOCAL BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB Help bring joy to the youngest members of the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens this holiday season. Once again, The Queens Courier will be collecting toys for its annual holiday gift drive. The Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens is asking for donations of new toys for 83 girls and 83 boys between the ages of 5 and 10. The Courier will wrap and deliver the toys. The organization’s elementary school program introduces children to a range of topics such as robotics, astronomy, video game development, visual arts and sport activities. They emphasize STEM enrichment and provide homework assistance and tutoring for young people. Also, cultural understanding is highlighted as children are led to explore various cultures through food, music and dance. Donations can be dropped off at The Courier’s office, located at 38-15 Bell Blvd., or at Flushing Bank branches at 144-51 Northern Blvd., Flushing; 159-18 Northern Blvd., Flushing; 44-43 Kissena Blvd., Flushing; 136- 41 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing; 188-08 Hollis Court, Auburndale; 61-54 Springfield Blvd., Bayside; 42-11 Bell Blvd., Bayside; 31-16 30th Ave., Astoria; and 107-11 Continental Ave., Forest Hills. Visit www.flushingbank.com for individual branch hours. Toys are also being accepted at Christie Salon & Co., in The Bay Terrace Shopping Center, 23-64 Bell Blvd., where anyone who drops off a toy will receive 15 percent off any nail service and all retail products. Visit www.metroqueens.org for more information on the Boys and Girls Club. Photos courtesy of Boys and Girls Club Help bring joy to the youngest members of the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Queens this holiday season. Whitestone family brings the Christmas lights back after winning reality show BY ERI C JANKIE WICZ [email protected] @ericjankiewicz The Lynch family keeps on shining. After winning a reality competition series on spectacular Christmas lights last year, the Lynch family has put up their sparkling holiday decorations once again with a bunch of improvements and a whole new fan base. ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight” brought the family a winning prize of $50,000 and a level of fame that stretches past the borders of their Whitestone neighborhood. “Just the other day I had a tour bus out front that came all the way from New Jersey,” Kevin Lynch said. “And before that we had some people from Norway here asking me for advice about how to do this stuff.” Along with Lynch’s new fame, he has also upgraded his decorations. “I did something different this year. I put LED lights in them and it made my display even brighter,” said Lynch, a retired firefighter. “You can see this house from pretty far away now. My goal is to see it from space. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there. I’m waiting for that Christmas card from the man on the moon and when we do get it, I know I’ve reached my goal.” The house is ready for Christmas, with about half a million lights, according to Lynch, who puts up all the decorations up with the help of his wife, Tina. Thousands of plastic statues are carefully placed on the lawn, roof, balcony, windows and anywhere else he can fit them. For 18 years, Lynch and his family have been decorating their house for Halloween and Christmas, with work starting in September. Halloween is a much smaller display that goes up even as he’s working on his Christmas lights. But rather than completely disassembling the Halloween display, Lynch is able to adapt some of the ornaments so that they can be used for Christmas. In one case, a Halloween figure with a severed head is converted into a snowman. After Halloween, he brings down the ghouls and continues the frenzied race to assemble his legions of angels and nutcrackers. The work is done now. And so Lynch prepared for the other part of the winter spectacle — the arrival of thousands of kids and their families who travel to Whitestone to gaze at his handiwork. “There’s over half a million lights in the house. We like it big and bright. All the cords are buried in the ground so you can come up to the lawn and porch and take pictures,” Kevin said. “Get as close as you want and make sure to bring a letter for Santa.” The display at Lynch’s home, 166-04, 23rd Ave., Whitestone, will stay up through Jan. 7, when he begins the laborious process of taking down all the decorations and putting them in storage for next year. The Lynch family keeps on shining. Photo courtesy Tina Lynch
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