The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
MAKE’N BACON SIZZLES AT KALLET
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> At the third annual Make’n Bacon event, food, fun and skating were on the menu for everyone of all ages.
The annual event features a number of baconthemed dishes prepared in a variety of ways, from bacon dipped in chocolate to it crumbled atop confections.
This year, event organizers Carrie Earl and Michele Farwell held the Make’n Bacon at the Kallet Civic Center, opening new doors for the event after being hosted at Vet’s Field in Oneida a year ago.
“The set up is better, the location is better and the whole point is to bring people to Downtown Oneida. I think we were lost in the sea at Vet’s Field,” Farwell said. “Taking the event here and bringing it into a historic building and this lot, it fits better. And it’s bringing people. It’s nice to see cars filling the streets in Downtown Oneida.”
Outside, the Kallet parking lot provided a full stage and venue for live bands, including The Blues Brothers of Central New York, The Crazy Fools, Mixed Brew and The Todd Hobin Band alongside vendors and crafters of all kinds.
Inside, people could browse more goods and wares, watch the Syracuse versus Clemson game on the big screen T.V. or take a trip into the Kallet’s past, strap on a pair of roller skates and join in the fun on the rink.
Originally opened in 1937, the Kallet Civic Center has served as a hub for
“Taking the event here and bringing it into a historic building and this lot, it fits better. And it’s bringing people.”
— Michele Farwell, event organizer
the community, whether it was a movie theater or a roller skating rink.
Nowadays, the Kallet Civic Center serves as a hub for all sorts of events, from weddings and parties, to community outreach programs or even wrestling matches.
Kaleigh Bascom and her two boys Jayden and Jace came out from Sherrill to enjoy the skate rink this time around.
“When I was a teenager, we’d go to skate at Awesome Fun and Skate,” Bascom said. “This is something fun to do and something newfor themto learn. But I think events are important like this because it brings people out, it’s supporting the Kallet and it’s bringing the community together.”
While Jace and Jayden were shaky at first and falling quite a bit, they didn’t quit and spent the whole day laughing and enjoying themselves.
Robin Bienkowski is a longtime skater who lives in Oneida now, but never got a chance to see the Kallet Civic Center when it was a roller skate rink.
“I lived out near Rochester at the time,” Bienkowski said. “This is something really fun to do. I learned to roller skate when I was really little, so I love the roller rink. I wish they would do this more often. At least once a month would be awesome.”
Bienkowski said in Oneida, there’s not a lot of things for pre-teens to do.
“You’ve got the rec-center, but it’s usually for older kids or you have to join a club,” Bienkowski said. “You’re bored, you got two 11-year-olds at home and they have nothing to do, then go roller skating. It’s good for all ages and the kids can learn from each other.”
Farwell, executive director of the Kallet Civic Center, said while she’d love to host a skate rink every month, it just wasn’t possible at the moment.
“We couldn’t have a skate rink regularly, it’s too expensive. If I could, I would,” Farwell said. “What we are trying to do with the skate rink is to build off what people recognize with the history of the building and make it relevant now. It can build a new generation of appreciation for the Kallet.”
All proceeds from the Make’n Bacon event goes to the Kallet Civic Center and helps it fund future events.
“There’s so many things happening at the Kallet. I’m booked almost every weekend. The events are growing and growing,” Farwell said. “We need to show the flexibility of this place as a venue.”
PBS recently filmed a movie at Sylvan Beach titled “Folklore and Frost: Spirits and Frost”, which will be premiering at the Kallet Civic Center on Oct. 13. The Kallet Civic Center will also be holding an “Anti-Costume Halloween Party” on Oct. 26 with more details to come.