Every holiday season for the last 20 years, Northport Public School Art Teacher Jen Evans has been organizing a hand turkey competition for students to display their artistic talents. Over the years, students and even adults have taken the simple prompt of transforming a turkey cut-out using just their creativity and turning the handmade creation into something worth treasuring.
Evans said she wanted to start something fun and unique in her first year as an art teacher at Northport, adding that she aimed for the idea to be obtainable and fun, to require some skill, thought, and be deeply creative.
“Traditions are what set us apart from the school next door, they are what make us a community and bring us close together,” Evans said. “Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays because it is all about spending time with family, sharing a delicious meal, and enjoying each other’s family traditions. My family has a turkey pinata we bash after dinner, we make a table centerpiece and play music together in the evening. The next day, we get our Christmas tree, and getting it from Kolariks is one of our new traditions (as well as the tree lighting ceremony in Northport and the reindeer!). It is traditions like this that warm my heart.”
