Oct 17, 2018
Members of the Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County are preparing for their sixth Zonta Holiday Festival.
The festival will take place Nov. 10 and 11 at Batavia Downs Gaming on 8315 Park Rd.
The Holiday Festival brings in a diverse group of fantastic vendors and artisans from western New York and beyond to display/sell their products, Zonta officials said in a news release. The facility uses both floors to accommodate more than 130 vendors and artisans.
Besides the products available for purchase, there will be photo opportunities with Santa from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 10 and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 11, along with several princesses in costume
There will also be a face painting booth. Food can be purchased during the event at the Homestretch Grill.
The event is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days and admission is free.
The Zonta Club of Batavia-Genesee County will use funds raised by the event to cover its local and international service projects, such as scholarships for high school girls; toiletry bags for the YWCA domestic violence victims and women in the military; and items to create Birthing Kits that are sent to clinics in developing countries, where births generally take place at homes instead of hospitals.
Funds are also sent on to the International Service Projects.
During the 2018-2020 Biennium, two projects are being supported by the International Service Fund, including “Let Us Learn Madagascar: An Integrated Program for Adolescent Girls” and “Eid bi Eid (Hand in Hand):Support to the resilience and empowerment of Syrian refugee and vulnerable Jordanian women.”
The club members will be helped during the festival by students in the Z-Club at Batavia High School. The students are a very active group and are known for collecting food for the Salvation Army Food Bank, assisting at school events, and raising funds for Zonta International Service projects.
After the Zonta Holiday Festival the members will turn their focus to the 16 Days of Activism campaign.
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. It runs every year from Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to Dec. 10, Human Rights Day.
Members will also develop ways to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the founding of Zonta in 1919, the many service projects completed during the 100 years, and the women who have been members of the international organization.
They will attend the Oct. 14 event in Le Roy when the Le Roy Historical Society celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the Donald Woodward Airport and its connection to Amelia Earhart — a Zonta member — and her flight in The Friendship airplane across the Atlantic in 1928 (the plane was owned by Mr. Woodward).
To honor Amelia, Zonta International offers several Fellowships to women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sciences or aerospace-related engineering worldwide.
Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree, who demonstrate a superior academic record in the field of aerospace-related sciences or aerospace-related engineering, are eligible and encouraged to apply at www.zonta.org.
