By Katherine Parente, Intern for the Levittown History Collection
Programming is a vital part of a public library. They have the ability to bring members of the community together to learn or improve important skills, socialize, and enjoy activities in a shared space for free. Most importantly, their accessibility ensures that all members of the community are able to participate. Levittown Public Library has always seen the value in programming, which is represented in its history. In the library’s early years, a strong emphasis was placed on programs, and many of those programs are documented with photographs in the Publicity Photographs Collection, which can be found in the Levittown History Collection.¹ These included a variety of programs for all ages, including children’s story times, arts and crafts, design, and gardening activities.
One such program took place in 1979, which was a baking demonstration and workshop. The instructor was a local baker and cake decorator from Brooklyn named Sylvia Weinstock. She and many enthusiastic participants created desserts such as cakes, pies, and pastries, which were captured in photographs for the History Collection. Years later, Weinstock would become a widely successful baker and decorator, creating extravagant wedding cakes for high-profile celebrities, lavish events around the world, and guest judging on reality competition TV shows such as Food Network’s Chopped and Netflix’s Nailed It!
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| Levittown Public Library. (1978). Pastry Demo: Sylvia Weinstock Instructing Workshop [Photograph]. Levittown Public Library Publicity Photographs Collection. (LHC.LPP.1020, LPP.015). Levittown History Collection, Levittown Public Library, Levittown, NY.LHC.LPP.1020_LPP.012 |