Harwich Community Center Celebrates A Quarter Century

 HARWICH – The community center will be hopping throughout the month of February with daily events celebrating its 25th birthday. 
There was a soft opening of the center on Feb. 5, 2000, and the facility was opened to everybody on Feb. 14, said Carolyn Carey, who has served as director of the center from the beginning.
“It was a Valentine’s Day present to everyone,” she said. “Who doesn’t love the community center?”
She added, “It was great that someone had the vision and it has really grown. The amount of people who come through this building never ceases to amaze me.”
Carey said there have been many changes over the years, activities have grown and so have the number of people using the facilities. Some early users are not with us anymore, and some that were kids then are now married with children of their own coming through the doors, said Carey. 
“The story is not about me, honestly.  It’s about the people who come through and how fortunate I’ve been to be sitting here and witnessing it all. It’s about the stories and the families,” she said. “I won’t be here for another 25 years, but I’ll always be a big supporter of it.” 
The community center has quite a celebration planned, including all kinds of games, duck hunts, crafts events, entertainment, lectures, dinner and breakfast, and of course, a birthday party.
“It’ll be fun, it’s going to be great,” said Community Center Program Specialist Reagan Wilda.
A booklet has been published with page by page descriptions of the events taking place during February. Carey said copies can be picked up at the community center and it can be found on the facility’s website.
Among the highlights are the duck events. On Feb. 3, there will be 10 large rubber ducks hidden throughout the town. If  found, the ducks can be turned in at the community center for a prize. There will be a duck decorating contest, and the ducks will be put on display. Ducks can be picked up at the community center from Feb. 1 through Feb.8 with a limit of one duck per person. They must be decorated and returned to the center by Feb. 14. A vote will be taken on the favorites. The winning ducks will be announced on Feb. 24. There will also be a duck hunt with prizes in the community center on Feb. 18.
There is a birthday T-shirt design contest to commemorate the 25th anniversary. The center will be collecting designs on 8.5-by-11-inch paper at the front desk; they can also be emailed to reagan.wilda@harwich-ma.gov. Submissions must include name, age and phone number.
Other craft events include a personalized card-making event on Feb. 7 where materials will be provided, including paper, markers and stickers. There will be a Valentine’s Day crafts event from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., which will include sweet treats.
The Sound Dunes Swing Ensemble will put on a free concert on Feb. 4 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Wabi Sabi Dancers will perform on Feb. 20 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., and there will be Open Mic Night on Feb. 25 starting at 6 p.m. Winter Pet Trivia Night will be held on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.
The first 100 people coming into the community center in February will be given a booty bag containing gold coins (chocolate) and temporary pirate tattoos, and some lucky people will win tickets to the Harwich Junior Theatre’s play “How I Became A Pirate.”
There will be presentations on Iceland on Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m., and Mad Science will be back with a presentation on fire and ice on Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. The Cape Cod Military Museum will sponsor a lecture on The Battle of Iwo Jima on Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.
Laser Tag will take place on Feb. 19  from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Minute to Win game night will be held on Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m. 
A free spaghetti dinner will be served from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m on Feb. 6, and a free pancake breakfast will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Feb. 22. Free donut day will be held on Feb. 5 thanks to Dunkin Donuts, and an ice cream event will be held on Feb. 28 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. thanks to Dairy Queen. That event will be part of the center’s birthday party.
Carey also said State Representative Hadley Luddy, D-Orleans, will hold office hours at the community center on Feb. 3 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The community center is also partnering with the Harwich Children’s Fund throughout the month to collect prom dresses, jewelry and shoes that will be free and available for the taking at the center on Feb. 27, said Carey. 
Those attending events in February are urged to grab an acorn. Each is numbered, and there will be a prize drawing at the end of the month, said Carey.