Repair Café in Warwick marks second anniversary on Nov. 17

WARWICK —On Saturday, Nov. 17, the Repair Café will celebrate its second anniversary at the Senior Center, Warwick Town Hall Complex, 132 Kings Highway.
Bring your beloved, but broken items to be fixed for free between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (last repair accepted 1:30 p.m.).
There will be a break from fixing at 10:30 a.m. to mark the occasion with the presentation of a certificate from the Orange County Legislature.
What is Repair Café?Repair Café is a community meeting place to bring a “beloved but broken” item to be repaired for free by an expert—who is also your neighbor.
This is an all-volunteer project. No one gets paid.
The guys and gals who do the repairs have significant skills in a wide range of categories: mechanical, electrical and electronic, clothing, textiles, stuffed animals, jewelry, bicycles, guitars and other fretted instruments, and things made of wood.
The Repair Cafe also offers knife and tool sharpening.
The events are free, but there are charges for lamps and bicycle parts.
Donations are accepted to cover operating costs.
Bring the family While you’re watching and learning as your item is repaired, your kids can be fully occupied at the “Kids Take-Apart Table."
Take-apartable items (by removing screws) are provided along with tools and adult supervision.
Putting-things-back-together is not part of the deal.
The Repair Café continues its commitment to the Warwick Ecumenical Food Pantry, a community outreach that serves hungry people who reside in the town of Warwick. The Repair Café accepts donations of non-perishable food items to be collected by food pantry staff at the end of each event.
A good idea is a good ideaRepair Café-Warwick was the first in Orange County followed by Cornwall in 2017 and Middletown in 2016. The Hudson Valley has more Repair Cafes than any other region in the United States.
There are now 1,638 worldwide.
The organizers of the Repair Cafes in the Hudson Valley and Catskills have formed a loose, but dedicated confederation, and are as helpful and encouraging as possible to towns that want to start their own Repair Cafés.
The Repair Café idea was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2009. To learn more about how it got started and how it has grown, go to the Repair Café Foundation’s website at www.repaircafe.org.
On the Café side, people will find coffee and tea for free; and sweet treats—and fruit for sale.
John Wackman, jwackman@gmail.com, 646-302-5835, is the volunteer organizer for New Paltz’s Repair Cafe as well as the coordinator for all the Hudson Valley Repair Cafes.
The website is www.repaircafehv.org.
Repair Café-Warwick is sponsored by Sustainable Warwick. For questions, more information or to ask about being a “repair coach,” call Elizabeth Knight at 845-544-1056 or email:eknight@teawithfriends.com.