Wanted: Worn and torn items at Repair Café in Jamesport

Don’t toss that Minnie Mouse costume your child grew out of. It has more Halloween memories to make, and you can find it a new family this Saturday in Jamesport. While you’re at it, collect whatever chipped, cracked or creaking items you have around and give them new life as well.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, from 1 to 4 p.m., the Riverhead Parks & Recreation Department and the North Fork Environmental Council will host a Repair Café and Halloween costume swap at the George Young Community Center at 446 S. Jamesport Ave, Jamesport.

“Repair Cafés are about more than fixing things. They’re about restoring a culture of reuse, learning practical skills, and sparking conversations between neighbors,” said Margaret Rose de Cruz, board director of NFEC. “It’s an antidote to our throwaway society.”

Repair Cafés are hands-on events where community members hand over broken household items — from small appliances to dull kitchen knives — to skilled “coaches,” who teach as they bring them back to life.

The idea is, fewer items in the landfill, more saved resources and a more connected community.

“Every time someone walks out of a Repair Café with something they thought was broken forever, you can see the excitement on their face,” said Ashley Schandel, assistant superintendent of Riverhead Parks & Recreation. “It’s empowering. People leave with a working item, new skills and often a new friend. That’s what makes this so special.”

Organizers said the volunteers — many who return consistently — enjoy each other’s company, but they prefer to be busy all afternoon. They said the help is free and to bring items like clothing, bicycles, small electronics, lamps, toys and tools to be repaired and knives, scissors, and garden tools to be sharpened.

“It’s time to go through your closets and your basement and attic and look for the things you stashed away that need to be repaired or that are not quite working right,” Ms. de Cruz said.

Added this year is a Halloween costume swap, modeled off a recent successful clothing swap that NFEC held in Cutchogue earlier in the year. The concept is simple: bring a costume, take a costume.

To volunteer as a coach, email Ms. Schandel, [email protected] or Ms. de Cruz at [email protected].