Turkey Bowling at Playland Spares No Controversy
We missed Playland’s 4th Annual Turkey Bowl (WCBS-TV video here). Last Saturday evening Turkey bowlers took to the ice at Rye Playland’s Ice Casino to bowl with a frozen turkey and several cornish hens. Really, it’s true. You can’t make this up.
Local media were unable to see the humor in using one of the fifty million or so turkeys put on our nation’s dinner table each year to create a fun, silly event that promotes a terrific Westchester County resource (Playland) that, quite frankly, needs promotion. Local media saw a county government led conspiracy to waste food (the one turkey, which gets tossed after the bowling is complete).
WCBS-TV Channel 2’s Tony Aiello seized on hunger advocates crying "fowl" over wastefully food practices, including Christina Rohatynskyj of Food-PATCH. How about asking turkey bowling fans in attendance for a $5 donation to Food-PATCH?
And then there was The Journal News’ Phil Reisman:
"As long as the tax dollars keep rolling in, it would seem there is no service the county won’t provide, a need it won’t fill or a fear it won’t assuage."
Turkey bowling as a taxpayer funded county service? Please. Phil, you have this wrong. The service is marketing Playland, and hats off to the County for successfully baiting you, The Journal News and WCBS-TV to bring attention to their event.
Jay, I reject your contention that *this* member of the “local media” was “unable to see the humor” in the turkey bowling story, and that I viewed it as “a government-led conspiracy to waste food.” That is simply an unfair characterization of my report.
However, I do thank you for linking to my story so people could watch it and draw their own conclusions. I think a fair-minded viewer would come away feeling I handled the story in a humorous and light-hearted fashion, while also respecting the views of the folks at FoodPATCH.