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Men’s Health Inside $1.00
Vol. 22 No. 27
oh, the places the grads will go
Espinosa is one smart cookie
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JUNE 30 - JUlY 6, 2022
A summer of possibilities at the library
DEViN lUgo, 11, made his Broadway debut this month as a member of the dance ensemble for ‘The Music Man.’
The children’s room is filled with books of many genres that all kids can enjoy. Younger chilAfter two summers of adjust- dren receive a sticker book to ing to safety protocols amid the track their progress, and older coronavirus pandemic, the East children get a lanyard and colMeadow Public Library is turn- lect reading badges over the ing a page toward in-person and summer. online programs to entertain All that is needed to particiand educate peopate is a library ple of all ages. card. The kickoff The Summer event on Thurspeople can learn Reading Program day was scheduled more about the has always been at to featured a perlibrary and its the core of the for mance by summer programs library’s summer entertainer the plans. This year’s Magic of Amore. at eastmeadow.info theme is “Oceans There are sigor by visiting the of Possibilities,” nificant changes east Meadow with story times, to the library shows, crafts and since its renovapublic Library with live sea creatures. tion began in 2017. any questions. Children up to Reopening last fifth grade can September, it has participate. It is a been called a free-form system, encouraging pleasant and welcoming place kids to choose their own books for community members. and find a passion for reading. “I like how bright everything While schools have specific cur- is now,” parent and East Meadow riculums and book selections to resident Beethoven Bong said. fulfill their educational missions “Before when we went, it was and agendas, the library wants really dark and it felt like an old to push a love of reading. library. Now it feels like an open “Whatever a child wants to space that is inviting.” read, great,” Library Director The new garden, maker Carol Probeyahn said. “They space, community auditorium, should read according to their and other additions have allowed interests.” Continued on page 11
By NoAH DiAMoND Intern
Courtesy Jennifer Lugo
Dancing his way to Broadway Devin Lugo makes his debut in ‘The Music Man’ By MAlloRY WilSoN mwilson@liherald.com
The curtain went up on Devin Lugo as the 11-year-old dancer from Woodland Middle School made his Broadway debut in “The Music Man.” Lugo is a member of the dance ensemble for the show that plays in the Winter Garden Theatre. The rising star seventhgrader said that as he started to get better at dancing, he knew that Broadway would be
a dream of his. For his fifthgrade yearbook quote, he wrote that his life aspiration was to be a dancer on Broadway. That dream came true June 21. He’ll be in the show through December. Dancing since he was 4 at Alexa’s Dance Academy in East Meadow, this is Devin’s first big role aside from his years of dance competitions. He takes classes in tap, jazz, hip-hop, ballet and contemporary dance, and said he doesn’t really have a favorite.
“I was inspired by my cousin because my cousin was always dancing,” Devin said of his 17-year-old cousin Jada Zurita. “When I was little, I looked up to her, so then I wanted to dance.” He danced six days a week before landing this role. Devin said that he didn’t even know what the audition video that he recorded was for. “My mom didn’t tell me what I was signing up for,” he Continued on page 10