- May 5, 2024
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As their ooh-ing and ahh-ing grandparents and parents took pictures, dozens of preschoolers who were dressed as Indians, pilgrims and turkeys paraded into the fenced-off parking lot of Sunshine Academy. The facility on Palm Coast Parkway was the host for the seventh-annual Sunshine Thanksgiving Feast.
Nine turkeys were provided by the school, and the parents provided the side dishes for the meal that was shared by the students and their guests, according to Slava Shevchenko, director of Sunshine Academy.
Ironically, Shevchenko, the ringleader of the Thanksgiving event, hasn’t always celebrated the holiday: He’s a native of the Ukraine and moved to the United States in 1993. But he has since found great meaning in Thanksgiving.
“As I grew up and started to have my own family, I started to see the importance of what you need to be thankful for,” he said. “Every year I want to reach out further and further to get more people involved.”
He added: “This is our opportunity to get together, celebrate tradition, and bring everyone together as one community.”
For more photos, see the Nov. 27 print edition.
