Annual Community Appreciation Holiday Dinner will continue

IRVINGTON, NJ — D. Bilal Beasley, a former president of the Municipal Council, former Essex County freeholder and founder of the Team Irvington social and political organization, may be gone, but the annual Community Appreciation Holiday Dinner he began will take place Wednesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the M.W. Garden State Grand Lodge, 883 Sanford Ave., anyway

The dinner, hosted by Beasley’s daughter, Jamilah Beasley-McCleod, and Board of Education President Romaine Greer, features a free holiday dinner with all the traditional trimmings, a karate presentation by the American Karate Academy and free face-painting by the “Butterfly Lady.”

Anyone who attends may donate an unwrapped gift for a child between the ages of 2 and 13.
Mayor Tony Vauss and Beasley’s family said that keeping the local holiday tradition alive and well keeps Beasley’s legacy alive.

“We are his children and we will continue his work,” said Omar Bilal, Beasley’s son Monday, Nov. 23. “December will be the first year anniversary of his passing and he would have wanted all people and organizations involved to continue this event.”

“We’re keeping the legacy alive that Bilal has made over many years here in Irvington,” Vauss said on Monday, Nov. 23.

“There are so many things, such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy of A Dream Ceremony in January, that have become staples on the township calendar. It’s the right thing to do for Bilal and for the Irvington community.”

For more information about the annual Community Appreciation Holiday Dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 9, contact Beasley-McCleod at 973-776-2100.