This past weekend marked another successful Belmont Stakes Festival sponsored by the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce, NYRA, and the Village of Floral Park. The extremely popular and always well attended event could not have gone so well without the participation local Floral Park businesses, entertainers, and community members. The Festival included face painters and street performers provided by Event King; numerous inflatable-bouncy rides provided by Send in the Clowns; and plenty of delicious food from local Floral Park eateries. Street fair attendees were also able to participate in basket raffles generously donated by TD Bank, Pita Park, Butts & Such, J Fallons Tap Room, Korner Kutters, AAA Taxi, Poppy’s Place, Floral Station Deli, Village Pizza, LAI Acupuncture, Sewanhaka Travel, Pellegrini Meats, Wags to Whiskers, Ben Peters Hair Salon, Salon DiCaperci, Ben Peters All About Hair, Sheishinkan Martial Arts, JoMar Grooming & Boarding, Carriage Trade Insurance, Michael D. Squire DDS, Eileen Dolan of Mary Kay and The Keats Agency - Nationwide Insurance.
While families were busy enjoying free samples from Dee Dee’s Luncheonette, taking pictures of their children in a model airplane from the Cradle of Aviation Museum, or petting Bulldogs from the Long Island Bulldog Rescue, they also enjoyed entertainment provided by local bands such as R.A.K.E., Something and the Vintage, John Kouris and the Hambones, The RVO Band, Tom Kelly and the Real Deal, Blue Eyed Soul, and Rear View Mirror. In addition, DJ Stephen Wickies from One Sound Label provided great music which kept the crowd entertained between acts. Attendees were also treated to performances by Center Stage Dancers, Dancin’ Queens Dance Studio, and the Floral Park Memorial High School Florettes. A special award was given to Floral Park Memorial 2014 graduate Samantha Pages by Chamber President Ron Keats and Mayor Tom Tweedy for her winning design of the village street banners. These beautiful banners will be lining our streets in the coming weeks. We all look forward to the unveiling.
The Festival had booths lining Tulip Ave from Plainfield to Verbena Avenue and along the side streets. Attendees enjoyed the food stands of Lemonade Drinks, Pita Park, Capo’s, Floral Station Deli, Twisted Yogurt, Village Pizza, Jack Duggans, Graziellas Bakery, Poparazzi Corn, Jamesons, Poppy’s Place, Park Place, and much more. In addition our local organizations participated too, including the American Legion, Citizens Party, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Floral Park Art League, Jr. Women’s Club, and others. Floral Park’s service departments were also represented with the Floral Park Fire Department, Police Department and the DWP. This event is one of the most anticipated and well attended events of the year. It could not have been gone so smoothly without the work of the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce Street Fair Committee which included Theresa Whalen of Sterling Sign Company, Judy Torre of Senior Service Assistants, Mike Jakob of Carriage Trade Insurance, Karen Meraglia of TD Bank, Rich Vitello of AAA Taxi and Stephen Wickes of One Sound Label. Appreciation goes out to our volunteers including Jennifer McKendry of Wags to Whiskers. A very special thank you to Cathy Grasman of Jo-Mar Grooming & Boarding. Cathy chaired the committee and worked tirelessly to organize each and every aspect of the fair.
