Patchogue 'Alive After Five' To See West Point Cadets, Drag Show

PATCHOGUE, NY — Just days after hosting a lively arts festival, Patchogue expects to host up to 25,000 people at the annual "Alive After Five" festival. The event Thursday evening, the first of four such festivals planned throughout the summer, will feature a bevy of rainbow flags and a traveling drag show this year as the town celebrates "Pride Month" and the LGBTQ community.

Seven stages of live music and entertainment will be sprinkled throughout the downtown area, said David Kennedy, executive director at the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Congress. The festival, which starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m., will also feature food trucks and craft vendors.

"And of course, almost every restaurant along the route will have an outdoor area for people to enjoy some drinks and food," Kennedy said. "It's a great music and street festival."

Attendees will be treated to some local rock and pop bands, Kennedy said. Among them: the nationally known West Point Band, a rock-pop band that has a large following and is made up of current and former West Point cadets.

"It's not a military band, it's a true rock band," said Kennedy.

See also: Alive After Five 2019: What You Need To Know

The festival started 18 years ago when the village was a little "dead and quiet," he said. It was an attempt by the chamber to change that perception, and it has since grown into the village's largest festival, and one of the largest on Long Island.

"The reputation of Patchogue back then was sleepy at 5 o'clock," he said. "That after 5 o'clock there was nothing going on."

Kennedy said with a laugh: "It was an attempt to say, 'Hey, Patchogue is alive after five."

On July 11, the theme will be "Celebrating Our Armed Forces," and on July 25 it will be "Celebrating Women in the Arts." On Aug. 8, the theme will be "Celebrating our Cultural Diversity."

Organizers have given the event a theme over the last handful of years. This year, they chose to celebrate "Pride Month" after local business owners in the LGBTQ community questioned why the village wasn't doing so. "Pride Month" honors the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan and recognizes the historical contributions of LGBTQ people.

The library will once again sponsor a family section where kids and parents can enjoy arts and crafts, as well as more live music.