Highlighting S.T.E.A.M. at Arts Below Sunrise

Along with the live music, dancers, crafts, artists and food vendors, the fifth annual Arts Below Sunrise festival will focus on the future with a variety of S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities along Broadway between Trinity Place and Franklin Place in Hewlett and Woodmere on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“The idea is that the more kids we get interested in S.T.E.A.M. early, the stronger they become in these areas. Every indication is that these are important future fields of study and that many careers will depend on a S.T.E.A.M. education,” said John Roblin, chairman of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools Endowment Fund (HWPSEF), the main organizer and sponsor for the event. He is also a vice president of the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association.

The festival comes together thanks to the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association, Community Chest South Shore, the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, Nassau County, the Town of Hempstead, Trinity-St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Hewlett-Woodmere School District, the district’s high school and middle schools’ Youth Leadership Forum, the Hewlett and Woodmere fire departments and the auxiliary police.

New attractions to Arts Below Sunrise this year include: Vanderbilt Museum’s Traveling Classroom, Hofstra University’s STEM Camp, Music Meets Science, Long Island Puppeteer Austin M. Costello, the Cradle of Aviation’s StarLab, the Long Island Children’s Museum, Rock Hounds, chess demonstrations, a video game truck, and a robotics demonstrations and tournament.

The mobile classroom will be parked on Broadway between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. for kids in grades 3-12. It consists of five different stations that provide hands-on experiences with light, telescopes, digital imaging, 3-D universe and gravity.

Tracey Simon, in her third year as assistant director for the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, works as a liaison between the library and the endowment fund for the festival. “It does bring people together,” Simon said of the event. “It shows that there’s a life here, that there’s culture here.” She said that a library representative would be on hand to speak with attendees and provide help with such things as downloading books onto devices.

The library will also have a table set up for giveaways and to offer information on Playaway Launchpad tablets for kids and teenagers that come with ad-free applications and age-appropriate content, as well as Select Reads, a personalized reader advisory newsletter, that provides more than 40 monthly lists of new books, movies and more.

Music will be in abundance with Long Island bands, including Tiberius, a Grateful Dead cover band; Glass Bottom Soul, a funk/rock/soul band; Macksings, R&B/gospel music; Joe Rock and the All Stars, playing a few different genres; Christine Sweeney and the Dirty Stayouts; The Johnny Mac Band, blues; Central Beat, classic rock; and the Toby Tobias Ensemble.

“I love bringing different music to people’s ears,” said Toby Tobias, the festival’s musical director. Tobias has been involved with the festival since its inception in 2012. There will be two stages set up in the parking lot between the library and the Woodmere Education Center. A third stage will be set up near Irving Place for student performances, dance and martial arts demonstrations. Tobias said each band would play for nearly an hour.

“We are proud to have an outstanding school district dedicated to promoting K-12 STEM and the arts and working tirelessly with us to help inspire the next generation of great scientists, creative thinkers and artists,” Julie Pareles, a board member of the HWPSEF, said.