Arts Below Sunrise continues to grow

Now in its third year, the Arts Below Sunrise street fair continues to grow as a third stage will be added at Irving Place that will include dance and martial arts demonstrations in response to a request from merchants on Broadway in Woodmere.
Presented by the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools Endowment Fund, the festival is a collaboration that includes the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association, Five Towns Community Chest, the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, the Hewlett and Woodmere fire departments, auxiliary police and the district’s high school and middle schools’ Youth Leadership Forum.
Comprised of alumni, educators and families, the Endowment Fund raises money to provide grants that support educational ideas not financially covered by the Hewlett-Woodmere School District’s budget.
“Arts Below Sunrise is really the only large-scale community gathering in Hewlett-Woodmere, and it’s free,” said John Roblin, chairman of the Endowment Fund. “Aside from our fundraising efforts to support our yearly educational grants, we feel that a major focus of our group is to bring our community together.”
Roblin said that the Endowment Fund does not lean on the fair as a major fundraiser, and depends on corporate and community sponsors to cover the event’s operating expenses, while volunteers provide the planning and manpower.

One of those volunteers is musician Toby Tobias, who is responsible for coordinating the music and ensuring that the musicians can be heard. A native of South Africa who now lives in Northport and owns a house in Woodmere, Tobias is also a performer with his own ensemble.
A majority of the musical performers are from Long Island, Tobias said, with a couple of the solo artists coming from Brooklyn. Involved with the fair from the start, Tobias said it has grown, along with the quality of the musicians. “The musicians that are going to play at this event play original music and run the spectrum of the different genres of music,” he said. “We want to make the Long Island community aware of these amazing musicians.”
Confirmed performers include the Joe Vicino Band, Robinson Treacher, the Macksings Band, Sweet Suzi & Sugafixx, Rorie Kelly, Garrin Benfield, the Kerry Kearney Band and the Toby Tobias Ensemble.
An expanded variety of food choices and more vendors will be part of this year’s fair, Roblin said. The two main stages will be located in the library parking lot near the Woodmere Education Center.
The student-run Youth Leadership Club will be promoting the Community Garden Learning Center that is behind the Hewlett House on East Rockaway Road across the street from the Hewlett High School campus. While supplies last, bottles of sun-dried herbs grown in the garden will be available for a donation. “There will also be an opportunity to purchase a custom printed brick, which will be installed in the Community Garden Learning Center to create a patio and paths,” Roblin said.
Another organization housed on the high school campus, the Center for Adult Life Enrichment will also have a booth at the fair. “We want to let the community know about our 65-year-old center and the wonderful programs we provide,” said Executive Director Georgiana Wolfson.
Arts Below Sunrise is on Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will take place on Broadway in Hewlett from the library to Irving Place in Woodmere.