Bellmore Fair continues with its ‘wow factor’

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Reluctant at first, Carson Yarrobino, 4, of North Bellmore, peeled away from his mother’s hip to join his siblings on the karate mat at Best Fitness Kickboxing’s display at the Bellmore Family Street Festival. Sensei Dan Jonsen held up a wooden board for Carson to kick. He lifted his foot back, swung it forward and struck the board, breaking it into three pieces.

Thousands of people took to Bellmore Village from Sept. 14 through 17, as the streets were transformed into fairgrounds during the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores’ 31st annual Family Street Festival. The scents of cotton candy and popcorn permeated the air throughout the festival’s 25 square blocks in Bellmore, near the Long Island Rail Road train station.

Like the karate display, dozens of local organizations and businesses held demonstrations and expos, including a series of performances by local musicians sponsored by the Rock Underground, a zumba session sponsored by Crunch Gym and a wheelchair basketball demo by the Nassau Kings team.

Steve Izen, of the Healing Grotto in Bellmore, said that the festival was a great way for his business to ring in its one-year anniversary. “We’ve seen 2,000 people visit this booth,” Izen said on Sunday afternoon.

The festival also featured a carnival with high-thrill rides, a petting zoo, jewelry and art boutiques and dozens of food vendors. Guests enjoyed empanadas, turkey legs, sausage links and snacks like deep-fried Oreos, funnel cake, Italian ices and candy apples.

“I keep telling everyone we need to continue with [the festival’s] wow factor,” said Martha Verdi, a member of the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores and festival coordinator. Verdi said that each year the festival yields roughly 120,000 attendees.

While the festival took a lot of preparation and patience, Peter Ray, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, said that the most rewarding part is “watching families walk around with smiles on their faces.”