Working together for the Five Towns

The Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools Endowment Fund, the Five Towns Community Chest and the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association are collaborating to bring the two communities together while raising money for scholarships and educational programs and drawing positive attention to the merchants in the area.

On Sunday, Oct. 14, the Five Towns Community Chest will host a 5K run and awards ceremony, will be followed by Arts Below Sunrise, Hewlett-Woodmere’s first music and arts festival, featuring about 120 craft vendors and 10 musical acts.

Toby Tobias, a member of the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association and owner of the Tune Tutors, a music school he operates in his Woodmere home, is booking the musical acts for the festival. “I’m trying to create an eclectic group of musicians from all different genres to bring diversity to our community,” he said.

According to Tobias, Jen Chapin, the Mark Newman Band, the Day Laborers and his 21-year-old son, Joshua, are just some of the many acts that are expected to perform.

John Roblin, a Woodmere resident, is the president of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools Endowment Fund, an organization comprising alumni, families and friends of Hewlett-Woodmere schools. It raises money for scholarships and educational programs, such as Hewlett High School’s Virtual Enterprise program, in which students create virtual businesses and compete with other schools that offer the same program.

Roblin said that all of the proceeds from Arts Below Sunrise would go to the Endowment Fund so its members can continue to award scholarships and fund educational programs. “This will really benefit the Endowment Fund and bring the community together,” he said.

Bob Block, executive director of the Woodmere-based Five Towns Community Chest said he decided to work with the Endowment Fund and the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association in the hope of building a crowd for the run and the festival. “It’s all about collaboration,” Block said. “Hopefully people from out of the area and local residents will think more highly of Hewlett-Woodmere merchants.”

Tobias said he anticipates that the festival will unite the community through arts and music. “My hope is that the Five Towns community will not need to leave the area to enjoy music and art,” he said. “I also hope that it will foster an effort to establish venues in Hewlett and Woodmere where people can go to enjoy and listen to live music.”

Demonstrations by the Cornell Cooperative Extension, a child safety program organized by the Town of Hempstead’s Mobile Town Hall and an exhibit by Five Towns artist Charlotte Strongwater are slated to be part of the festival. The Hewlett and Woodmere fire departments are also expected to participate, Roblin said.

Block said he thinks the festival will raise the Hewlett-Woodmere Business Association’s profile, attract money for the Endowment Fund and shine a positive spotlight on the neighborhoods the Five Towns Community Chest serves. “Each and every community event that makes the neighborhood a better place to live helps Chest carry out our mission,” he said.

The Arts Below Sunrise festival is scheduled to get under way at 11 a.m., following the 5K run, which is slated to start at 9:30. The festival will take place along Broadway, between Conklin Avenue in Woodmere and Trinity Place in Hewlett, by the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library. The run will begin and end at Broadway and Conklin Avenue in Woodmere.

For more information, visit

artsbelowsunrise.com.