Thursday, October 1, 2026
One Saturday each June, East Rockaway’s Memorial Park is filled with children’s laughter, marching scouts, bagpipes and book sales. And behind the annual Huckleberry Frolic is a group of volunteers who start work months in advance to make it happen.
The tradition began in 1970 as a fundraiser for the Grist Mill Museum, one of the village’s oldest landmarks, and as a way to bring generations of residents together. The museum traces its roots to a tidal grist mill built in 1688, making it one of the area’s most significant historic structures.
The Frolic returned last Saturday, drawing families from across the community for rides, games, food vendors, a petting zoo, performances and the annual parade through the park, which featured Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, members of Bethany Congregational Church, firefighters, village officials and community groups.
For Regina Cunningham, who chairs the event committee, watching the crowd arrive makes the months of work worthwhile.
“This Frolic, I was sitting on the stage and looking around, saying, ‘Look at all these people and what I did,’” Cunningham said. “You don’t realize how it affects them until the day.”
Cunningham has been involved with the event for five years, and has served as chair for four. She began by helping a friend at the Grist Mill Museum, and her involvement grew into a passion for preserving the building.
“I have a big interest in history,” she said. “The museum is my gem. It has so much history.”
Though the event is intended to raise money to support the museum, Cunningham acknowledged that it often only breaks even as costs continue to rise. The building remains in need of repairs and maintenance, making community support more important than ever.
Beginning months before the Frolic, Cunningham books rides, food trucks and entertainment, secures sponsors and coordinates vendors. “It’s a full-time job,” she said.
During the event, she especially enjoys watching the kids. “The children love the rides,” she said. “Seeing them run from one activity to the next makes me happy.”
Heather Massa, director of the East Rockaway Public Library, helped organize several family activities, including bracelet making, Lego car races and a pet photo contest that attracted dozens of entries. “We got, like, 40 kinds of pets,” Massa said. “Bearded dragons and Ember the hamster, dogs and cats, and a parakeet and a bunny.”
Massa said the Frolic succeeds because it offers something for everyone while bringing neighbors together. “This is why people come to a small town and go here,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about driving. It brings people together for a nice day outside.”
She also hopes more residents will get involved in helping organize future events. “Many years ago, it was, like, 30 people who each had a job, and now there’s less people involved,” Massa said. “It would be great if more community members volunteered.”
For Toni Ventrello, volunteering at the Frolic has become a decades-long tradition. For nearly 30 years, she has helped run the popular used-book table, where donated books are sold to raise funds.
“We have bags for kids to fill up with books for a dollar,” Ventrello said. “Everyone leaves with something.”
After moving to East Rockaway from Queens three decades ago, Ventrello fell in love with the event. “I didn’t know what a Frolic was,” she said. “I fell in love with the small-town, fun event that brings the community together.”
Each year, she said, she looks forward to reconnecting with neighbors she may not see the rest of the year. “You run into them every year at the Huckleberry Frolic,” Ventrello said. “You catch up and find out about their families.”
One of her favorite traditions is the parade. “The little Girl Scouts are so cute with their families,” she said. “It’s the epitome of small-town.”
For Cunningham, Ventrello, Massa and other volunteers, that sense of community is what makes the event special. But with committee membership shrinking from about 20 years ago to just nine this year, organizers say the future of the Frolic depends on residents being willing to lend a hand.
“We need more volunteers,” Cunningham said. “Everyone is so happy when they’re there, and we want the community to be a part of that feeling.”
And that, organizers say, is what the Frolic has always been about: neighbors preserving a tradition that continues to bring village residents together more than five decades after it began.
