By Scott Brinton
It arrives each year like a whirlwind, a four-day fair celebrating family -- and Bellmore -- that attracts tens of thousands of people from near and far.
We are, of course, speaking of Bellmore's Annual Family Street Festival, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores, European American Bank and a State Grant from Senator Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R, Merrick-Eighth District). This year's fair -- the 14th in all -- promises to be "bigger and better than ever," say festival organizers.
Robin Karp, the chamber executive director and festival coordinator, said, "This fabulous family festival gives chamber members a chance to say thank you to the community for shopping and doing business locally. The [fair] affords many of the more than 330 members of this organization not only the chance to 'show off their stuff,' but also an opportunity to give something back...."
That "something" includes a total of 107 carnival rides, educational booths, musical concerts and children's activities. A full-color Festival Guide/Events Map, published by the Bellmore Herald and included in this week's issue, gives fair-goers a detailed overview of all the fun.
The fair, touted as Nassau County's largest family festival, gets under way on Thursday, September 21 and runs through Sunday, September 24. Last year's festival attracted an estimated 120,000 people. This year, that figure could jump even higher.
One of the fair's biggest attractions has traditionally been the Silver Dollar Show Midway, with rides such as the Gravitron, the Zipper, the Big Ferris Wheel and the Kamikaze. Paul Paretta, the chamber co-president, said, "For those who want to enjoy carnival rides at a bargain price, they can attend the rides on Thursday or Friday and take advantage of our unbelievable pay-one-price deal. And then on Saturday and Sunday, we have added special smaller kids' rides in our Kids Expo 2000, also with a pay-one-price bargain just for those children under 10 years of age."
Another of the fair's big crowd-pleasers is always the crafts fair. Bill Wilgus, the crafts coordinator, said, "Our Crafts and Collectibles Fair, sponsored by EAB, is back by popular demand." At the fair, more than 100 vendors will be showing their wares, ranging from hand-made jewelry, hand-painted clothing, wood crafts, lawn ornaments, among many other treasures.
What family street festival would be complete without a Kids Expo, which this year is sponsored by Ridgewood Savings Bank. Dorothy Medico, the Kids Expo director, said, "Our Kids Expo 2000 has become one of the more popular attractions because it is geared toward children under 10 years of age."
Sandy Insull, the Kids Expo coordinator, said, "It's all hands-on, and the kids are totally intrigued with the varied activities. This wonderful educational and stimulating area will feature kid-sized rides, a petting zoo, pony and horse rides, karate and dance demonstrations, pasta picture frame-making, jewelry-making, Story Time with Borders Books, sand art, spin art, cookie decorating, cartoon photos, Play Dough fun, wax art and Reptiles on the Move."
Also, as he did last year, puppeteer Roman Valdes will perform with his costumed, life-like marionettes. If that were not enough, Radio Disney and the Mobile Magic Kingdom will be on hand.
The Town of Hempstead's Showmobile, sponsored by Mystic Cooling, will feature live entertainment "from morning until night," said Showmobile coordinator Bob Schade. "We have music to suit everyone's tastes, including country, rock and Broadway tunes."
Chamber Co-President Jeff Lovering said, "There's plenty of seating, and festival-goers can enjoy sitting a spell and listening to the on-going music before visiting some of the other wonderful events and attractions at this year's [fair]."
A new and extremely popular attraction at last year's festival was the Information and Technology Expo. The Technology Expo returns this year and is sponsored by Dr. Denis Lattanzi. Mark Meyerowitz, the technology coordinator, said, "Our Info. and Tech. Expo is sure to take visitors into the new millennium with cutting-edge technology and demonstrations of what hardware, software and electronic equipment are available."
Don't fret much about what food to bring to the fair. Plenty will be offered at the food court, from fair favorites like pizza, hot dogs and curly fries, to souvlaki, gyros, funnel cakes and soft-pretzels. Local non-profit groups, such as the Bellmore Lions, Knights of Columbus and Sons of Italy will be selling a variety of foods to raise funds for their organizations.
Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh is making sure there will be plenty of porta-potties and garbage cans throughout the fair grounds. Changing tables will also be available in the Kids Expo.
Free parking can be found in the areas surrounding the fair grounds (see festival map inside), and a free shuttle bus from the Merrick Long Island Rail Road station on Merrick Avenue will be provided, courtesy of the Roslyn Savings Bank.
Festival admission is free. For more information, one may call the Festival Hotline at (516) 679-1875 or visit there website
http://www.bellmorechamber.com
Also, don't forget to check out the Bellmore Herald's booth, located where we've always been on Pettit Avenue in front of Petit Florist. Check out www.liherald.com for any Bellmore Family Street Festival updates throughout the week.
