Locals pack Rockaway Avenue for Community Fest 2019

The strong aroma of jerk chicken filled the air, as couples held hands and strolled, mothers pushed excited babies in strollers and teenagers and adults walked, talked and shopped while children skipped and scurried up and down Valley Stream’s Rockaway Avenue during the eighth annual Community Fest last Saturday.

More than 1,000 Valley Stream residents and visitors from neighboring communities attended the festival — now in its eighth year — to play games for prizes, shop, have their faces painted, get temporary henna tattoos, jump in bounce houses, munch on desserts and cotton candy, and check out musical and other performances.

Local businesses set up tables along the street for people to shop for clothing, jewelry, toys, hats, colorful rugs, wooden creations and knick-knacks.

Each year, the event is organized by an eight-person Community Fest Committee made up volunteers from the neighborhood, and is co-sponsored by the Village of Valley Stream and the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce, among many other local businesses and clubs.

Many of the attendees and participants said they found the event brought community spirit and unity.

“My favorite part of Community Fest is the food and seeing different cultures represented,” said Richard Ocampo, 50, a Valley Stream resident for 22 years. “It brings unity because it helps bring friends together, and allows for people to get to know others better.”

“I enjoyed the sense of community that this event brings,” said La-vena Francis, 40, an eight-year Valley Stream resident. “I think this event brings aspects of the community together by allowing members of the Valley Stream community to experience each other’s culture through music, art and food.”

People also found that the presence of certain businesses at the festival served as an introduction and a reminder of what Valley Stream has to offer.

“Community Fest allows people to learn new things and businesses get exposure,” Christian Grant, a Valley Stream native, said. “I think the whole community coming together for this purpose is such a great tradition.”

“I liked walking around and looking at the different vendors,” Ariel Yeni, 19, of Lynbrook said. “Having vendors represented at this event gets people more involved and allows them to learn new things.”

Other people found that the festival embraced diversity in a way that they never witnessed previously.

As a woman of Caribbean descent, Kameisha Gouldbourne, 36, a seven-year Valley Stream resident, found that in the four years she has been attending the event, there were more cultures represented at Community Fest than ever.

“This is the biggest turnout that I’ve ever seen at Community Fest,” she said. “I enjoyed the Jamaican section, and I saw different cultures represented all in one area.”

“The food really brought diversity because a lot of people gathered to enjoy it,” said Norman Spence, 35, a three-year Valley Stream resident. “This is my second year coming, and I saw diversity like never before because of what the vendors are selling.”

“They have so much more culture and diverse things,” said Alanna Mcenroe, 35, a Valley Stream resident who has attended Community Fest the eight years since its inception. “This festival really brought people together, and that’s why I never stopped coming.”

Marie McNair, chairwoman of the Community Fest Committee, said she was thrilled at the community spirit and diversity on display, and took it as a sign that all of the work she put into organizing the event had paid off.

“It made it worthwhile,” she said. “This is why I do what I do.”