What a weekend! The roller coaster of political reporting over the past month emanating from Belmont Park, NYRA and Albany was suddenly eclipsed by the heartbreaking news that I’ll Have Another would be scratched and sadly 2012 would be yet another year without a Triple Crown champion. But all was not lost. The Belmont Stakes Festival, a week of events sponsored by or in cooperation with NYRA, bookending the Belmont Stakes, went off without a hitch. On Sunday, June 2, Elmont kicked off the Belmont Stakes Festival with its Belmont Stakes Parade, Family Field Day and Rotary Club Craft Fair to this weekend’s closing events: the Floral Park Art League’s two-day show at Memorial Park and the Belmont Stakes Street Fair on Tulip Avenue, with quite an exciting little horse race squeezed in on Saturday before 85,811 at Belmont Park.
Thousands enjoyed glorious sunny weather this past Sunday as the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce hosted its latest Belmont Stakes Street Fair. The great diversity of offerings by our local restaurants, taverns, delicatessens, sweet shoppes, our local businesses and clubs once again lined Tulip Avenue for our enjoyment. The wonderful bands playing at each end of Tulip, the bouncy rides, face painting, roving clowns, jugglers and children’s magic acts entertained families as well as a complete cross section of residents and visitors who thoroughly enjoyed the Belmont Stakes Street Fair. The FP Chamber’s latest evolution could only be seen as a rousing success. What started with humble beginnings as Merchant’s Day some 20 years ago now draws thousands to our village each year. Floral Park is proud to serve as a hosting community of Belmont Park and its Belmont Stakes Festival. We are also pleased to join with our neighbors from the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce and NYRA to host this wonderful annual community event. All involved should be congratulated especially the many hardworking members of the Street Fair Committee of the FP Chamber of Commerce, NYRA, our FPDPW and FP Police Department.
