Rescheduled Belmont Festival
rebounds three weeks later
Mother Nature may not have cooperated on June 7, but the Belmont Festival Committee would not be denied. Due to torrential downpours, the 16th annual event needed to be bumped three weeks after the actual Belmont Stakes was run. As has been the case in past years, there was plenty of family fun available in the shape of entertainment, live music and lots of activities to do for kids of all ages.
Sponsored by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and new partner Stifel Nicolaus Investment Services, the four-hour event enjoyed return engagements from a wide array of bands’ the Fivestone Rock Band, Jerry and the Newcomers, New Vintage Orchestra and Nor’ easter (formerly Speak Easy) and the Village Music Makers. All adding some culture to the proceedings were youngsters from the Broadway Bound Dance Center.
Face painting, carnival games and pony rides added to the festive mood but it was the 5th Annual Belmont Wing-Off that got mouths watering and stomachs growling. Prost Grill and Garten wound up dethroning two-time winner J.P. McGeevers along with competitors Even Flow Bar and Grill, Wings Plus of Port Washington and the Garden City Hotel. Best Wings of Long Island volunteered to help run the event and thanks to the $5 donations required to taste and judge the wares, more than $2000 was raised for the Red Cross and its efforts in the Sandy recovery.
