Hundreds filled Main Street in the Village of Farmingdale this weekend for its 25th annual Columbus Day Weekend Fair and Firemen’s carnival. Running from Oct. 10 – Oct. 14, the five-day event included dozens of carnival rides and games for all ages, live music, a street fair, a Fire Department barbeque, a parade and a fireworks display.
“The fire department, village and community are commemorating a silver anniversary,” said Mayor Ralph Ekstrand. “Fire Chief Frank Romano and the Fire Department are working hard to make this year’s fair the best of the 25 years.”
Over the weekend, shoppers flocked to Farmingdale for its two-day street fair, where local businesses, restuarants, and vendors from around the region were invited to showcase some of their food and sales items for the fair-going public.
For the past five or so years, Cascarino’s pizzeria and restaurant has participated in the street fair, giving patrons a chance to taste some of their delectable cuisine.
Dan Kornfeld, who handles marketing for Cascarino’s, said that this year’s street fair had a really good turnout. “There are a lot of people,” Kornfeld said. “It’s been steady, as long as the weather holds up.”
Although the flow of hungry patrons, waiting in line for some authetic Italian food, did not let up, not everyone found this year’s street fair as successful as in years past.
“It was not as good as last year,” said Angeles Rivera, who works for Dominican 4 in Farmingdale. “I think we did better last year because there were more people.”
Every Sunday, Jim Thompson, owner of a Taste of Long Island, hosts the Farmingdale farmer’s market, which provides farm fresh produce for local shoppers. Despite staying open during the street fair, the market’s vendors did not find sales improved much.
“Our vendors did ok… on a normal Sunday market we tend to do better,” Thompson said. “The benefit to us today is to reach and let them know we’re here.”
