(Photo by Michael Scro)
The Mineola Street Fair will relocate from the downtown area to Jericho Turnpike in September. The Mineola Village Board approved the change last month at the request of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re getting a nice crowd now and we’re ready to play in the big leagues,” Mineola Chamber of Commerce Vice President Tony Lubrano said, noting most big fairs are held on Jericho Turnpike. “We want to spread the wealth. We are a chamber of commerce and our goal is to help businesses in town.”
This year, the fair will sit on Jericho Turnpike, from the east side of Mineola Boulevard over Willis Avenue to Nassau Boulevard. The event will also stretch north on Willis to Linden Road and South to Washington Avenue.
“The executive board of the chamber asked us for the move,” Mayor Scott Strauss said. “They want to try it on Jericho Turnpike. I don’t see the harm in it. Let’s try it out and see what happens.”
Mineola Boulevard will be open to traffic in north and south directions.
“The fair is also subject to road closures, which are handled by the police department,” Village Clerk Joseph Scalero said.
Since 2011, the fairgrounds stretched from Main Street to First Street and Second Street on Mineola Boulevard to Willis Avenue and west to Harrison Avenue.
“There’s events going on almost every weekend in the fall [on Jericho],” Lubrano said. “This is not a permanent move. Perhaps we’ll rotate the fair, but that’s off in the distance right now.”
Previously, the fair had operated out of Memorial Park. Lubrano said the chamber considered Jericho Turnpike before relocating to Main Street. The fair then expanded to the bulk of the downtown area just north of the Nassau County Legislature.
“Jericho Turnpike is a big undertaking because we’re closing part of a state road,” Lubrano said. “We started small in our first year and then grew from there.”
The current fair had seen decent turnout since relocating to the north side of the Mineola Long Island Rail Road Station. Vendors lined up and down the streets featuring local businesses and restaurants, live performances and various entertainment for kids.
“Let’s see if the move makes a difference,” Lubrano said. “The downtown area was a great spot, but we want to feature the entire town.”
The 2015 fair is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a rain date of Sunday, Oct. 4.
