The Syosset-Woodbury Chamber of Commerce continued its long-standing tradition with the annual street fair, highlighting local businesses while providing a family-friendly atmosphere that drew scores of participants to the area.
Held on the delightfully sunny afternoon of Sept. 20, the Syosset Street Fair took place along Jackson Avenue, from Underhill Boulevard to the Syosset Fire Department building. The streets were packed with tables and tents featuring both local merchants as well as vendors from out-of-town—150 in total—with a plethora of fun activities available for local residents, ranging from food, inflatable rides, music and more.
Chanbir Kaur, chamber resident and manager of Bridgehampton National Bank in Woodbury, said that the fair is a way for the chamber to give back to the community each year while also helping to stimulate the local economy as well.
“We want to bring the businesses and the community together,” she said. “There are a lot of local mom and pop shops here today that showcase their businesses, but the last two years we brought in an event planner who got us 30 new vendors from outside Syosset … we have stores to rent, so these people can come see what the community has to offer and possibly take their businesses here.”
Providing entertainment of the musical variety were students both from local music academies and public schools. Yi Qian, owner and director of Syosset’s iSchool of Music and Art, had several of his young rock and roll protégées—Huntington’s Marc Malafronte, Syosset’s Sean Breslin and Syosset’s Zach Levine of the band Graffiti—on the Town of Oyster Bay’s Showmobile, who belted out a high-energy rendition of AC/DC’s “TNT” like they were seasoned rock pros.
With many supporters of the trio in the crowd—all brandishing cell phones to record their performance—Qian said that events like the Street Fair affords his students the exciting opportunity to test out their skills in front of real, live audiences.
“It’s great for the kids to be able to have the chance to showcase their talents in a real, life concert setting,” he said. “They have their parents and their friends here and it’s just a great way to give them the experience of being real rock and roll artists … the Syosset Street Fair is great for many business in the community in this way.”
Heather Glass makes the trek every September to the Syosset Street Fair all the way from Wantagh, as she said she had friends who live the area who introduced her to it several years back. With lots of great vendors selling everything from clothes, jewelry and assorted knick-knacks—not to mention delicious food and treats—there’s nothing quite like it back home, she said.
“I think it’s great. It’s got a lot of activities for the kids, a lot of free things to do and businesses to try out,” she said. “I always make a point of coming … my friends and I all come here with our kids and everyone has a lot of fun.”
Lisa Fiocco was intensely engaged at the pumpkin decorating table with her two daughters, Rosina and Angelina. After that, the plan was to hit the inflatable slides and then quench their thirst with some lemonade by the Showmobile, she said.
“We love it. We come every year since we moved to Syosset,” she said. “We enjoy doing crafts and checking out the new local businesses. Last year my friends and I discovered Wine ad Design, which is an art studio where you can paint, drink wine and socialize. It was new at the time and we love it. So, in that regard, the fair is great for kids and grown-ups as well.”
Kaur, a Jericho resident and active member of the chamber who just became its president for the first time this year, said that the street fair has taking over Jackson Avenue annually for more than 10 years and counting, always making sure that they have plenty of entertainment to keep locals coming back for more each year.
“We do a lot of events for businesses, but this one, we do for both businesses and the community,” she said. “Turnout this year has been very good—better than last year—and we’ve been very busy. We really appreciate the public turning out to support local business, as when you support your neighborhood, you help everyone in it.”
