Carnival games, vendors and thousands of people will fill Post Avenue this Saturday for the annual B.I.D. Street Fair. The street fair serves as a great way to highlight the village of Westbury’s offerings, as well as a great local tradition for residents to enjoy.
“We want to promote everything downtown Westbury has to offer,” said B.I.D. Executive Director Dawn Blinn. “This fair brings people in, they have fun and also get to see Westbury in the way it’s intended—vibrancy, the revitalization efforts, our eateries, new businesses. It’s also something for residents that support the downtown and revitalization, as a thank you to them.”
This year’s fair will see the return of many street fair favorites, including dozens of merchants, food vendors, raffles and Send in the Clowns, which will be providing inflatable carnival rides. There will be live music in the piazza from Center Stage Music Center students, as well as performances from Butchers Blind, Willy and the Poor Boys, the Laia Kay Band and White Lightning.
Several aspects of the fair will also be expanding. This year will see two animal rescue groups, the Italian Greyhound Club of America Rescue and Last Hope, bringing pets to the fair for adoption opportunities. The Greater Westbury Council for the Arts will continue their tradition of having a street chalk mural, where children and adults are invited to get creative and leave their mark on the street for the day.
The Arts Council will also have an outdoor pop-up gallery, a change from last year when they had an exhibit inside a vacant storefront. Arts Council president Patty Eljaiek said she is looking forward to having a chance to highlight the work of the council, as well as art itself.
“The fair enables us to reach a lot more people in one shot,” she said. “We have thousands of people coming through and we can introduce people from all over to the artists that are members of the council. It helps us to encourage and shed a light on art and creativity, and that it can be done everywhere, even with chalk on the street.”
Mayor Peter Cavallaro said he loves the music, food and unity at the street fair, as well as the exposure it affords Westbury.
“I am proud of Westbury and want others to know what we have to offer and how wonderful a community it is,” Cavallaro said. “It is perhaps the annual event that most fully lets people know what Westbury is all about.”
The street fair takes place Saturday, Oct. 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along Post Avenue. The rain date is Sunday, Oct. 4. Visit www.westburybid.org for more information.
