Vendors, performers and residents packed Post Avenue on Saturday, May 31, for the spring Westbury Street Fair, defying weather forecasts that nearly canceled the community tradition.
“This is one of my favorite things that we do in the village every year,” said Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro. “It just gets a lot of people out, and I get a chance to meet folks I don’t see as often. Sometimes we chat about issues, and other times it’s just a nice way to catch up.”
Organized by the Westbury Business Improvement District in partnership with the village, the fair featured more than a dozen food trucks, novelty vendors, musical acts, and roaming performers, including a man on stilts. A petting zoo, however, was canceled due to uncertainty in the forecast.
“Considering what we were looking at weather-wise on Wednesday and Thursday, we thought we were going to have to cancel,” said village trustee Vincent Abbatiello. “But it’s an amazing day, the weather is cooperating, and people are showing up.”
Among the vendors was Renee Requena, owner of Dazzling Designs New York, who started her handbag and backpack business last fall with her high school-age son.
“We wanted to start a business together, something that women would always want, something to make them feel pretty,” Rerequena said. “We have summer crochet bags made by my mom, marshmallow bags by my sister, and novelty pieces like pianos and cars that match people’s personalities.”
Also returning to the fair was Gino Gagliardi, who sells IGP-certified olive oil imported from his uncle’s small five-acre family farm in Martana, Sicily.
“My uncle is 81 and still runs the farm,” Gagliardi said. “Each bottle has its own serial number, it’s like a birth certificate of oil. The government analyzes it like wine, providing the flavor profile and polyphenol levels. Not every oil gets that.”
Vanessa Esposito, executive director of the Westbury Business Improvement District, said the goal of the fair is to highlight both local shops and outside vendors.
“We do this twice a year, in spring and fall, to bring the community together and support our businesses,” Esposito said. “We were worried about the weather, but we’re thrilled with the turnout. Everyone else showed up, and we did good.”
The fall edition of the Westbury Street Fair is scheduled for September, when organizers hope to welcome back the petting zoo and continue building on the fair’s growing success.
