A day filled with family fun, good eats, live music, performance, pony rides, competition and local shopping is coming to Mineola in October.
“Our street fair is about making a real, fun family day, and also supporting and highlighting all the local businesses in town,” said Tony Lubrano, who heads the Mineola Chamber’s street fair committee.
The annual Mineola street fair, which Lubrano said has been running since at least the mid-’90s, is set for Sunday, Oct. 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jericho Turnpike and Willis Avenue.
He said Mineola’s stands out from other local street fairs in the fall because it focuses on giving back to the community and creating a day of fun activities for families, rather than making money.
“Ours is very different from most other street fairs. Most places run a street fair simply as a money-making endeavor,” said Lubrano. “We make it more of a Family Fun Day. If you go to a regular street fair, once you walk through it once, you’re done in an hour and you go home. It’s more of a flea market type of atmosphere. Ours is more of an all-day event.”
To accomplish that, Lubrano said this year’s festival will have five live bands, performances from JD Dance Studio and Herricks Community Players, a petting zoo, pony rides, mini golf, electric go karts, a dunk tank, a food court with a wide range of trucks, a beer garden from Lost Farmer Brewery, a pavilion with more live music and food from the Irish American Society and inflatable children’s rides and games.
There will also be a slew of competitions and events throughout the day sponsored by local businesses: Mineola Bicycle will be holding a “slowest bike race,” where kids win by getting from Point A to Point B the slowest without touching the ground, Mineola Diner will hold a pancake eating contest, Tulum Tacos & Tequila will hold a taco eating contest, Harry Katz Carpet will provide a big rug to host a baby crawling contest and Pet Story will host and judge a pet contest.
“We have all these different local organizations, different businesses that are not only participating by setting up a booth or a station, but are also participating by holding interactive events to give them more exposure,” Lubrano said.
All that will be taking place amid roughly 130 vendors who will take over Jericho Turnpike from Mineola Boulevard to Venezia Garden Center and three blocks of Willis Avenue.
“Most street fairs are nowhere near the size and scope that we offer,” Lubrano said. “It’s a pretty substantial footprint. This is not a little fair in the park kind of thing.”
It’s grown significantly since its start over 30 years ago, when it initially only took up a portion of Memorial Park.
He encouraged families to come out for the festivities.
“We have something for everyone,” he said. “It’s a very interactive, involved fair.”
The festival’s rain date is set for Oct. 12.
Read more: Syosset Street Fair to return Sept. 14, expects 10k attendees
