Festivals Are fun for all

Temperatures are falling and days are getting shorter, but two Queens neighborhoods are keeping summer’s spirit alive into September.
On Saturday, September 8, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park will hold annual town festivals, offering rides, games and family-oriented entertainment.
The Richmond Hill Block Association’s (RHBA) 34th Annual Park Fair will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Forest Park, while the Rockaway Boulevard Family Day Street Festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park.
The Park Fair will stretch along Myrtle Avenue, which will be closed from Freedom Drive to Park Lane South. From live music to raffles, RHBA leaders say the fair has something for everyone.
“It’s unique, and it’s toward the end of the summer,” said RHBA President Simcha Waisman. “If people want to go to eat food, if they want to go to buy jewelry, each family will find what they’re looking for.”
“Every year, it improves,” said Wendy Bowne, Vice President of RHBA. “We’ve had more fun things for kids to do the last few years. It’s incredible how much things have changed.”
When the fair began in the early 1970s, it was a gathering of 200 people. Now, said Waisman, over 30,000 show up.
“It’s just a mass of heads moving around,” said Waisman. “Vendors always come up to us and ask for an application so that they can be here the following year.”
“A lot of people run through the fair and pretty much get all their holiday shopping done,” added Bowne. “We have families calling every year, asking when the next fair is because they don’t want to miss it.”
This year’s Park Fair has little that hasn’t been there before, so residents know what to expect.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Waisman. “People think it’s fun as is.”
One of the most popular events is the raffle, which will give away gift certificates to stores and restaurants, passes to the pro football and baseball Halls of Fame, and autographed memorabilia from local celebrities like Eli Manning of the New York Giants, Jamie Langenbrunner of the New Jersey Devils, and Frankie J of Z100 radio.
The fair will also feature a pet costume contest, inviting locals to dress up their cats and dogs show them off before a panel of judges.
“It’s like a little Miss America pageant,” said Bowne.
Not far from the Park Fair, The South Ozone Park Development Corporation will be hosting the Rockaway Boulevard Family Day Street Festival, closing Rockaway Boulevard between 131st and 135th Streets.
The festival will offer live entertainment, vendors, games and rides for kids.
“It’s a popular event,” said Martha Taylor Butler, Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Michele Titus, who sponsors the event. Butler explained that the Street Festival had not run in about 15 years due to lack of funding before being reborn last year.
“The people started asking local leaders to bring it back,” said Butler, who is part of a committee that helps plan and finance the event.
Butler said among the festival’s most popular aspects are the many ethnic dance groups that perform live during the festival.
“We have a very diverse community here in Ozone Park, and our festival is reflective of that,” she said.