UPDATE: THE EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN: IT WILL BE ON SUNDAY, MAY 26.
May 24, 2013 By Bill Parry
Sunnyside, Queens: This Saturday is the Memorial Day Fair at Sunnyside Gardens Park and its organizers have grown obsessed with the weather.
“I’ve been watching the long-range forecasts for the last month,” said Julie Simonsen, a Sunnyside Gardens Park member and event organizer.
Another organizer, Dawn Sweetman, said: “Last I saw there’s a 50% chance of showers,” she said, adding: “I hope it just blows over.”
The Memorial Day Fair draws nearly 1,000 attendees each year and it’s a major fundraiser for members of Sunnyside Gardens Park. “We’d hate to have to push it back to Sunday’s rain date because fewer people would attend,” Simonsen said.
Fundraising is essential, since members—with help from sponsors–bear the cost of maintaining the private park.
“It was built in 1925 so infrastructure is an ongoing and costly issue,” said Simonsen. “Fundraising is extremely important to keep the park in great shape and safe for the children,” she added.
The Memorial Day fair gets underway at 12:15 pm with a flag raising by members of the Armed Forces.
Over the course of the afternoon, there will be arts & crafts (including kite-making), a kiddie nail salon, face-painting and temporary tattoos.
A Dixie land band will perform–while Silly Billy the Clown, who appears regularly on David Letterman’s show, will wander the grounds. Entertainers from the Big Apple Circus will join in the fun. There will be a bouncy house and rock climbing.
For the adults there will be plenty of wine and beer along with a big barbeque. “We went big with the barbeque,” Simonsen said, adding, “We bought 500 burgers. That’s why we’re concerned about a washout.”
Admission to the event is free. For the first time credit and debit cards can be used to purchase food and children’s items.
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DETAILS: The event starts this Saturday, May 25, from 12: 15 through 5:00pm at Sunnyside Gardens Park. The park is located at 48-21 39th Avenue.
Rain date: Sunday, May 26.
