The annual Fresh Pond Road Street Festival is coming back to Ridgewood this September for two days of fun, food, music and entertainment.
The Federazione Italo-Americana Di Brooklyn and Queens will hold the 23rd annual street fair on Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10. It will close down a portion of Fresh Pond Road for a five-block stretch between Palmetto and Menahan streets.
Residents from all over Queens are invited to partake in the two-day event celebrating Italian culture in Ridgewood.
“This is an annual tradition and were proud to be able to share this tradition with the community each year, where people of all ages can come and enjoy the food, entertainment and rides,” said Michael Conigliaro, managing director and adviser of the Federazione. “As the years go on, people who move out of the neighborhood get the opportunity to come back and enjoy time in the neighborhood and enjoy the amenities of the festival.”
The festival will run from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Aside from food and drink vendors, fun games, rides and live entertainment, the festival will also have vendors handing out important and beneficial information to the public in the areas of education and healthcare issues.
All new vendors and not-for-profit organizations are welcome to join the festival and set up a booth. Anyone interested in vending at the festival are asked to call Lucy Dolce, the project director, or Conigliaro at 347-702-1433 and 917-304-6329, respectively.
The festival, however, has seen its share of controversy over the years.
Neighbors have raised concerns over the festival’s usual four-day span, the traffic it causes by shutting down a portion of a major thoroughfare in Ridgewood, the garbage left by some of the vendors after the festival, and even claimed cases of violence.
Back in February, Community Board 5 (CB 5) voted again against the request for a four-day festival this year, and the Mayor’s Office agreed, limiting the festival to only a weekend.
