7 family-friendly festivals happening on Long Island this month
Shelly Davis tries out the hula hoops with her daughter, Emma, 8, at Arts in the Plaza in Long Beach on Aug. 13. Credit: Linda Rosier
Barbershop quartet, empanada and zeppole eating contests, apple picking — all this is on tap at festivals coming up on Labor Day weekend and into September across Long Island. Here’s a peek at what’s in store:
ON SATURDAY
At Arts in the Plaza, local artists display and sell handcrafted jewelry and gifts as well as photography and fine art. Artwork has included glassware, paintings made using toothpicks, tie-dyed throws, dried wreaths, beaded pouches, dog treat jars and more.
“You can meet each artist at their booth and hear the stories behind their creations,” director Sammi Metzger says of the "exclusively handcrafted" market. There’s also a free Kids Art Station tent with a place to sit and sketch pads for kids to draw on.
The festival occurs each Saturday through Oct. 28 and includes live music at 10 a.m. and at noon. From 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 23, Arts in the Plaza is hosting a free Centennial Night celebrating the 100th anniversary of Long Beach with Half Step, a Grateful Dead cover band.
WHEN | WHERE 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Kennedy Plaza, 1 W. Chester St., Long Beach, 516-476-2473, artsintheplaza.com; no admission fee. Centennial Night, 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 23.
ON SUNDAY
The Labor Day Weekend Street Fair in Ronkonkoma features musical entertainment all day, children’s bounce rides and more than 200 vendors.
“We’ll have a 40-piece band and a barbershop quartet,” says Kevin Hyms, president of the Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce. The Atlantic Symphony Orchestra kicks things off at 11 a.m. Island Empanada will be running the first empanada eating contest at 2 p.m., rewarding the entrant who eats the most empanadas in a giveyn time frame.
WHEN | WHERE 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Hawkins Ave., 631-963-2796, ronkonkomachamber.com; no admission fee.
Haitian Labor Day Fest at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow is a cultural event that's been a tradition for more than a decade on the Sunday before Labor Day.
Haitian musical performers including Nu Look and Djakout will entertain, and there is food for sale. There's also entertainment for kids, with a play bus on hand from 4 to 8 p.m., says Urbain Richard, CEO of Venus International Productions.
WHEN | WHERE 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday, Field 6 at Eisenhower Park, 718-257-5744. Cost is $50 per adult and $30 per child younger than 14.
ALL WEEKEND
Magic performances, a zeppole-eating contest, fireworks and more are in store at the Feast of Mother Cabrini, which returns to Brentwood after a two-year break due to the pandemic.
Newton Shows will have every amusement ride it owns at the event for four nights over Labor Day weekend. The festival will feature Italian and Latino carnival foods.
Magical illusion shows are scheduled for 6 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The zeppole contest is at 9 p.m. Saturday, rewarding the first entrant to completely eat and swallow 10 zeppole. Fireworks shoot off at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Labor Day offers a perk for children as they get ready to head back to school — Monday is Read & Ride Day, and any child through eighth grade who reads three books and downloads the form found on the Newtown Shows website will get either three free rides or $15 off the $39.95 at-the-door pay-on-price bracelet. (Bracelets can be purchased online in advance for $29.95.)
WHEN | WHERE 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 4 to 10 p.m. Monday at Suffolk Community College campus, Crooked Hill Rd., newtonshows.com; Admission, parking and shows are free, but rides and food are a la carte.
ALL MONTH
The Honeycrisp Apple Festival at Harbes Farms Jamesport is slated for 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 1223 Route 25, Jamesport, 631-494-4796, harbesfamilyfarm.com/harbes-jamesport.
The six-acre orchard offers an Apple Express to chauffeur visitors to the ripest rows of apples. Singer-songwriter Glenn Jochum is scheduled to play free live music in the courtyard from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, and singer/guitarist Deanna Hudson takes the stage on Sunday to play pop and classic rock. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 17 and 18, the Harbes Sunflower Festival introduces a new maze, with a bridge at the end overlooking the field. Nick Kerzner is scheduled to perform original music as well as covers from the ‘60s to today in the courtyard from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 17. On Sept. 18, singer/songwriter Bryan Gallo will perform with guitar and harmonica. The Robin Hood Trivia Challenge Corn Maze and hayrides will also be available at both weekend festivals. Admission to both festivals is free, but mazes, hayrides and apples have individual or combination fees ranging from $7 to $26 per person, depending on chosen activities.
The Harbes Orchard’s Annual Apple Harvest runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 10 and 11 at Harbes Orchard, 5698 Sound Ave., Riverhead, 631-683-8388, harbesorchard.com.
Admission is $22 to $31 per person, which includes at least a three-pound bag of u-pick apples. Visitors will be able to ride the Apple Express to the 15-acre orchard’s ripest rows of apples. Guitarist Matt Taylor provides live music both days from noon to 5 p.m. Visitors can also pick pumpkins from the vine, take pony rides, check out the vendors and sip wine. There’s also a Robin Hood Trivia Challenge Corn Maze at the Riverhead location.
The Harbes Annual Pumpkin Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 24 and 25 at 715 Sound Avenue, Mattituck, 631-482-7641, harbesfamilyfarm.com.
Pumpkin picking off the vine in a pumpkin patch is 79 to 89 cents per pound at two different pumpkin patches. The south u-pick pumpkin patch is across from the farmstand on Sound Avenue and offers concession foods, a "Wizard of Oz"-themed corn maze, a hayride and live music, with activities paid for a la carte or combo. The Barnyard Pumpkin Patch is adjacent to the Harbes Barnyard Adventure. Entry to the Barnyard Adventure ranges from $23.95 to $28.95 depending on activities, which include pig races, musical hayride, bounce pillows, a trike track, obstacle course, musical animatronic chicken show and more. Free live music is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
