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Lead singer Que led the performance with The Unique Band...

Lead singer Que led the performance with The Unique Band NYC at the Nautical Mile Festival Saturday. Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez

Cloudy skies and a light drizzle didn't dampen the mood at the Nautical Mile Festival in Freeport, the annual and unofficial opening to the boating and fishing seasons in the waterfront village. 

Up and down Woodcleft Avenue, local businesses — from artists to food trucks — catered to hundreds who braved gloomy weather on the busy strip. Live music, played by The Unique Band NYC, pierced through the fog while a symphony of smells from restaurants and grills wafted through the air.

"It's a reunion, people come back to town," said Jackie Kimlingen, a fifth-generation Freeport resident who said she's never missed the festival, now in its 36th year. "It's the lifeblood of summertime."

Freeport Mayor Robert T. Kennedy said more than 70 vendors were at this year's festival. Joined by village, county and state officials, he cut a ribbon signifying the start of summer in the village. 

"This really kicks it off," Kennedy said.

"It is a festival each and every day and each and every night in Freeport during the summer," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. "It's a great place where everybody can get together in the summertime."

BiggCee DaChef of Big Boyz Grill Master in Freeport was one of 70 vendors at the festival. Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez

For locals, the event is an annual ritual, while business owners use it as a way to get in front of new customers — and to tell them that Freeport is open during other seasons, too.

"I can't just rely on Freeport residents that live here, they've all seen it and done it," said Millie Kalend, 79, who is in her 34th summer running Sea Horse Gift Shop on the Nautical Mile. "We want other people to come."

Nestled on Woodcleft Avenue, Robyn Workman, 61, owns Sparkle On Stage, a community theater that features original plays, programs for children and other events. She said the Freeport Nautical Mile Festival brings people from around Long Island and parts of New York City — making it valuable to the village.

"They know this opens our season," Workman said. "What we'd like people to know more is that we're here all year, it's not just a summer community."

Richard Branciforte, executive director of the Nautical Mile Business Organization, which represents businesses along the strip, said the event is a way for residents and their families to find a new favorite lunch spot or a business they didn't know before. 

"Any of these events ... the real value isn't necessarily that you'll sell a lot," Branciforte said. "The value in any event is that it brings people in to discover places that they wouldn't have normally discovered."

"It's tradition at this point," said Meghan Martinez, 38, of Freeport, who attended with her husband and son. "It's a part of home."

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