Just in case your children have started to tell you they’re a little bored with summer vacation, we’re here to remind you that there are many opportunities for fun and excitement straight through to fall. Below we highlight 12 fairs and festivals to keep everyone busy, while offering some cultural and history lessons along the way.
Celebrate Ethnic Traditions
It’s believed that ancient highland chieftains of Scotland used a variety of games to help them select the strongest men for their armies. Each year at Old Westbury Gardens some of these games are recreated. This year the annual Scottish Games will be held on Aug. 28, from 10 am until 5 pm. The event is co-hosted by the Long Island Scottish Clan MacDuff and the Grand Opening Ceremony begins at 12:30 pm with bagpipers marching down the North Lawn. Among the games are the Caber Toss, Stone Put and the Sheaf Toss.
In addition to the games are performances of Celtic dance, magic, folk music, bagpipes and kids activities like a tug-of-war, children’s Caber Toss, pony rides, face painting and a petting zoo. Food booths will offer Scottish specialties such as meat pies. Guests can also bring a picnic lunch or dine at the Café in the Woods. Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for those over 62; $5 for children ages 7-12; and children ages 6 and under free. Call 516-333-0048 or visit www.oldwestburygardens.org.
There will literally be dancing in the streets at the Polish Town Street Fair and Polka Festival to be held Aug. 21 and 22 from 10 am until 6 pm at Pulaski Street, Lincoln and Osborn Avenues in Riverhead. There are Polish foods, a re-enactment of a Polish wedding, Polish music and of course Polka dancing. Admission to the fair is free. The Polka Dance Festival in Polonaise Park on Saturday from 5 pm until midnight is $13 for adults and $5 for children under age 13. Call 631-369-1616 or visit www.polishtownusa.com.
Hofstra University in Hempstead will be holding its Italian Experience Festival on Sept. 19, from 11 am until 5 pm. Italian music, dancing children’s activities and of course plenty of Italian goodies to mangia. Call 516-463-6582.
Celebrate Native American traditions at the Paumanauke Powwow at Babylon Town Hall Park on Aug. 14, from 10 am until 10 pm and Aug. 15, from 10 am until 5 pm at the. There will also be Native American dance competitions, drums, food and more. The fee is $8 for adults, $4 for seniors and children ages 5 to 12. Call 631-587-3696.
Another event celebrating these traditions will be held Shinnecock Powow Sept. 3 through 6. There will be Native American food, crafts and ceremonial dances. The fee is $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and children ages 6 to 11. Call 631-283-6143 or visit www.shinnecocknation.com.
Celebrate History
The Long Island Fair at Old Bethpage Restoration Village will take place on Sept. 30 through Oct. 3. This recreated 19th century fair with pony rides, prize-winning vegetables, corn husking contests, brass band concerts, puppet shows and more is sure to provide plenty of entertainment for 21st century guests. The fair runs from 10 am until 5 pm. Call 516-512-8400 or visit www.lifair.org. Admission is $12 for adults; $8 for children ages 5 through 12 and seniors age 60 and older.
Travel further back in time and witness jousting, archery,and other Medieval-style entertainment with Castlegould, a reproduction of a 12th century Castle as the backdrop at Sands Point Preserve in Port Washington. Vendors attired in Medieval garb will offer 21st century guests the opportunity to purchase Renaissance Era accessories like silver and leather jewelry, swords and daggers. There will even be a storming of the castle. This year’s Medieval Festival will be held Sept. 4 and 5 and Sept. 11 and 12 from 11am until 5 pm. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 4-14. Children under 4 are free. Call 516-571-7900.
Celebrate the Sea
Sail on the Priscilla, enjoy the fruits of the sea and listen to music performed by a variety of bands, among them Stanton Anderson Band, Little Cliff and the Homegrown String Band at the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville on Aug. 28 and 29, 10 am until 6 pm. Also at the 19th Annual Seafood, Craft and Music Festival will be the opportunity for kids to meet pirates and create nautical crafts. Admission is $5. Children under age 5 are free. Call 631-447-8679 or visit www.limaritime.org.
This year’s Fall Harvest and Seafood Festival at Captree State Park in West Islip will be held Sept. 11 and 12, from 11 am until 5 pm. Admission is free, but there’s a $8 parking fee. Crab races, boat rides, scavenger hunt and pirates are part of the fun. Call 631-669-0449 for more information.
On Sept. 25 and 26, Greenport will be holding a Maritime Festival from 11 am until 5pm. There will be whale boat races, a clam chowder contest, music, craft demonstrations and Captain Kidd’s Alley. Call 631-477-2100 or visit www.eastendseaport.org.
Celebrate Pickles?
Festivals celebrating seafood makes sense on our island, but pickles? Pickles were once grown in abundance in Greenlawn. This year’s Pickle Festival will take place at the John Gardiner Farm at 900 Park Ave. in Greenlawn, from 11 am - 4 pm on Sept. 25. There will be homemade pickles jams and jellies, pickle-flavored popcorn, fried pickles, pickle ornaments, pickle pens, pickle-scented soap and even pickle-shaped bandages. Farm-grown vegetables, baked goods and family activities will also be part of the festivities.
Another popular crop, the potato, will also be featured at the Pickle Fest. Greenlawn-Centerport Historic Society director, Deanne Rathke says this year’s event will have several potato digging demonstrations with a 100-year-old potato digger pulled by a tractor. Families can fill a bag of freshly dug potatoes for $4. Admission is $3. Call 631-754-1180 for more information.
Celebrate Apple Pie
Autumn means apples are ripe for the picking and apples are the theme of the day on Sept. 19 at the Sherwood Jayne House in Setauket. On the agenda are an apple pie baking contest, hay rides, pony rides, historic house tours, apple relay races, open-hearth Colonial cooking demos, featuring you guessed it – apples. The annual Long Island Apple Festival will take place from 11 am until 4:30 pm. Colonial games such as tug-o-war, the opportunity to make an apple-head doll and traditional period music will add to the festivities.
To participate in the apple pie baking contest, contestants must fill out an entry form by Sept. 18. Go to www.tvhs.org/ApplePieContest09.pdf to register online. Entrants will receive one free festival ticket for each pie entry. The fee is $6 for adults; $4 for seniors and children ages 2-12. Call 631-692-4664 for more information.
Diana Erbio writes the Frugal Fun and Island Attractions columns for Long Island Parent magazine and looks forward to celebrating ethnic traditions, history, the sea and apple pie.
