New City Street Fair Expands

The New City Street Fair has grown this year. New City Chamber of Commerce President Gary Oteri said the fair will have about 110 vendors on Sunday, which is up about 15 percent from previous years and the most since the street fair’s return in 2010. The fair, which is organized by the New City Chamber of Commerce, takex over South Main Street from Congers Road down to First Street on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine.

“We’ve had a few vendors reach out at the last minute and we’re trying to find space, but we’ve had to tell some we’re all booked up,” Oteri said. “It’s too late to expand it down to Second Street, I think, though. In my estimation, we’d need another 50 vendors to take it down to Second Street to make it not look empty on that end of the fair. I think we could get down to Second Street for the September fair.”

Oteri said more vendors reached out to the chamber this year, which is a big reason for the increase.

“A lot of those vendors that go to street fairs have their own community,” he said. “They all talk, and I think positive word spread about our street fair, so more people are interested in coming.”

Another change is catering more to children and families.

“This year we’ve really geared it toward children more,” Oteri said. “We have a lot of entertainment and rides, and we’ve placed them closer together. I think with a street fair, a lot of times people will come, walk around and do some shopping, and then leave. But if you have more entertainment and more things for families, I think people might make a day out of it. They can come and might want to stay longer.”

The entertainment includes musical performances by the Bel Aires and Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen cover bands. There will be mini golf, go karts and other rides and a stage for musical performances, and a classic car display. There will be bounce houses on the grass in front of the courthouse

“We’re trying to utilize the parking lots we have right there on the street,” Oteri said. “It keeps everything close together. If parents want to let their kids go on rides while they sit and listen to music, the two are right next to each other.”

The weather forecast is good and a large turnout is hoped for.