The Village of Great Neck’s annual street fair will be one of many firsts this weekend, with it now including music, kosher food, carnival rides and a second day of festivities.
“We’ve never had that before. We’ve never had music in the park – really rock ‘n’ roll in the park,” Trustee Bart Sobel, the main coordinator for the event, said in an interview. “We’ve never had carnival rides before, we’ve never had kosher food before.”
The Village of Great Neck, in cooperation with the Great Neck Park District, will host the Great Neck Street Fair and Music Festival on Saturday, June 9, and Sunday, June 10.
On Saturday, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Village Green at 5 Beach Road will be filled with music, rides and food. TarantinosNYC, a surf rock band specializing in the “great crossfade between instrumental 60s-79s Surf, Soul, Spy and Spaghetti Western,” and SundayGirl, a Blondie tribute band, will perform at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively.
Later, at 9 p.m., Arlen’s World Famous Live Rock ‘N’ Roll Karaoke will also give residents the chance to sing on stage, with the lyrics and songbook available to would-be singers.
“So anybody can be a rock ‘n’ roll star,” Sobel said.
Sunday, June 10, will mark the annual crafts fair – lasting from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with music, rides, some kosher food and vendors spanning from Fairview Avenue to Hicks Lane.
“What’s different on Sunday is what people have been asking us for many years: that we have some kosher food stands coming,” Sobel said, adding that the village expects to have two to four kosher food vendors.
Among the musical acts will be the Parade Band at 12 p.m. and Straight to Hell, a Clash tribute band, at 4 p.m., while TarantinosNYC and SundayGirl will return at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. respectively.
There will also be a show by Adam the Real Man, a Coney Island act featuring sword swallowing, nail bending and other tricks, at 1 p.m.
“I was tasked with bumping this one up,” Sobel said of the annual fair, which does not have a rain date set. “We’re cautiously optimistic that we’re going to get these things going.”
