The Mineola Chamber of Commerce celebrated an “electrified” “Taste and Styles of Mineola” last Thursday offering a sampling from local restaurants and raising funds for local groups.
The biennial event held at Jericho Terrace this year is put on by the chamber to urge support for local restaurants from residents in the Village of Mineola, chamber President Joel Harris said. He said that events like this are important to keeping a community alive.
“We’re here to give a sampling of our Mineola businesses,” Harris said. “We want to keep our community healthy.“
Harris said that Jericho Terrace’s party room was “electrified” because it was filled with so many local restaurants and officials from Mineola. He said that the chamber does not know how much money the event raised, but said enough was raised to donate to all local organizations.
The chamber also honored the Mineola auxiliary police with Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss presenting the group with a proclamation highlighting its service to the community, Harris said.
“I’d like to give a giant shoutout to the Mineola community,” Harris said. “We have unbelievable leadership in Mineola.”
Different organizations are honored at each event, he said.
Harris said that since the event is biennial, every chamber president only gets to host one Taste and Styles event during his or her tenure.
“I loved it,” he said of his first Taste and Styles event as president.
Harris said that on top of hosting many local restaurants at the event, there was a fashion show and a musical performance by Pat Farrell. Proceeds from the event are going to support local Mineola organizations like the library, the Mineola Volunteer Fire Department and the auxiliary police, Harris said.
Tony Lubrano, a past president of the chamber and owner of Mineola restaurant Piccola Bussola, said the night was a success owing to the hard work of the staff at Jericho Terrace.
“We really want to thank Jericho Terrace for the amazing work,” Lubrano said.
The bottom line, Harris said, is that it’s a community event run by community people to keep it alive.
What makes a community like Mineola great is diversity, friendship, support and camaraderie, Harris said.
