The Port Washington Chamber of Commerce and the Town of North Hempstead will be presenting the 29th annual HarborFest Dock Day and Craft Festival on Sunday, June 2. All events officially begin at 10 a.m. at the Town Dock, Baxter’s Pond and lower Main Street. Admission is free and there will be free parking at the train station and Manorhaven Park. Anton Media Group is an admiral sponsor of HarborFest.
A big attraction is the HarborFest Craft Fair, featuring more than 90 quality craftspeople. Their booths will be located along lower Main Street, near the waterfront of Manhasset Bay, making it one of the most picturesque craft fairs on Long Island. The HarborFest Craft Fair is sponsored by Blank Slate Media and Home Run Electric. Another attraction along Main Street is “Art In The Park” organized by The Art Guild and sponsored by the Sandata Technologies and Sherwin Williams Paint Store. It features local artists displaying their work in Sunset Park, along the waterfront. They will also have a free Plein Air Workshop for all ages at 1:30 p.m. and a free clay workshop for children at 12 p.m. Button making will be offered throughout the day.
As soon as you enter the dock, look for the Chamber of Commerce booth near the entrance. They will be giving out free reusable shopping bags for all your HarborFest purchases and future shopping. The chamber’s bags are sponsored by Scheinman Realty. Additional bags have been donated by Stop & Shop.
Everyone is excited that the three-masted schooner SoundWaters will return to Manhasset Bay for HarborFest. On Saturday, June 1, the SoundWaters will depart the Town Dock for a Sunset Sail from 6 to 8 p.m. During HarborFest Dock Day, on Sunday, June 2, SoundWaters will set sail at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Reservations for all sails may be made online at www.pwcoc.org/harborfestcruises. The cost for the Sunset Sail is $35 per person, all ages. The cost for the Sunday Dock Day sails is $25 for adults and $15 for children ages 5 to 12. Please note that children under 5 should not participate in the cruises. Founded in 1989, SoundWaters’ mission is to educate children and adults about the wonders and beauty of Long Island Sound and its watershed.
There are several other ways that people can see up close how beautiful our bay truly is. Port Washington’s Water Taxi will be available to take people on scenic cruises throughout HarborFest. For the more adventurous, Atlantic Outfitters will offer kayaking and paddle boarding.
A highly anticipated event is the demonstration of the Port Washington Fire Department’s Fire Boat. It will be moored off the Town Dock for HarborFest and the demonstrations are sure to be exciting for all the festival goers.
Many lucky visitors can catch a free ride on the picturesque North Fork Trolley, sponsored by the Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District. The trolley will make a continuous loop from the train station to the festival area.
The HarborFest Model Boat Regatta program has chamber of commerce volunteers teaching third graders from all Port Washington’s elementary schools how to make pontoon-style boats from recycled materials.
The first of 25 elimination heats will take place at 9:30 a.m. with the final heat slated for 11 a.m. The awards ceremony immediately follows. The Regatta school instruction chairperson is Marian Weissman. She and many capable volunteer instructors will have met with more than 400 third graders at all of Port’s elementary schools to show them how to make their boats.
Bill Palafox is the principle race officer for the actual race day and responsible for the day’s operation. Other key team members are Alan Bergman, Holly Byrne, Mary Lu Dempsey-Palafox, Dave Franklin, Ronnie Heller, Lloyd Herman, Fred Hsu, Ken Magida, Laura Silver Maguire, Brigitte Mueller, Tom Scalise and Paul Schrynemakers. Additional volunteers support these key team members.
The large and popular HarborFest Family Fun Park is organized by The Parent Resource Center (PRC) and the chamber of commerce and sponsored by Rallye Motor Company. Visit the PRC Fun Tent which always delights the children with lots of games and crafts. A highlight of the PRC activities will be a mini train, which is always a favorite. Also in the Family Fun Park, the Science Museum of Long Island will offer hands-on fun with a touch tank, the PAL will set up a dunk tank and other local organizations and businesses will have games, sports activities, music, gymnastics, science fun and crafts so the kids will never get bored.
The Fun Park also features free family entertainment all day on the Family Fun Stage. To start the day, Brownie Troop 447 will lead the audience in “Our Pledge of Allegiance” at 10:15 a.m. The children’s entertainment will kick off at 10:20 a.m. with Alexandra Verkowitz singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The “Talented Kids of Port Washington” show will begin at 10:25 a.m. At 12:30 p.m., there will be a performance by Voice Academy. Olga Berest Dance Studio will perform at 1 p.m. Bluemoon Taekwondo will do a demonstration at 1:30 p.m. At 2 p.m., the Bands of HarborFest will take the stage featuring students from Bach to Rock and the iSchool of Music. The Family Fun Stage is sponsored by Diane’s Place Hair Salon, Healthy Kids Pediatrics, Kornhaber Dental Group, Long Island Boat Rentals and Long Island Plastic Surgical Group.
The unique HarborFest Treasure Hunt, organized by Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, will be back with fabulous prizes from local merchants and special gifts for all. Children can go to participating businesses from May 18 to June 1, and say the “secret message” to get a voucher for a chance to find the lucky key to the Treasure Chest. They can bring vouchers to the Treasure Hunt booth on the dock anytime from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during Dock Day. The Treasure Hunt is sponsored by Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, Mathnasium and the Sid Jacobson JCC.
On the town dock, there will be dozens of local merchants and organizations offering fine shopping and browsing, demonstrations, activities, giveaways, services and information. As always, a main attraction will be HarborFest’s Fabulous Food Court. Port’s finest restaurants and organizations will present their specialties to feed the hungry crowds. There will be tasty lunch selections from Ayhan’s Shish Kebab, Bonsai, LI Festival Catering, the Manhasset Bay Sportsmen’s Club, Port Youth Activities, Rosie’s Food Truck, the Schmear, The Wild Goose and Yummy Gyro. For sweet treats you will find delicious choices from Ralph’s Italian Ices and The Schmear. Everyone in Port knows Mel’s Ice Cream Truck. Look for Mel’s in Sunset Park, by the Art in the Park exhibits. Come hungry—you can feast all day at HarborFest.
HarborFest will showcase free live entertainment in front of the “Pride of Cow Bay” Tugboat Museum at the entrance to the Dock. “Harmony Sky” will get everyone in the mood for fun with the opening act at 10:30 a.m. Martial arts will take center stage with a World Tae Kwon Do demonstration at 11:30 p.m. At noon, the South Bay Salty Dogs will have their HarborFest debut. By popular demand, the Alan Brown Blues Band will return to HarborFest at 1 p.m. The talented cast of the Red Stocking Revue will perform several fabulous numbers from Port’s favorite variety show, beginning at 2 p.m. Port’s popular singers, Porch Light, will take the mic at 3:30 p.m. The HarborFest live entertainment is sponsored by Precision Work and the Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation.
The mission of HarborFest is to promote environmental awareness and the HarborFest Committee offers free booths to organizations that promote the environment in the Enviro-Expo. There will be fascinating new hands-on demonstrations, special displays about Manhasset Bay and up-to-date information and products, all sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Manhasset-Port Washington and the Port Washington Water Taxi. Grassroots Environmental Education has organized a timely environmental education project about the dangers of single-use plastics. Look for their creative display in the Enviro-Expo area. Grassroots Environmental Education, a Port Washington-based nonprofit, has designed the project and worked with the children. The Environmental Education program is sponsored by the Dime Community Bank, Sands Point Preserve Conservancy and Village Dental.
HarborFest’s very own Port Hole Pete will be at the helm of the Pride of Cow Bay Nautical Museum, where a new exhibit, “Finding Home: A Collection of Photos by Cynthia Litman,” will be unveiled. The exhibit was curated by Debbie Greco (Greco Integrated Communications) and contains spectacular photos of the Port Washington waterfront. You can view the exhibit through the tugboat’s portholes. It will be on display throughout the coming year, beginning at HarborFest. The exhibit is sponsored by People’s United Bank.
HarborFest is made possible by the Town of North Hempstead, the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce, the admiral sponsorship of Anton Media Group and the Rear Admiral Sponsorships of Blank Slate Media and Rallye Motor Company. In addition to all the sponsors mentioned above, major HarborFest sponsors are: 3V Dental, A.A. Madison Taxi/Manorhaven Taxi/Port Washington Taxi, Anthony’s World of Floors, Atlantic Outfitters, Baxter’s Pond Foundation, College Nannies + Sitters + Tutors, Dance Arts Centre, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, Dental 365, Diane’s Place Hair Salon, Fidelis Care, Greater Port Washington BID, Happy Montessori School, Healthy Kids Pediatrics, Home Run Electric, Island Chimney Service, Keller Williams Gold Coast Realty, Kiwanis Club of Manhasset/Port Washington, Knights of Columbus, Kornhaber Dental Group, Long Island Boat Rentals, Long Island Plastic Surgical Group, Manhasset Bay Sportsmens Club, Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, Mathnasium, Minuteman Press of Port Washington, Newsday Media Group, North Shore Yacht Club, Orangetheory Fitness of Port Washington, People’s United Bank, Port Washington Calendar, Port Washington Federal Credit Union, Port Washington PBA, Port Washington Public Library Foundation – Tepper Intergenerational Program, Port Washington Public Library – Nautical Advisory Council, Port Washington Yacht Club, Power Home Remodeling, Precision Work, Salvatore’s Coal Oven Pizza, Sandata Technologies, Sands Point Center for Health & Rehabilitation, Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, Scheinman Realty, Sherwin-Williams Paint Store, Sid Jacobson JCC, St. Francis Hospital, Stop & Shop, Toms Point Marina, Total Dollar Insurance, Village Dental. We also thank our CREW sponsors: Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Lisa Donatelli, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Salvatore’s Coal Oven Pizza and Unlimited Sports Action.
The chamber of commerce thanks The Art Guild, Ayhan’s Mediterranean Marketplace, Baxter’s Pond Foundation, CancerCare’s “Red Stocking Revue,” Grassroots Environmental Education, Nassau County, North Shore Vision’s Dr. Scott Weil, PAL, Panera Bread, the Parent Resource Center, the Port Washington Fire Department, the Port Washington Police District, the Port Washington Water Pollution Control District, The Schmear Bakery and Market, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Dina DeGiorgio, Town of North Hempstead Highway Dept., Town of North Hempstead Dept. of Parks and Recreation and the Village of Baxter Estates.
Admission to HarborFest is free. There is free parking and free town shuttle buses and a BID trolley at the LIRR station and Manorhaven Park. A handicapped-accessible shuttle is available from the LIRR. For additional information about HarborFest, call the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce at 516-883-6566, email office@pwcoc.org or visit www.pwcoc.org.
