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YORKTOWN, N.Y. – About 250 local vendors lined Commerce and Veteran streets Sunday when the Yorktown Festival and Street Fair returned for its fourth year.
Sponsored by the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce in association with the Town of Yorktown, the events brought out thousands of people from Yorktown and beyond.
"The real beauty of this event is the spirit of giving back to the community," said Chamber President Joseph Visconti in his event program message. This year, he said, the chamber raised money for 27 Yorktown civic and charitable organizations.
Sponsoring businesses and organizations from around the area set up tables with free giveaways and information handouts, including Franzoso Contracting, Rand Realty, Yorktown Lions Club, Yorktown Jewish Center, volunteers for various political candidates, the Solaris Sports Club, On My Toes dance academy, Club Fit, Camp Kiwi, the Yorktown First Presbyterian Church, and the Irish-America Social Club of Northern Westchester.
Sunday’s event kicked off with the chamber’s presentation of its Best of Yorktown Awards, which was followed by a performance from the Yorktown Central School District Chorus.
The day also included health and fitness demonstrations, carnival rides and bouncy castles provided by Fun Time Amusements, a farmers market and flea market, stilt walkers and jugglers, a classic car and motorcycle show, a senior luncheon and a firehouse open house.
Chereese Jervis-Hill of local event planning company Events to Remember estimated that by noon, 6,000 to 8,000 people had already shown up.
"There's not as many as last year when we had 20,000 but, A) it's still early, and B) I think it’s the weather." But, she said, she would consider Sunday’s crowd a great turn out.
Local entertainers performed all day long: Robin and the Hoods, Elvis impersonator Patrick Perone, Just Nuts, RJ Stump and the Blue Mountain Band, The Facilitators and Newton Firnas.
Various civic organizations were raising money in all sorts of creative ways Sunday: the Yorktown Rotary Club was raffling off a Christmas tree decorated with lottery tickets, with all proceeds going to the group’s high school scholarship program.
Yorktown High School Band members junior Ben Geoghean and senior Emily Beckett played their trumpets to promote the music booster club’s ongoing citrus sale fundraiser and its tag sale next Saturday at the high school.
“We’re raising money to support the next trip,” said self-proclaimed “band parent” Will Suarez. Yorktown High’s band has marched in Annapolis, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal and Disney world, he said.
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