A spritz of rain on a Saturday afternoon dampened the boardwalk but couldn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm for the annual Arts and Crafts Festival. Over 200 vendor booths stretched from Long Beach Boulevard to Edwards Boulevard.
The annual tradition is approaching 40 years of presenting small businesses during a summer weekend — this year, it was held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on a rainy July 11 and picture-perfect July 12. While food trucks and booths offered tasty treats from classic zeppoles to shaved ice, many local businesses were among the vendors.
Kasey Beggi, a Long Beach native, is in her second year operating Beech Street Apparel Co. and returned to the boardwalk fair for the second time. As rain misted down Saturday afternoon, Beggi kept a positive attitude regarding the turnout. “It’s been great and pretty steady even with the rain,” Beggi said. “I think tomorrow’s going to be really great, too.”
Long Beach junior firefighters featured at booth, drawing awareness to their role supporting the local fire department and encouraging new members to join. Gavin Wynne, 15, has been a junior firefighter for three years. Dressed in full kit, he explained that junior members help on scene, stationing themselves at the command post rather than fighting the fire directly. “We give out water for rehydration,” Wynee said. “At the end, we help pack the hose back up.”
The Long Beach Historical Society and Long Beach Soup Kitchen each had their own booth, selling merchandise and fundraising. The Historical Society is scheduled to host another two-day arts and crafts fair on the boardwalk on August 29 and 30, with registration proceeds helping the all-volunteer nonprofit organization. The Soup Kitchen also benefitted from last month’s Chamber of Commerce boardwalk fair, as the Chamber raised $2,000 from selling bottled water on behalf of the Soup Kitchen.
One of the more eye-catching information booths was the setup from Bikers Against Child Abuse — and internationally recognized child advocacy and abuse prevention group working with state and local agencies. “We bring in kids who’ve had some sort of reported abuse,” explained Mayhem, the president of the Long Island chapter — the group uses nicknames for anonymity, given the potentially dangerous nature of their work. “We make them part of our family and we’re there for them. We’ll escort kids to court. If there’s a threat to the family, we’ll provide security until that child is safe. Basically, what we’re doing is trying to empower children.”
Episcopal Health Services sponsored this year’s boardwalk festival. The multi-location health system had a booth offering on-the-spot blood pressure screenings and discussing the “Food as Medicine” program, detailing nutritional approaches with a registered dietician.