HarborFest was kicked off June 1 at the Kiwanis first Family Fun Dinner on the Town Dock. Almost 200 people of all ages enjoyed an evening of good food and music by the great swing band, "Rhythm, Reeds and Brass."

Sunday, June 3 turned out to be a perfect day for HarborFest. Thousands of local residents and visitors came to the Town Dock, lower Main Street and the Mill Pond for a fun-filled day.

The Amazing Race kicked off the day with an exciting obstacle course for children. The Model Boat Regatta drew over 100 third-graders and their families.

On lower Main Street, almost 70 craft vendors drew large crowds all day. At the PAL field, many were lucky to watch a baseball game in the morning and participate in family field day races in the afternoon.

On the Town Dock and under the big HarborFest tent, dozens of local vendors had booths and displays and a festive atmosphere prevailed. Another tent held games for kids set up by the Parent Resource Center. There was also a Castle Bounce, a Giant Slide, a climbing wall, live animals and other children's activities. The Children's Treasure Hunt Booth was as popular as ever and all kids who participated were winners of gift certificates donated by local merchants or consolation prizes donated by the sponsors. The Fun Stage performances kept the kids entertained and the Talent Show drew huge crowds.

The Enviro-Expo included Grassroots Environmental Education's educational project on Global Warming and an Organic Farmer's Market. The Food Court was a busy place with Ayhan's Shish Kebab, Frank's Pizza, the Sons of Italy, PYA and Shore 25 Catering making sure visitors were well fed.

The Art Guild sponsored the second annual "Art In The Park" in Sunset Park all during HarborFest. They had workshops and art displays to show off our local talent.

There was fabulous entertainment at the Tugboat, starting off with our own Shannon Ferguson's beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Acclaimed singer "Nina" wowed the fairgoers and everyone was really glad to see HarborFest's favorite nautical singers, "Stout" and encore as well as performances by members of the cast of the Red Stocking Revue.

The tall ship Mystic Whaler was at HarborFest for the first time and lucky ticket holders got to go for a sail around Manhasset Bay on this beautiful ship.

The entire HarborFest Committee and the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce are grateful to all of the sponsors, vendors and community for supporting HarborFest and proving once again what a very special town we live in. They remind you to save the date - HarborFest 2008 is Sunday, June 1!

(Ed note: Fun Stage and Talent Show photos next week.)