Famous Food Festival switches date to avoid conflict with Polish Town Fair
The Polish Town Fair, marking its 44th year in Riverhead, won’t have to compete with another large event after all.
An event called the Famous Food Festival, which was initially planned for Aug. 17 and 18 — the same days as the Polish Town Fair — will instead take place one weekend earlier at Tanger Outlets.
“We totally respect the Polish festival and what they’ve built over the past 40 years,” Dylan Ross, an organizer of the Famous Food Festival, said at Tuesday’s Riverhead Town Board meeting.
“We had no intention of any ill will toward them. If anything, we had thought it would be a positive weekend for the whole Town of Riverhead,” Mr. Ross said. “We just want to let you know we’d be more than happy to amend the date.”
The Famous Food Festival is a traveling organization based in New York City that gives new and established vendors a chance to showcase their work.
Councilwoman Jodi Giglio said the board received a letter from the town clerk’s office saying that all the information needed for the Famous Food Festival has been submitted and the date has been changed to Aug. 10-11. She said all they were waiting for was an insurance certificate, which subsequently arrived as well.
The event still must undergo the review process, she said.
Both events require special event approval from the Town Board, which the Polish Fair received June 4.
Town officials said there is insufficient police and fire protection available to cover both events at the same time.
