Five-day summer festival proposed for Calverton

Dreamland Amusements carnival company is looking to bring a multi-day family fun festival to Veterans Memorial Park in Calverton this summer.

Victor Prusinowski, business consultant and vice chairman of the Riverhead Republican Committee, Ashley Schandel of the Riverhead recreation department and Dreamland Amusement manager Jaclyn Shoup discussed the proposal with the Riverhead Town Board at an April 17 work session.

The event would be a revival of the original Suffolk County Fair that started in Riverhead in the early 1900s, and would include nearly 30 rides, concessions and vendors. Dreamland Amusements would need approval for use of the property — specifically the area in front of the Peconic Ice Rink. This includes a special event permit from the town and a potable water source.

Otherwise, the company itself handles all other logistics for the festival, such as providing parking attendants, silent generators, advertising, security, light towers, dumpsters and daily cleanup, as well as a final cleanup of the property when the festival ends. It has also paid for police at previous events, Ms. Shoup said.

“I think Jaclyn’s family and the company, everything they went over, every time we had a question about something, they had an answer and a solution,” Ms. Schandel said. “They seem super organized and have it covered — [they] don’t need anything from us.”

If approved, the festival would tentatively be held Wednesday, June 25, and Thursday, June 26, from 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday, June 27, from 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, June 28, from noon to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, June 29, from noon to 10 p.m.

Among Dreamland Amusement’s most notable previous events are the Great New York State Fair, Florida State Fair, North Carolina State Fair, South Carolina State Fair and The Big E. On a county level, the company is also behind the Long Island Fun Fest, Bald Hill Fair and The Empire State Fair at the Nassau Coliseum.

The proposed Calverton carnival would be similar to the annual Strawberry Festival in Mattituck and Ms. Shoup said she anticipates a maximum of 1,500 people would attend in just one day. Wristbands would be $35 for all-day access and single tickets would also be available. The company also offers discount packages for families.

“It’s a first-class organization … the reason I thought of in front of the ice rink is I think it blends in with what we’re trying to achieve up there to make that a full-service, fully integrated recreation facility that we got from the government and I thought this would fit in naturally,” Mr. Prusinowski said.

Town officials discussed how the carnival can aid in promoting both Veterans Memorial Park and the Peconic Ice Rink. The only concern raised involved the logistics of parking, but town officials agreed it could be figured out.

“I would be interested in looking to see this go forward. I would be interested in seeing a more finite plan,” Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said. “As far as saying yea or nay, I would say yea.”

Ms. Shoup said that if the community positively responds to the carnival and it turns out to be successful, the goal is to expand it to an annual 10-day event.

“We are strictly a family event; we want families to make memories … we have rides for 2-year-olds, all the way up to people who like to puke, the thrill-seekers,” Ms. Shoup said. “We do really steep discounts online prior to the event that we heavily promote through mailings, Facebook and Instagram posts to give families the opportunity to make this an affordable event for them.”