The amount of places that have a lobsterfest, sweet corn festival, basketball tournament and paddle board race across multiple hamlets in one state may not be common. On the North Fork, it’s just a normal summer Saturday.

Southold and Greenport Rotary’s largest fundraiser of the year, the 35th annual Lobsterfest, took place on Saturday evening, as attendees feasted on lobsters and steaks at Veterans Beach in Mattituck,

The event has grown from 150 attendees to the more than 1,200 who attended on Saturday.

“When we originally created it, we said, ‘What event can we do where we’re not always asking the business people in our community to support us?” said rotarian Richard Israel. “We have a lot of tourists and summer people, and they need an event to go to. They’re always looking for entertainment. It’s slowly caught on, people come back year after year, it’s become a local traditions, and they’re supporting a good cause.”

Last year’s event raised $60,000. This year, with roughly 200 more guests in attendance, Mr. Israel expects another $15,000 will be raised.

“Everything the Rotary does, the money goes back into the community, and they’re having a fun time,” he said.

1 | 10

Sweet corn got even sweeter at Harbes Family Farm on Sound Avenue in Mattituck for a full day festivities that included a corn-on-the-cob eating contest.

This year’s first place winner was Nassau County resident Mike Fedorovsky.

“I don’t have any corn-eating experience, but I do have hot dog-eating experience,” Mr. Fedorovsky said. “I finished second in a hot dog-eating contest in Richmond County last year. I didn’t think I’d win this one.”

He and his wife, Paula, said their family drove out east to have fun with their kids. They left with a small, stuffed corn plushie and bragging rights. 

“This is just a fun day — to be able to be on the water in this beautiful weather, come behind the scenes and see the animals that are in house, and just celebrate sea turtles here in New York State,” Ms. Fedorovsky said.

1 | 11

The Village of Greenport swooshed in the sixth annual basketball tournament at Third Street Memorial Park. North Fork families watched their children compete on the court for a good cause as a DJ spun some of this summer’s hottest hits.

“The goal of the event is to bring our community together,” said tournament co-founder Candace Hall. “The money directly pays for the event. We raise anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000, and every dollar is spent here. We cook for everybody, prepare food for about 300 people, and of course the ice cream fund is spent today was well.”

Ms. Hall said the tournament continues to grow every year.

“I think people come back because it feels good,” Ms. Hall said. “There’s not enough feel-good times right now in our country, and people keep coming back because this feels good.”

1 | 6

In Riverhead, the 14th annual Paddle Battle launched on the Peconic River.

Kayaks and standup paddle boarders competed in races between 2.5 and 5 miles to help raise funds for the New York Marine Rescue Center, which partners with the Long Island Aquarium on the event.

“Events like this help keep our doors open, help pay for the animals and their care,” said New York Marine Rescue Center executive director Maxine Montello. “This event specifically helps with our seat turtle program, which is one of the largest in the tristate area.”

1 | 5

Photos courtesy of Nick Mongiovi

The post Photo gallery: Lobsterfest, corn, hoops tournament and Paddle Battle appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

Source link

24World Media does not take any responsibility of the information you see on this page. The content this page contains is from independent third-party content provider. If you have any concerns regarding the content, please free to write us here: contact@24worldmedia.com