'Normalcy, hope and renewal' at Sayville festival

On Saturday, March 27, the Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce held a Mini-Springfest in downtown Main Street. While not the grand affair of years’ past, the scaled-down event was apt for the hope of a better 2021.

Local merchants had outdoor shopping for event-goers with plenty of springtime fashion and home accessories to browse. There was even a couple of Gucci-print dresses from Ooh La La.

The roving Carrot Patch, an enclosed photo-op station complete with chamber president Eileen Tyznar dressed in a full bunny outfit, was extremely popular for parents with young children, and lines stretched from Hammer and Stain to Chase Bank. The board of the chamber estimated at least a few hundred children were able to get their photo taken with the Easter bunny.

The bonnet contest featured some darling entries, all decked out in a burst of colors from spring pastels to Vegas neon.



South Bay Arts, a musical school in Bayport that provides private lessons and group classes specializing in getting local students to perform in the community, featured young musicians, many of which played tunes from the ‘90s. At around 1:30 p.m. fifth an sixth graders, as well as a rock band from the middle school performed. Children were from Bayport, Blue Point, Sayville, Connetquot, and even Holy Angels.

The Mini-Springfest was also a debut occasion for the newly formed Sayville Junior Civic Association that has been a year in planning.

Greater Sayville Civic Association leader Christine Sarni spoke glowingly about the junior group, who had pulled together 25 volunteers from grades 5 to 12 in only four days leading up to the event.



The 25 volunteers rotated shifts between the bonnet contest, the raffle table, and the carrot patch.

Kaylin Rutherij, who founded the Junior Civic as her project for the Girl Scouts’ prestigious Gold Award said, “We wanted to establish a conduit for students to engage in public service. We have set up our organization so that other associations can reach out to us for volunteers for their events.”

The Junior Civic already has robust Facebook and Instagram accounts that help in their recruiting efforts.



“It really warmed my heart to see Main Street bustling again on such a beautiful day! It was evident by the support that was shown from the community for our small businesses that some normalcy, hope, and renewal are alive again in Sayville,” said Tyznar.