Rainy Day Couldn’t Keep the Beach 116th Fall Fest Away

Story and Photos

By Katie McFadden

Unexpected rain threatened to ruin the day, but Beach 116th held strong, putting on an amazing day for families at the 2nd Annual Beach 116th Fall Festival.

Drizzles put a damper on some of the music acts, but Walker and the Brotherhood of the Grape took the stage and played on through the rain, with Tiffany Lyons of Slyboots joining for a song they wrote together. Walker was followed by his son’s band, Derecho. And Rock Soup closed out the stage, playing a few songs before the rain got too heavy, as locals danced in the streets. The sound and stage were made possible by Luminescence Production. Bobby Butler and Danny Mulvanerty, Slyboots and Steve Conte didn’t perform, but have been welcomed back to play at future Beach 116th events.

The day also included a bouncy house pumpkin and slide and even a train ride, a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, face painting, games and plenty more for the kids. Dozens of vendors set up shop, selling food and goods.

On behalf of the Beach 116th Merchants Association, Rob Pisani of Bagel & Barista Station, Mike McMahon of Rogers, Michael Fiore of Meat Up/ Crustinos and Matt Mazzone of Ace Hardware, thank Call-A-Head for their donation, Jimmy Dowd of St. James Clothing for printing t-shirts, Harold Paez of the Rockaway Civic Association, NYC Parks, the NYPD 100th Precinct and “most importantly, Councilwoman Joann Ariola. Without all of you, this event would not be possible,” Pisani said.

Planning is underway for Beach 116th’s spring event, the Spring Fling! For updates, follow b_116th_rockaway on Instagram.