Going Green: WSFD Holds Halfway to St. Patrick's Day Festival

Firefighters, community members and even the lucky leprechaun all came out to celebrate the West Sayville Fire Department's recent fourth-annual Halfway to St. Patrick's Day Festival.

The celebration featured vendors of every variety – from homemade baked goods, handmade jewelry, handknitted clothing to toys, collectibles and much. Amazing Candy was situated at the front of the festival, showing off its homemade fresh fudge and candy. Jennifer, whose mom makes all the goodies from scratch, was displaying their treats for the first time at the festival. She said that she was pleased with the crowds and sales.

Also showing for the first time at the festival was Ray Davie. His Bottle Boutique business features handmade bottle jackets for almost any size bottle. Ray lives in Orlando, Florida, but makes the trip to the Northeast for many shows during this season. He's been in business for 21 years and also recently displayed at the Seafood Festival as well.

For the kids, there was a giant inflatable slide and jumping castle to bounce on. There was also a huge inflatable bouncer that featured jousting. And the leprechaun made his rounds around the fair quite a few times to give out Irish-colored balloons to the kids. The Mulligans and The McLean Avenue Band with Padraig Allen provided the musical entertainment.

There was no shortage of food at the festival either. Traditional Irish fare including corned beef and cabbage,  potatoes and of course beer. Green-haired chefs were also barbequing hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob.

West Sayville Fire Captain Allen Newhouse said he was pleased with the turnout. All the proceeds of the event go directly back to the company. "This is our fourth year of doing the event and it's just a lot of fun for everyone," he said. "The weather turned out to be good and people are just enjoying themselves."