Firetrucks draped the American flag on each side of Hillside Avenue from Willis Avenue to the train station Sunday and in between was a lively fair with food, performances, family-friendly activities and more.

Every year the Chamber of the Willistons hosts an annual street fair where businesses and groups in Williston Park and East Williston showcase all that is happening in their community. This year the sun was shining while families, friends and neighbors walked down Hillside Avenue to support chamber members, restaurants and merchants.

“The fair has been taking place for more than 40 years and it’s done with the grace and the incredible amount of hard work and service of the village of Williston Park,” Bobby Shannon, co-president of the Chamber of the Willistons, said.

Some of the vendors at the fair were The Pickle People, Humble Cafe, Harry’s Hilltop, Rebuild America, Patrick Michael Designs, Clean Living Candle Company and more. Some merchants were giving out hot pretzels, roasted corn, fresh lemonade, henna tattoos, crepes and margaritas. Local groups were there like the VFW, Friends of the Library and the Church of St. Aidans.

“We have a pet adoption center here today and we have a rock ‘n’ roll competition on both ends of the street,” Shannon said.

The vendor spots have been sold out for a couple of months in advance of the fair. Shannon said he saw at least 15,000 people at the event, which he said is “the same every year.”

Lisa Casazza, founder and CEO of Clean Living Candle Company, displayed her candles at the event. She started her candle company three years ago and has been creating soy wax candles in her home since then.

At the fair, Casazza brought an assortment of fall-scented candles. She said this was her third year at the fair and she came back because she sells a lot of candles each year. Her online shop can be found on Etsy.com.

“Me and my sister sell all sorts of woodworking goods,” Cody Gustafson, owner of CJGWorkShop, said. “My sister does the art side and I do the woodworking side of it.”

This is Gustafson’s second year at the fair selling handcrafted coasters, cheese slicers, caddies, bottle openers and more. He started this business three years ago, trying to fill the boredom during the pandemic.

“I started giving these out as Christmas gifts and people said, ‘you got to start selling this,’” Gustafson said.

Vendor Patrick Augustine, owner of Patrick Michael Designs, brought handcrafted jewelry to the fair for the fourth year. He started this business after he retired and was looking for something to do.

Similar to Gustafson, Augustine used to do woodworking. He then applied his woodworking skills to making jewelry.

“I’m not trying to make a living. It’s a self-supporting hobby,” Augustine said.

Vendor Andrea Lober brought handmade coasters and keychains decorated with themes such as holidays, sports teams, music, and television shows. This was her first year at the street fair. She said she attended because she recently retired and wanted to start crafting.

For information on future Chamber events, visit ChamberOfTheWillistons.com/events.