Port Jefferson celebrates annual October Harvest Fest
Pirates, puppies and pumpkins in Port Jeff … oh my!
By Julianne Mosher
Another rainy weekend might have canceled some of the Port Jefferson Oktober Harvest Fest’s first day of events, but it didn’t stop people from flocking to the village on a finally sunny Sunday.
Sponsored by the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and the Business Improvement District, in cooperation with the Village of Port Jefferson, the 2023 Oktober Fest’s original program had events starting at 7 a.m. — some indoors, some outside. While the show still went on during the rainstorm on Saturday, Oct. 21, for some, one big event had to be rescheduled to the following day — the annual costumed dog parade.
Located outside of Fetch Doggy Boutique on East Main Street, dogs from across Long Island suit up the week before Halloween every year and head with their owners to show off their adorable canine costumes. This year, on Sunday, Oct. 22, people still came out with their furry friends despite the original date’s cancellation, marching downtown resembling an array of characters including the toys from “Toy Story,” a cowboy, a race car driver and a peacock.
But that wasn’t the only fun thing happening. A chowder crawl featuring local restaurants had participants warmed up on Saturday, and country line dancing was set up once the clouds cleared later in the day.
On Sunday, with warmer and sunnier weather, families were able to enjoy a pumpkin harvest maze and patch outside the Village Center, admire scarecrows — fake and real — out and about throughout town or participate in a variety of events, including a pirate scavenger hunt, pumpkin decorating contest and a pie-eating contest. The possibilities were endless.
Walking throughout town were big-headed costumed characters as local businesses used the weekend of fun for other opportunities. Tabu Boutique opened its doors not to just sell its usual earrings, clothing and accessories but invited East Coast Canine of Manorville to help get French bulldog puppies adopted.
The line was out the door for people of all ages to play with, pet and sit with the puppies — who were just a few weeks old — in hopes of giving them a new home.
Emma Darling, a fourth grader at Edna Louise Spear Elementary in Port Jeff, was one of the eager kids waiting patiently on line to get a glimpse of the pups.
“This is my favorite part of the day,” she said. “The baby puppies are just so cute.”
