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Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce

Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival celebrates 8th year on Sept. 17

by Heidi Sutton - September 13, 2022

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green & red Lions — Come dance with the lions at the 8th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival. Photo from PJCC

Dragons will roar and lions will dance once again as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 17. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

A scene from last year’s festival. Photo from PJCC

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, Director of Operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago.

Opening ceremonies will begin at the Jill Nees Russell Performance Stage at the east end of the park at 8:30 a.m. and will include a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the national anthem by Sophia Bloom, a Blessing of the Dragon and the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon.

“This is our 8th annual Dragon Boat Race Festival and we have 24 racing teams, last year 17 just out of COVID, so I think we are back to normal!,” said Ransome, ‘Mother of Dragons.’

With dragon boats provided by Great White North, the first race scheduled for 9 a.m., boat teams will compete on a 250-meter, three-lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 “paddlers,” one steersman and one drummer. Heats will run all day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. where medals will be awarded in three divisions. Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge.

Team contests for the best team T-shirt, best drummer and best costumed drummer will be judged in the middle of the day.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, martial arts demonstrations and Asian singing. Cultural and educational vendors and retailers will be on hand as well including representatives from Power Home Remodeling, Pure Mammography — Lake Grove, Northshore Properties Realty, Renewal by Anderson Windows, Mather Hospital, Stony Brook Chinese School, Rebel Thaiboxing and T-Mobile for Business.

Always a highlight, food this year will include pot stickers, veggie lo-mein, burgers, tacos, bacon quesadillas, and empanadas and there will be an abundance of children’s activities including origami, trick yo-yo demonstrations, face painting, and Chinese calligraphy and crafts, courtesy of the Port Jefferson Free Library. In addition, an educator from the Center for Environmental Educational and Discovery will bring Ozzy the bearded dragon and other ambassador animals.

“The harborfront park lends itself to this event, with our team encampments, the performance stage for all the Asian entertainment and plenty of room for our food trucks, sponsors and vendors! This will be a great team building day and lots of fun. The Chamber is very proud to be hosting this unique event,” said Ransome.

The event will be held rain or shine. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities! For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com.

Schedule of Events: Saturday Sept. 17

7:45 a.m.

Team Captains Meeting on the Great Lawn at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m.

Opening Ceremonies with Master of Ceremony Suzanne Velazquez, Asian Veterans Color Guard, Singing of the National Anthem by Sophia Bloom, and Blessing of the Dragon, ‘Eye Dotting’ ceremony

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Food Vendors, Cultural Crafts, Children Activities, Retail/Educational/Nonprofit Vendor Tables

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Continual Dragon Boat Races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

The Sound of Long Island Chorus:

Americana Program and Traditional Chinese Songs

10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Long Island Chinese Dance Group

11:15 a.m. to noon

Chinese Classical Long Fan Dance, Chinese Folk singing, umbrella dance, and instrumental performance of “Big Fish” by Port Jefferson High School Music Group

12 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.

Lunch Break (no racing)

12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Taiko Tides Drumming and Oroshi Drumming contest

12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Parade of the Team T-shirts Contest

Best Drummer Costume Contest

1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Shaolin Kung Fu Lion Dance

Kung Fu & Tai Chi Demonstrations

2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Galante Martial Arts demonstrating Tai Chi, Armis (Filipino Martial Arts) and Jiu Jitsu

2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Stony Brook Youth Chorus

3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Yana Dance Group – Chinese Traditional Dance

3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Yixin Dance Center – Chinese Classical Dance

4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Rebel Thaiboxing Demonstrations

4:30 p.m.

Last Dragon Boat Race

5 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards

Wu Wei Wellness in PJS celebrates grand opening with ribbon cutting

by Press Release - June 24, 2022

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It was a time to celebrate. Wu Wei Wellness in Port Jefferson Station held a grand opening celebration on June 4. The event also featured a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce (PJCC).

Well over 50 people were in attendance with a large display of hospitality including champagne, wine, salads, sandwiches and sweets and a sound system.

Located in the Davis Professional Park, 5225 Nesconset Hwy., Building 7, Unit #41-42, the wellness center is designed to help you prevent illness and achieve a healthier way of living. Through their modern holistic approach they help transform people’s lives for the better. They specialize in acupuncture, allergy desensitization, sports rehab, functional nutritional assessment, yoga & meditation and ionization detox. To schedule a wellness appointment or to sign up for a class, call 631-828-4976. For more information, visit www.wuweiwellnessli.com

Pictured from left, Lisa Bloom, PJCC Member Administrator; Leigh Ann Garofalo,Wellness Director; President/Owner-Tom Fusco; Barbara Fusco, CFO; and Mary Joy Pipe, PJCC President. Photo from PJCC

Port Jeff Health & Wellness Fest 2022 a success

by Heidi Sutton - April 28, 2022

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By Heidi Sutton

The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted its 13th annual Port Jeff Health & Wellness Fest at The Meadow Club in Port Jefferson Station on April 23. The event featured over 50 vendors, health screenings, live music, a painting demonstration by Muse Paint Bar, a vegan BBQ food court courtesy of Catholic Health, a visit from therapy donkeys Pop-E and Lil-E from EEAW and Kota the comfort dog from Moloney Funeral Home, and lots of free giveaways. The wonderful event attracted hundreds of visitors interested in the many local services available in staying healthy in 2022.

Photos by Heidi Sutton

Photo of the Week

by Heidi Sutton - April 27, 2022

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Photo of the Week — Photo by Heidi Sutton

PORT JEFF IN BLOOM

In celebration of the 5,000 daffodil bulbs planted this past fall (and currently in bloom) for ‘Plant Port Yellow’ through a beautification grant received from PSEG, the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce will host a food crawl, Blooms and Bites, featuring a selection of small dessert bites and beverages on April 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. Photo by Heidi Sutton/TBR News Medi

Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]

Dragon Boat Race Festival returns to Port Jefferson Sept. 18

by Heidi Sutton - September 13, 2021

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Dragons will roar on the North Shore once again as the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosts the 7th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The free event will take place at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park, 101A E. Broadway, Port Jefferson and the village’s inner harbor.

The festival is the brainchild of Barbara Ransome, director of operations at the chamber, who attended a dragon boat race festival in Cape May, New Jersey, a few years ago.

Opening ceremonies will begin at the Jill Nees Russell Performance Stage at the east end of the park at 8:30 a.m. and will include a performance by the Asian Veterans Color Guard, singing of the national anthem by Alanna Wu, a Blessing of the Dragon and the traditional “Eye Dotting” ceremony to awaken the dragon.

This year’s event will consist of 17 racing teams with dragon boats provided by High Five Dragon Boat Co. With the first race scheduled for 9 a.m., boat teams will compete on a 250-meter, three-lane racing course. Each team is made up of 20 “paddlers,” one steersman and one drummer. Heats will run all day, culminating in an awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m. where medals will be awarded in three divisions. Spectators can easily view the race course from the park’s edge.

Team contests for the best team T-shirt, best costumed drummer and best drummer will be judged in the middle of the day.

In addition to the races, there will be a day-long festival featuring numerous performances including the famous Lion Dance, Taiko and Korean Drum performances, martial arts demonstrations and Asian singing. There will be cultural and educational vendors and retailers as well including representatives from Power Home Remodeling, Pure Mammography – Lake Grove, Panacea Massage and Wellness Studio, Cancer Services Program of Suffolk (Northwell-PBMC), Ameriprise, St. Charles Hospital and Island Sports Physical Therapy.

Always a highlight, food this year will include pot stickers, veggie lo mein, burgers, sliders, empanadas and shaved ice and there will be an abundance of children’s activities including origami, trick yo-yo demonstrations, face painting, and Chinese calligraphy and crafts, courtesy of The Stony Brook Chinese School, Port Jefferson Free Library, Center for Chinese Learning at Stony Brook and LI Youth Development, Inc.

“The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce is so pleased that we are able to sponsor our 7th annual Port Jefferson Dragon Boat Race Festival. A sincere thank you to our sponsors, VIPs, community partners, vendors, artists, performers, crafters, volunteers, committee members, race teams and everyone who has helped to make this festival possible,” said Ransome.

The event will be held rain or shine. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come enjoy the festivities!

Schedule of Events

7:45 a.m.

Team Captains Meeting on the Great Lawn at Harborfront Park

8:30 a.m.

Opening Ceremonies with Master of Ceremony Yang Chen

Asian Veterans Color Guard

Singing of the National Anthem by Alanna Wu

Blessing of the Dragon

‘Eye Dotting’ ceremony

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Food Vendors, Cultural Crafts, Children Activities, Retail/Educational/Nonprofit Vendor Tables

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Continual Dragon Boat Races in Port Jefferson’s Inner Harbor

9 a.m. First Races Begin

10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Sound of Long Island Chorus:

Americana Program and Traditional Chinese Songs

10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Long Island Chinese Dance Group

11:15 a.m. to noon

Stony Brook Youth Chorus

12 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.

Lunch Break (no racing)

12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Taiko Tides Drumming

Drumming contest

12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Parade of the Team

T-shirts Contest

Best Drummer Costume Contest

1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Shaolin Kung Fu Lion Dance

Kung Fu & Tai Chi Demonstrations

2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

North Shore Karate Demo

3 p.m.

Last Dragon Boat Race

3:30 p.m.

Closing Ceremonies and Awards

The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce thanks this year’s generous sponsors including NY Community Bank-Roslyn Savings Bank Division, BMW, Murphy’s Marine Service-PJ Sea Tow, Times Beacon Record News Media, Danfords Hotel and Marina, LI Waste Services, Servpro of PJ, The Gitto Group, Wellbridge Treatment Center, Island Federal and East End Shirt Company and their community partners who help make this festival successful including the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Code & Highway, Harbor Ballet Theatre, Port Jefferson Ambulance and Suffolk County School Crossing Guards.

This year’s Bronze sponsors:

For more information, call 631-473-1414 or visit www.portjeffdragonracefest.com.

Ribbon cutting held for P.J. Harbour Club

by TBR Staff - July 4, 2021

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Photo from PJCC

The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting for P..J. Harbour Club on June 24. The momentous occasion was attended by Town of Brookhaven Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, members of the chamber, family, friends and staff who wished owners Joe Guerra and Michael Russell (holding scissors) the best of luck in their new venture.

Located at 154 West Broadway in Port Jefferson, in the former Due Baci location, the restaurant specializes in fresh seafood, aged steaks and classic cocktails and is open Tuesday to Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Friday to Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., closed Mondays. Bar hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 4 p.m. to close. For reservations, call 631-309-5800. For further information, visit www.pjharbourclub.com.

Miller Place resident lucky recipient of PJCC Gift Tree raffle

by Julianne Mosher - January 28, 2021

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By Julianne Mosher

The Christmas season may be over, but one local man just won a holiday gift that will last him for quite a while.

Ron Carlson, a long-time employee of the Village of Port Jefferson, recently won a prize of $1,000 in gift cards thanks to the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce’s most recent raffle.

Barbara Ransome, Director of Operations at the chamber, said that during December’s annual Festival of Trees display inside the Port Jefferson Village Center a Gift Tree was set up next to the Festival’s main tree in hopes of raising money for the chamber. Visitors to the holiday exhibit were able to purchase a $5 raffle ticket to take a chance in winning gift certificates from over 25 chamber partners (a combined total of $1,000), plus a mini tree the family can use next year.

A resident of Miller Place, Carlson had worked as Parks and Recreation Director for 35 years, he said, and even after retirement decided to come back to the village part-time. “I have a strong feeling for the village and I wanted to support it when I saw the gift tree and the raffle,” Carlson said. “Barbara and the chamber are doing such a great job.” He said he didn’t expect to win, but when he did, it was “a great surprise.”

“There are a lot of fun things to do in the village,” he said, naming some of the shops and restaurants that donated including the Fox and Owl Inn, The Steam Room, Torte Jeff Pie Co., The East End Shirt Company and more.

Carlson said he has already started using some of the certificates, bringing his wife Gina to Pasta Pasta last week to celebrate her birthday. And even though he lives a little more east than where the village is, he said that events like these keep bringing him and his family back.

“It’s a fabulous place to come to, whether you’re a village resident or not,” he said. “Port Jefferson is one of the jewels of Long Island.”

Ransome said the raffle helped raise $200 which will go towards the operational budget of the chamber. “[The prize} couldn’t have happened to a nicer family that supports the village and the chamber of commerce.”

Artist’s New Mural in Port Jeff to Drive Foot Traffic Downtown

by Kyle Barr - November 25, 2020

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From left: Suffolk Chamber Alliance Co-chairs Bob Fonti and Gina Coletti, Discover LI President and CEO Kristen Jarnagin, Greater Port Jeff Chamber Executive Director Barbara Ransome, VP of Community Development for People’s United Bank Elizabeth Custodio and artist Kara Hoblin in front of the new artwork in Port Jeff. Photo by Kyle Barr

Business advocates are hoping that local businesses in Port Jefferson can rise above the challenges of the day — on wings if necessary.

A new interactive mural was painted by a North Fork artist over the past week displaying two bird wings in the alleyway between Salsa Salsa and Chris Silver Jewelry. Each wing displays a host of flora, fauna and landmarks of the eastern part of Long Island. Residents and visitors are being encouraged to stand between the two wings to take pictures or selfies underneath the colorful feathers.

Greenport-based artist Kara Hoblin said her piece evolved over the course of painting to represent the multitude of things that make the East End unique. There is everything from monarch butterflies, who make a stop on Long Island during their migration, to the North Fork’s pumpkins in the fall to the everpresent deer.

The mural is part of Discover Long Island and the Suffolk County Alliance of Chambers’ Shop Small Long Island campaign trying to encourage residents to shop small and shop local this holiday season despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kristen Jarnagin, the president and CEO of Discover Long Island, said they are doing “everything we can to help our small businesses and downtowns.”

Creating local art that can be utilized by social media campaigns and bring traffic downtowns is just one initiative of several, Jarnagin said. They are also emphasizing residents can use tools such as the Suffolk County Alliance of Chamber’s MyChamber App and Discover Long Island’s Downtown Deals Travel Pass app to allow shoppers to explore businesses within Long Island’s downtowns while also redeeming savings at their favorite shops. Discover LI is also pushing its own Long Island TV that airs every week on where to go and what to see on Long Island.

That message, coming in right before Small Business Saturday Nov. 28, has become especially important now, as the positive rate in Suffolk County rises past 4% in some areas, and all are looking to see if Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) implements any new restrictions or business shutdowns.

Co-Chairs of the Suffolk County Alliance of Chambers Bob Fonti and Gina Coletti said that they see these wings flying and they “want local businesses to soar as well.”

Small businesses have had more than a rough few months since the start of the pandemic. The murals, Fonti said, help make places like Port Jeff a destination.

“It’s important that we as an alliance of chambers promote our downtowns,” Fonti said. “The financial tsunami, that we don’t know where that’s going to go, we want to drive 10 cars ahead of that, or hopefully ride above that wave.”

The new mural is just one of a host of public art the local chamber and Business Improvement District have been adding to the village over the past several months. Barbara Ransome, the executive director of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, said “it’s an added attraction, for sure.”

“It’s visually appealing, and it’s safe,” she said. “Those combinations lend itself to hopefully people coming to see them.”

Ransome also thanked the landowner Dominick Parillo, who not only gave his blessing for the project but had people come in to whitewash the wall in preparation for the mural.

The original mural crafted for the village by Port Jeff artists Linda Menda-Alfin and Jennifer Hannaford was of a fish tank-type scene on an electrical box behind Chase Bank.

The chamber had requested $1,000 in seed money from the BID back in January for the initial mural projects. Seeing the positive response, the chamber received an additional $2,000 to create even more murals on public infrastructure around the village.

In addition to the one described before, Ransome said the village will have five electrical boxes featuring artwork. The chamber is planning another mural of a sea turtle and baby sea turtles on the alleyway wall between Chase Bank and Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices.

Another mural sponsored by Discover LI is being crafted for Long Beach in Nassau County, which new art will showcase the sites and other landmarks of western Long Island.

‘A Touch of Holiday Cheer’ to Replace Dicken’s Festival for 2020

by Julianne Mosher - October 11, 2020

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Port Jefferson hosted its 24th annual Charles Dickens Festival In 2019. It won't be back until 2021. File photo by Kyle Barr

The 25th annual Charles Dickens Festival may be quarantined until next year, but Santa himself may be coming down from the North Pole for some socially distanced festivities come December.

Village and chamber officials both confirmed the annual Dickens fest is moving to next year, skipping this year to host their quarter-century event. Though Charles Dickens won’t appear on any of the taglines or advertising, there will still be holiday-based events.

The village is hosting what’s been dubbed A Touch of Holiday Cheer on the three Saturdays before Christmas.

“What we really would like to see happen is on the Saturday’s through December, we can find some small ways for having people come down and celebrate the holiday season,” Mayor Margot Garant said.

Although Garant said that not hosting the festival’s 25th anniversary is “gut-wrenching,” they do not want to create an atmosphere that could become unsafe, since the festival normally brings in thousands of people Down Port.

“We want to give reasons for people to come down here, celebrate the day, do some local shopping, support our local markets,” she said. “That’s the underlying reason we do Dickens, after all, to be together and hopefully we have something to celebrate come December.”

A full list of happenings are still being determined, but the chamber has set several events already for the three December Saturdays before Christmas. Barbara Ransome, the executive director of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, said they still plan to do Cookie Land for kids to decorate cookies by appointment at the Village Center. The chamber will host a photo opportunity with Santa on his big red sleigh from 1 to 4 p.m. Children will be staged in front of the sleigh instead of their usual position on his lap so there will be no direct contact. People are also asked for a $5 donation to the chamber.

Garant added the Festival of Tress – with social distancing – is planned on the third floor of the village center, some outdoor concert and plays, as well as a performance from Setauket resident and singer Carolyn Benson. A belle choir is also scheduled for Dec. 5.

“It’s going to be an interesting season,” Garant said. “But I think the one thing that brings everyone together is the holidays, and I think we can all agree on that.”

More information on chamber events can be found at portjeffchamber.com

Additional reporting by Kyle Barr

PJ Chamber/BID Hope to Establish Village for ‘Mural Tourism’

by Kyle Barr - August 12, 2020

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Linda Working — Professional muralist Linda Menda-Alfin, pictured, worked alongside Jennifer Hannaford to paint the new mural behind Chase Bank. Photo by Barbara Ransome

As Port Jefferson, as well as the rest of Long Island, is struggling to its feet after the last sorrowful months of the pandemic, Port Jeff business entities are looking to inject a little more life and art into places that haven’t seen it before.

The electrical box before it was painted with the mural. Photo by Barbara Ransome

The Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District worked together to fund a new art installation on a previously graffiti-covered electrical box behind Chase Bank on Main Street. The solid green box now features an aquatic scene like staring into a fishbowl, complete with painted faux wood panels on both the top and bottom of the cabinet.

The project was actually being planned in January, but once the pandemic hit all plans for the new art installation were pushed back into summer. Chamber President Mary Joy Pipe was actually the one to suggest the fishbowl design, according to chamber director of operations Barbara Ransome. Artists Linda Menda-Alfin and Jennifer Hannaford, both of Port Jeff, spent two and a half days in July crafting the mural. It has been sprayed with a coat of varnish to protect the paint, and there is a security camera watching the space in case of any attempted vandalism.

Ransome said the chamber requested $1,000 in seed money back in January for the project.

“It was a three-pronged reason, one for beautification, two was for those areas that were blighted a little bit or vandalized with graffiti, and the third was to recognize our artistic community and make people aware of our artwork,” she said.

The chamber has plans to paint another such mural on the electrical box on East Broadway just east of The Steamroom’s dining area. Both artists have already told Ransome they were interested in a second project.

Mayor Margot Garant said at the village’s Aug. 3 trustee meeting the chamber did an “outstanding job” on the murals.

However, even more public art installations could be coming to Port Jeff in the next few months. The chamber has worked with tourism promoter Discover Long Island in creating a kind of mural tourism, with Port Jeff set to be one of the first of what could be many such installations. Maggie LaCasse, director of communications for Discover LI said the other mural is also being planned for Long Beach. The project is being funded by the tourist promoter though is working with local groups in finding the best locations. The installation of both murals is set for September.

The finished mural behind Chase Bank in Port Jefferson. Photo by Barbara Ransome

Street art, or murals, has seen a new wave of popularity in places like Philadelphia, which has been called the mural capital of the world for the number of incredible building-spanning artworks.

“This is to generate more foot traffic in our downtowns for people to safely enjoy all our wonderful businesses — drum up some extra excitement for our shops,” LaCasse said.

The new mural is planned for the alleyway off of Main Street between Salsa Salsa and Chris Silver Jewelry. Ransome said this could be the perfect spot, with plenty of foot traffic and a nice solid brick wall. She said the tentative plan is for an interactive mural, to create a set of angel wings for people to stand under and take photos and selfies with.

“Street art tourism is a fantastic way to encourage foot traffic to our downtowns and keep our communities buzzing with pride during this unprecedented time,” said President and CEO of Discover Long Island Kristen Jarnagin in a statement. “This initiative is part of a series of targeted projects designed by Discover Long Island to boost economic recovery for the region. Long Island’s tourism industry is a $6.1 billion industry and an essential component in providing relief to the small business community whose lifeblood is at stake.”

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