MORE THAN A FAIR: A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY, CULTURE & CONNECTION
For the past eight months, I’ve had the privilege of giving my time, talents, and experience to a community that reminded me just how much we can accomplish when people come together.
As the 2026 Fair Chair for the Richmond Hill Block Association’s 51st Annual Fair, my hope was to honor a beloved tradition while introducing new ideas that would help it continue to grow and reflect the community we are today.
Queens is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world, and I wanted our Fair to celebrate that beautiful diversity, bringing together people of different cultures, generations, backgrounds, and abilities through music, dance, food, education, and entertainment.
Honoring tradition while embracing new possibilities.
Over these past eight months, I worked to help modernize the Association by building its first website in more than 50 years, introducing automated systems, expanding our social media presence, and strengthening relationships with neighborhood businesses.
Every Monday, I spent approximately four hours visiting local businesses, getting to know their owners, listening to their stories, and seeking support to help make this celebration possible.
What I discovered along the way was a community filled with generous, hardworking people who genuinely care about their neighbors.
CREATING SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
My vision was to create more than a traditional street fair. I wanted a celebration that offered something meaningful and enjoyable for people of all ages and abilities.
Together, we introduced a Financial Literacy and Life Planning area, a Health and Wellness Pavilion, and a Sensory and Quiet Zone where children and families, including those with autism and developmental disabilities, could take a break from the excitement and recharge.
We created a Gaming Zone for teenagers, while younger children enjoyed amusement rides, bounce houses, a Bubble Dance Party, face painters, balloon artists, Disney princesses, superheroes, and an incredible Bumblebee Robot!
Our food trucks, food vendors, artisans, marketplace vendors, local businesses, and nonprofit organizations offered delicious food, unique products, and valuable community resources.
Our entertainment reflected the wonderful cultural diversity of Queens, with traditional and contemporary dance, martial arts demonstrations, talented young performers, local musicians, and bands throughout the day.
Music, dance, and the arts have a beautiful way of bringing people together, even when we come from different backgrounds or speak different languages.
We also had the pleasure of recognizing elected officials and community leaders whose dedication and service continue to make a meaningful difference in our neighborhoods.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
The size of this celebration was quite an undertaking!
Our Fair stretched along Myrtle Avenue and into beautiful Forest Park, with our main entertainment stage located at the historic Buddy Monument.
With so many activities, vendors, pavilions, and performances spread throughout the area, creating a detailed Fair map and entertainment schedule was essential to helping visitors navigate and enjoy the day.
From coordinating the layout and signage to organizing entertainment, volunteers, and activities, there were countless moving parts. Our goal was to make the experience welcoming, organized, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone.
AND THEN MOTHER NATURE HAD OTHER PLANS!
After months of preparation, our original Fair date had to be postponed because of a nor’easter.
That meant reorganizing almost everything, including vendors, entertainers, volunteers, equipment, and schedules, for our new date just two weeks later.
It was an enormous challenge, and I am especially grateful to everyone who remained patient, flexible, and committed to making it happen.
And then came Saturday, October 10.
We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful, sunny autumn day!
After all the uncertainty, seeing the sunshine and watching our community come together felt like a wonderful gift.
IT TRULY TAKES A VILLAGE!
I cannot express enough gratitude to the extraordinary people who helped make this Fair possible.
A very special thank you to our wonderful Fair Co-Chairs, Chris Villarreal and Farrah Muratovic, who dedicated countless hours to helping turn this vision into reality.
Their commitment, hard work, encouragement, and willingness to tackle whatever needed to be done meant so much to me. I am deeply grateful to have had them alongside me throughout this journey.
To our amazing volunteers, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Many were up before sunrise, arriving in the early morning hours to unload equipment, set up tables, prepare activity areas, welcome vendors, and make sure everything was ready for the community.
Others worked throughout the day helping families, managing activities, supporting entertainers, answering questions, and handling the unexpected challenges that come with an event of this size.
And when the Fair ended, the work wasn’t over. There was still the enormous task of breaking everything down, packing up, cleaning, and putting everything away.
Every volunteer, every helping hand, and every hour donated made a difference.
OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS MADE IT POSSIBLE
I especially want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our incredible local businesses, sponsors, donors, and community partners.
Without their generosity, support, and belief in this Fair, it simply would not have happened.
So many businesses stepped forward with financial contributions, in-kind donations, raffle prizes, services, and resources.
Every contribution, large or small, mattered.
What touched me most was seeing how much our local business owners genuinely care about the community they serve.
They weren’t simply supporting an event. They were investing in their neighbors, our children, our families, and a tradition that has brought people together for 51 years.
One of the greatest gifts of this experience was getting to know so many wonderful business owners and community members, hearing their stories, and learning why they do what they do.
It gave me an even deeper appreciation for the people who make Richmond Hill such a special place.
I THOUGHT MY 12- TO 18-HOUR WORKDAYS WERE BEHIND ME!
As the CEO of a national nonprofit organization, I’m certainly no stranger to long hours, demanding schedules, and the dedication it takes to bring a vision to life.
But I must admit, I thought my days of working 12- to 18-hour days were long behind me!
And lo and behold, here I was doing it all over again!
At times, it truly felt like I was working two full-time jobs.
Between my responsibilities leading a national nonprofit and the countless hours spent planning, fundraising, organizing, and coordinating the Fair, there were many early mornings, late nights, and very little downtime.
Fair Day itself was a 12-hour workday for me, and many of our volunteers put in equally long days, some arriving even earlier and staying later.
I won’t pretend it was easy. There were challenges, unexpected obstacles, moments of exhaustion, and plenty of problem-solving along the way.
But I certainly wasn’t alone. So many wonderful people were giving their time, making personal sacrifices, and doing whatever was needed to make this Fair possible.
And when you believe in something and are surrounded by people who share that commitment, you somehow find the energy to keep going.
HONORING 51 YEARS OF TRADITION
Since the Fair, we’ve received so many heartfelt compliments from residents, including those who have attended for generations. Hearing how much families enjoyed the day has been incredibly rewarding.
I also want to recognize the many dedicated individuals who have helped keep this wonderful tradition alive for 51 years. Their time, commitment, and love for the community created the foundation upon which we were fortunate to build.
It was an honor to carry that tradition forward, introduce some new ideas, and work alongside so many wonderful people to create another memorable chapter in the Fair’s history.
But what means the most to me isn’t the compliments.
It’s seeing the smiles on children’s faces, families making memories, teenagers enjoying themselves, seniors reconnecting with neighbors, and people from different cultures and generations sharing a beautiful day together.
That joy is priceless, and it’s what makes every hour of hard work worthwhile.
This experience reminded me of something I’ve always believed:
Giving back isn’t always about writing a check. Sometimes the greatest gifts we can offer are our time, our talents, our experience, and our willingness to make a difference.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have chaired this Fair, to have met so many extraordinary people, and to have worked alongside individuals who care so deeply about their community.
This Fair was never the accomplishment of one person. It was the result of a village of dedicated people who generously gave their time, talents, resources, and support because they believed in their community.
To Chris, Farrah, our extraordinary volunteers, generous sponsors, local businesses, raffle donors, entertainers, vendors, nonprofit organizations, community leaders, and everyone who helped in ways both large and small, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And to everyone who attended, supported, encouraged us, or simply shared a kind word, thank you for being part of this wonderful celebration.
Together, we created more than a Fair. We created a day of happiness, connection, cultural celebration, and memories for thousands of people.
It truly takes a village, and what a wonderful village we have!
Thank you, Richmond Hill, for welcoming me, for believing in what we could accomplish together, and for reminding me why community matters so much.
- Kim Phelan
https://qns.com/2026/10/richmond-hill-block-association-51st-annual-fair/
