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Friday, June 12, 2026
Vol. 3, No. 24
THE GATEWAY TO NASSAU COUNTY SERVING FLORAL PARK, BELLEROSE AND STEWART MANOR
FLORAL PARK STREET FAIR
Performers shine at Raw Materials Showcase BY RIKKI MASSAND
The 2026 Annual Floral Park Street Fair took place on Friday, June 5th on Tulip Avenue. Local families enjoyed food, fun, face painting and giveaways at the fair. Photo couretesy Christine Kozak
FP middle schooler is lone girl on baseball team
BY GARY SIMEONE Mackenzie Waslin, an eighth grader at Floral Park Memorial Middle School, became interested in the sport of baseball when she was very young. She used to attend
Long Island Ducks baseball games with her father and grew a love interest for the game. “I went to many of their games when I was younger and also participated in the Long Island Ducks baseball
clinics,” said Waslin. “I grew fond of the sport watching the team play and always wanted to try out for baseball at my school.” Waslin watched her dream See page 2
The Floral Park Villager Published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Telephone 516-931-0012 Postmaster: Send Address Change to: The Floral Park Villager, 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208 Garden City, N.Y. 11530 • Meg Norris, Publisher
The Floral Park community was transformed into a melting pot of cultural performances across multiple art forms as Here and Now Yoga, Wellness & Arts Collective on Verbena Avenue hosted its “Raw Materials” showcase on Saturday, May 2. Dancers, singers, spoken-word artists and students from SUNY Old Westbury were among the performers. The showcase included a song and dance repertoire from Dina Denis-Paolucci, a Bayside, Queens resident who co-owns the studio with Michele Ingkavet Cavanaugh. Denis-Paolucci performed “With You, Without You – All the Same,” set to the Elvis Presley song “Always on My Mind.” The goal of the Raw Materials showcase was to bring live professional arts performances to the Floral Park-Bellerose community. “We’re celebrating the arts of dance, music, spoken word and more tonight. Our featured performers are from right here in Floral Park and Bellerose; the outer boroughs of NYC as well as from eastern Long Island. We pulled multiple talents, a total of 10 acts, and there is something for everybody to see and experience live,” Denis-Paolucci said. The first act in the Raw Mate-
rials showcase was “Celebration of Dances of the Diaspora,” performed by student members of the SUNY Old Westbury Dance Ensemble. In coordination with professor and choreographer Teresa Fellion, the students presented a medley blending bachata and reggaeton before transitioning into a West African dance set to Zulu drum music. Denis-Paolucci noted that she recently had the opportunity to meet Fellion. “She had a group of her wonderful dancers here. They have worked collaboratively on creating a piece they choreographed and will perform,” she said as the opening act took to the floor. Another piece choreographed by Fellion, “Embers of Becoming,” was performed by Sophia Diehl and Arianna Stendardo-Gamble. The work presented the audience with a stunning display of ballet and synchronized theatrical movement. According to the program, it sought “to explore the emotional tension between sorrow and joy, hardship and purpose, while promoting reflection on how we find meaning in life.” Anna Mayta choreographed and performed in “The World of Humanity Has Two Wings,” a short excerpt from a 20-minute See page 3
Multicultural Night at FPB Schools PAGE 6 Community helps at Weed Out PAGE 8