Alive By the Bay in Bay Shore sets 2026 summer dates

The sounds of summer are starting to beat as the 2026 dates for Bay Shore's after-hours street festival, Alive by the Bay, have been announced. The four-week event is set to kick off on Tuesdays beginning June 30, continuing July 14 and 28 and concluding Aug. 11 (Aug. 18 is being reserved as a rain date). Each week's event will run 5-9 p.m.

"This is a night out to discover Bay Shore, which draws about 10,000 people for each event," says Mike McElwee, series founder/director of the Bay Shore Restaurant Committee and co-owner of The Penny Pub and Goody Two Shoes in Bay Shore. "We want people to see what we have to offer. There’s a lot going on here."

The series, which has been going since 2017, features live music performances across four different stages in the hamlet: the Third Avenue Stage, the Fourth Avenue Stage, the Boulton Center Stage and the West End Stage.

"The four stages are blocks apart giving the sound of each band its own sonic space," says Peter Cintorino, lead singer of Decadia, which has performed at Alive by the Bay for the last three summers. "Usually, in the seven o’clock hour it starts becoming pretty busy so getting people to dance in the middle of the street is always a fun thing to have happen. Once it starts building, it turns into a giant party."

Bay Shore bands that are set to return this summer include Tradewinds (wedding band), J Haus Band (classic rock) and Rich Mahogany ('60s-'90s hits).

More than 30 restaurants offer food specials while stores and vendors set up tables and tents along the sidewalks as Main Street gets closed to traffic between Shore Lane and Ocean Avenue. There will also be kids’ arts and crafts activities, bounce houses and face painting at the Bay Shore Bandshell in Dr. King Park.

For more information, visit bayshoreeats.com.