Town of Riverhead OKs summer fun

It’s party time in downtown Riverhead.

The town board approved eight special events permits for the summer, including one for a Classic Car Cruise Night every Thursday.

With a new hotel ready to open on Main Street and a butterfly exhibit expected to bring tens of thousands of people to the adjoining Atlantis Marine World aquarium, the downtown Business Improvement District encouraged the board to issue permits for the special events, which typically draw a crowd.

“We’re trying to bring more people downtown,” Business Improvement District president Ray Pickersgill said.

The permits, approved at a Tuesday night meeting, include a Fourth of July weekend fireworks display on July 3, a rock-and-roll oldies show July 16, a Music Idol Night on July 30 and a Mardi Gras Festival on Aug. 6. The board also approved, retroactively, the permit for the BID antiques show that was held June 4.

Six more permits were approved for special events outside of the downtown area, including fireworks permits for Riverhead Raceway on July 2 and Aug. 20, an antiques fair at the Old Steeple Community Church in Aquebogue on Aug. 27, and a fire department carnival in Jamesport July 19 to 23.

The BID will also be sponsoring its second annual Great Cardboard Boat race June 26 on the Peconic River. Town Supervisor Sean Walter has vowed to recover the King Of the River title he lost last year to Southampton Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst.