April 11, 2019 By Meghan Sackman
A not-so-typical street fair will be held on Steinway Street this Sunday which includes a special Pop-Up section with carefully curated vendors with unique merchandise.
The Steinway Street International Cultural Fair, to run on Steinway from 28th Avenue to 34th Avenue from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., is being held once again by Clearview Festival Productions–but this year it includes its artisanal and fine craft division called Street Fare PopUp New York.
Clearview Productions, which has organized street fairs on Steinway for years, created this “sister brand” as a way to put a fresh spin on street fairs and tailor the products being offered to the crowds that will be attending the event. The new pop-up division will be set up by 31st Avenue.
“The pop up tries to get away from the classic street fair,” said Chris Goldsworth, Operations Manager for Clearview. “It’s an interesting variety of vendors that take it to the next level.”
The Pop up, which was described by Goldsworth as an island in the middle of Clearview’s traditional cultural fair, will have 50 to 100 vendors.
NANA Pies Desserts (Mia Parker)
Confirmed vendors include Jens Wohld, a family business from the German Christmas Market that makes bratwurst over coals; Spice Professors, which sell fresh spices and teas; Pickle Me Pete, which sells dozens of pickle varieties, as well as fried pickle slices; and John Conn, who sells T-shirts and photos of NYC subway scenes.
NANA Pies Desserts, owned by an Astoria resident and mother of three, is another vendor participating in the pop-up. The business, owned by Mia Parker, creates and sells individually sized, hand crafted pies in a variety of flavors.
Parker’s pies come in flavors such as the original “NANA Pudding pie”, a fusion of banana pudding, cheesecake, and cream; Red Velvet Dream Pie, Cherry Deux Pie, NANA Pudding Vegan Pie, and a birthday cake flavored pie that Parker says has been surprisingly popular among adults.
NANA’s Pies (Mia Parker)
NANA Pies Desserts will have a space at 31-01 Steinway St. during the pop-up and will be giving out free samples of their pies.
The street fair, with the exception of the pop-up area, will include the traditional classics such as bouncy houses for children and dozens of retail and food vendors.
At noon, a series of performances will kick off when the Central Astoria LDC’s 5th Annual Celebrate Astoria! International Cultural Festival begins.
The cultural festival, which runs until 5 p.m., features a series of cultural performances including the traditional music and dance of Russia, Cuba, Korea, India, Ireland, Tibet, and others. The event is free and there will be a stage set up on Steinway Street between Broadway and 31st Avenue.
For more information on this Steinway Street event, visit www.centralastoria.nyc or www.clearviewfestival.com
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4 Comments
Steinway street is a ghost town with shuttered storefronts. Very depressing.
It’s only between 30th avenue and Broadway, really. Everything north of 30th is pretty full and the Little Egypt section of Steinway has continued to thrive. The long block between Broadway and 34th avenue has also done well.
Can these events be posted I didn’t know that start this early
Thank God someone finally realized that these street fairs are full of generic sterile street booth franchises like the sausage & peppers place. These are big corporate operations that cost MORE than the local restaurants they set up shop next to. They are so awful and boring, glad to see an initiative to bring new flavors to the street fairs, maybe one day they’ll be closer to smorgasburg