KINGSTON, NY – Families enjoyed carnival rides and games on the ball fields adjacent to Kingston Plaza on Saturday at the inaugural Kingston Bridge the Gap Festival.
The festival was on the second day of its three-day run. The festival is scheduled to run from noon to 10pm on Sunday with fireworks to close its show.
Among the families were Elizabeth Chase and Steven Cina and their son, Joey, 5, who was enjoying a turn on a hang glider ride.
“I enjoyed that trip,” he said.
Then he returned to a children’s coaster, also with a dragon theme, called the Orient Express. Other rides included a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, and several merry-go-round rides.
Chase said they heard about the festival while on their way to something else and decided to stop.
“I think it’s great,” Chase said of the event.
She said it was Joey’s first carnival or fair, and this one with about half a dozen rides and a handful of games was just the right size for him.
“Anything more and it would be overwhelming,” she said.
William Stratford, of Poughkeepsie, and Sharina Barnes were selling Italian Ice as part of the Big Drip business.
“I think it’s great,” Stratford said. “They’re getting the kids out here for a bit after the school break.”
ZA Kohloa, was selling her hand painted jewelry with her business Kreativity is My Name. She said she first heard about the event at the last Caribbean Carnival in Saugerties.
She admitted that business was a little sparse early Saturday afternoon, but she remained hopeful for the remainder of the day.
“Hopefully it will grow,” she said.
At the entrance to the festival, the Kingston Police Department and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office were hosting a coffee stand with a free coffee cop. Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Detective Mario Tagliafierro said authorities were at the festival to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community.
“This is a great chance to get to know us,” Tagliafierro said. “We have a very supportive sheriff,” he added, referring to Sheriff Juan Figueroa.
He acknowledged that authorities can no longer simply expect to arrest their way out of all issues in a community, and he pointed to the Sheriff’s Office’s Anti-Violence Response Team (AVERT), which seeks to work with young people at risk.
“We have to be creative about solving problems in a better way,” he said.
For more information about the AVERT program, call Tagliafierro at (845) 802-7960 or send an email to [email protected]
