Garden City Belmont Festival Tonight

Garden City residents will celebrate the final leg of the Triple Crown with its annual Belmont Festival on Seventh Street tonight – the eve of the 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.

The Garden City Belmont Festival will take place from 6-10 p.m. and will feature dance groups, live music, family-friendly activities and a “Wing Off” chicken wing competition.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) television analyst and retired jockey Richard Migliore will emcee the festival. Bands scheduled to perform include the Fivestone Rock Band, Jerry & the Newcomers, New Vintage Swing Band, Speak Easy and the Village Music Makers. Special features will include a group of young dancers from Broadway Bound Dance Center and the Fitzpatrick Academy of Irish Dancing.

The Wing Off will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. during which local restaurants will compete to be named Garden City’s chicken wing champion. Six restaurants are currently confirmed to take part in the competition: J.P. McGeever's Pub, Murphy’s Bar and Grill, Rein at The Garden City Hotel, Walk Street, Lani's Marketplace & Catering and Pop's Wings & Grill of Lynbrook. The winner will be announced at 9:30 p.m.

The general public will judge the contest as any passerby can get in on the action for a minimum donation of $5, which includes a plate of wings and a ballot. All proceeds benefit Operation Wounded Warrior, which provides needed items for injured United States military personnel.

The top three winners of this year's children's poster contest will be awarded cash prizes from Sunflower Fine Art Galleries and will be honored at the Garden City Belmont Festival. All artwork will be displayed in store windows along Seventh Street and Franklin Avenue. The location of each piece will be posted on www.sunflowerfineart.com today.

Longtime public relations practitioner Ed Lewi, founder of the eponymous public relations firm, will also be honored with a proclamation from the village for years of service to the community, including his longtime dedication to spearheading the Garden City Belmont Festival.

The Garden City Belmont Festival is sponsored by NYRA, the  and and members of the Garden City business community. For more information or to participate in the Garden City Belmont Festival contact Mary Dolan Grippo at 516-571-1936 or via e-mail at mgrippo@nassauida.org.

NYRA will provide regular updates on the third jewel of the Triple Crown on the official Twitter page of the Belmont Stakes. The page is updated whenever a news item, blog post, video or podcast is uploaded to the official website of the race: BelmontStakes.com. For more information about the Belmont Stakes and the Belmont spring meet, visit www.nyra.com.