A century of village living in Cedarhurst

Cedarhurst will officially celebrate its first 100 years — it was incorporated as a village on Sept. 16, 1910 — with a three-day fair in October, that will combine the efforts of multiple civic groups.

The centennial will be a fun-filled event, according to its organizers, which include village Trustee Ari Brown and Cedarhurst businessman Bob Block. Plans entail joining forces with the Woodmere-based Five Towns Community Chest and piggybacking the village celebration with the Community Chest's annual fair in Cedarhurst Park, scheduled for Oct. 9-11 and including Columbus Day. Other future events are also in the works, Brown said.

"It is a very nice collaboration of Five Towns Community Chest and the Village of Cedarhurst," said Block, who has operated his business, the Jewelry Showroom, in Cedarhurst for 35 years. "Some months ago, a committee was formed by the trustees, and I was invited to participate. We all felt that we should put our efforts together into one huge gala."

Block kiddingly noted that the calendar did not cooperate, with the Jewish holidays falling so close to the village's birthday that the decision was made to have the 100th celebration in October.

The fair opens on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m., and the big event that day is a picnic in the park at 7:30 p.m., with kosher and non-kosher food and, Block said, "some kind of activities and entertainment."

Later, a feature film, which has yet to be selected, will be shown. In the event of rain, the movie will be shown on Sunday. "We'll take our chances with the weather," Block said.

On Sunday the fair's hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with proclamations and brief speeches at 1 p.m. According to Brown, "a very special event is going to happen," but he is keeping it a surprise. On Columbus Day, the fair will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Though the 1-square-mile village is 100 years old, the community was settled before the American Revolution, according to the village's website. During the Revolutionary War, much of the land was occupied by British troops, and there were a number of Tory sympathizers in the area, including the Martin family of Rock Hall Estate, which is now a Town of Hempstead museum on Central Avenue in Lawrence.