RVC gets ready to rock

The streets of Rockville Centre will be rocking this weekend. On Saturday, Park Avenue will be closed from Sunrise Highway to Lincoln Avenue for the Chamber of Commerce’s second annual EAT.SHOP.ROCK street fair.

“EAT.SHOP.ROCK is a local festival that celebrates everything Rockville Centre has to offer,” said Greg Schaefer, vice president of the chamber. “Restaurants, shopping and entertainment.”

Park Avenue will be packed with stalls of businesses from all over the community, and businesses on the street will have their doors open. Restaurants on the block — like Press 195, Kaseys Kitchen and Cocktails, Cabo, Blue Moon, Dodici, Grillfire, Dark Horse, Beach House and Corner Grill — will be extending their dining experience onto the sidewalk, which was very popular last year. And Parlay Gastropub, Viaggio Tapas and Taiko will be serving food from booths.

The festival will also feature two different stages for performances: the Sunrise Stage, near Sunrise Highway, will feature bands, while the Merrick Stage, near Lincoln Avenue, will feature single acts, dances and others. Performances will run until 9 p.m. on the Sunrise Stage and until 6 p.m. on the Merrick Stage.

Approximately 120 businesses are participating, and will be selling their wares on Park Avenue. One of them, Elements Massage, took part last year, and saw more business after the fair.

By organizing a fair that highlighted local businesses and talent, the chamber could drum up more customers for local businesses. “I don’t really have a ‘typical street fair’ business,” said Melissa Catalano, owner of Elements Massage. “I don’t sell anything I can hand you. But it was great. We got to talk to a lot of people. We had a lot of people walk in to the studio that day and grab pamphlets and check it out. We raffled off a year of massage, and we’re doing that again this year.”

Catalano’s was one of many establishments that saw more business because of last year’s event. They included a number of restaurants, like Cabo.