Thursday, October 1, 2026
For many, Al Jolson is forever embraced as “The World’s Greatest Entertainer,” and honoring his legacy has become an annual tradition. Celebrating him every year is an unmissable moment for so many.
As Jolson himself once said, “A responsive audience is the best encouragement an actor can have.” Judging by the enduring enthusiasm for his music and legacy, there will be no shortage of that encouragement at this year’s celebration.
Fans of legendary entertainer will travel from as far away as Kentucky, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New Jersey when the Long Island Jolson Festival returns next month, on Sept. 26. The annual celebration takes on added significance as it marks the 80th anniversary of “The Jolson Story,” the beloved film that inspired generations of Jolson admirers and serves as the theme of this year’s event.
With the 27th festival in a span of more than 32 years, the event has grown into a national gathering for devotees of Jolson’s music and legacy. Jan Hernstat, who has served as president of the Al Jolson Society for more than 24 of those years, expects visitors from to make the pilgrimage to Lambrou’s Catering Hall in Island Park with gusto. According to Hernstat this year’s milestone anniversary has inspired even more people to attend.
Because this is the 80th anniversary of ‘The Jolson Story,’ it’s really about the movie and the love for Al Jolson,” he enthusiastically says.
For Hernstat, the connection is deeply personal. As a child home sick from school, he stumbled upon “The Million Dollar Movie” and repeated television broadcasts of “The Jolson Story,” and found himself captivated.
“They used to play the same movie eight or nine times in a row,” he recalls. “I must have watched ‘The Jolson Story’ five or six times, and that was it. I was hooked.”
He notes that while Jolson dominated Broadway from 1911 through the mid-1920s, few living fans remember those performances firsthand. Instead, it was the Academy Award-winning film that introduced audiences to his remarkable story and unforgettable songs.
“Nobody’s alive to say they saw him on Broadway,” Hernstat says. “Why are people alive who can say they are Jolson fans? Because they saw ‘The Jolson Story.’ That movie took this old guy who was no longer relevant and made him a superstar all over again.”
This year’s entertainment lineup has been carefully built around that cinematic celebration. Tony Babino, known as “The Heart of Al Jolson,” is back, performing the film’s signature hits, while Richard Halpern will sing the songs featured during Jolson’s childhood scenes in the movie. Music historian Ed Greenbaum will present rare outtakes and songs that were considered for “The Jolson Story” but never made the final cut, offering fans a glimpse into what might have been. The festival also features Brian Gari, grandson of entertainer Eddie Cantor; Noah Diamond portraying Groucho Marx; Bob Greenberg performing as Lou Costello, Curly Howard, Ralph Kramden and Oliver Hardy; Angelo Capone as Jerry Lewis; and comedian Jeff Greenberg. Hernstat especially enjoys his own playful interaction with “Groucho Marx” throughout the annual auction portion of the day.
The inclusion of Jerry Lewis is especially fitting. Lewis and Dean Martin were lifelong Jolson admirers, and Lewis famously said that meeting Jolson was the only time he had ever been speechless. Hernstat relates that Jolson’s influence stretched far beyond one generation of entertainers.
“He was the first superstar before the phrase was even coined,” he says. “He had universal appeal. He was a star in Europe and all over because of ‘The Jazz Singer.’”
Yet even after decades of studying Jolson’s career, Hernstat still finds new discoveries.
“You would think I’ve heard every song he ever recorded, but I haven’t. I don’t rush to hear and see everything, because when I discover something new, it’s exciting.”
Looking back over more than three decades of organizing the festival, Hernstat shares that the greatest reward has been the people. He treasures the opportunity to meet classic entertainers who have attended over the years, along with the friendships formed among fans who return annually. He has begun to appreciate the broader impact of his work.
“I am doing something that is making people feel good and helping people,” he reflects “I never looked at it like that when I started doing it, but now I know that’s what it is.”
As the lights go up on another Long Island Jolson Festival, the celebration honors more than an entertainer — it will celebrate the film that ensured his music, charisma, and remarkable story would live on. Eighty years after “The Jolson Story” rekindled America’s love affair with Al Jolson, fans continue to gather for the same reason Hernstat did as a child: to relive the movie that first made them believe they were witnessing the world’s greatest entertainer.
