New Windsor residents and families gathered together once again on Saturday, August 19 for the annual celebration of New Windsor Community Day at Kristi Babcock Memorial Park. This year marks the town celebration’s 14th anniversary.

For the event on Saturday, New Windsor residents and visitors were able to enjoy free parking, free admission for the families, local vendors and business booths, food trucks and live music, all under the sun. Last year, the community celebration briefly paused due to rain, but that was not the case on Saturday.

Under the direction of Recreation Director Matt Veronesi and his team once again, the event was controlled, safe and fun overall during the course of the afternoon into evening. Only just last year did the celebration come back in full force following the hiatus due to COVID.

“We’re just happy that everyone’s having a good time, I see a lot of smiles on kids’ faces and parents enjoying their time here,” said Veronesi. “It’s about the community. And we’re very grateful to have a great community in New Windsor, and we’re happy to be able to offer an event of this stature to them every year.”

If interested in grabbing a bite to eat while there, Carmella’s Cucina, Jerk Island, Ochio Rios, Cousins Maine Lobster, Baby Dahl’s Catering and Fruit Fashions were several places to stop along the way while looking around at the booths or getting ready to go on a ride. Other food stands had fried oreos and funnel cake ready for families to enjoy.

“The recommendations would be the jerk chicken from, well, there’s a bunch of West Indian vendors so any one of the four would be pretty good,” said Michael Price.

Price, who also serves his community as a volunteer member within the Vails Gate Fire Department, reflected on seeing the community out on Saturday enjoying all that was offered. “How can I put this in words? I just love the community as a whole. We have a lot of people coming up from the City of New York, so to speak. They’ve been able to become part of the town. People that have been in this town for generations are willing to share this town with everyone,” he said.

Along with Vails Gate, the New Windsor Police Department, New Windsor Fire Department and New Windsor Emergency Medical Services were out in full force and on display for residents to learn more about what they do or just to simply say hello while they stopped.

“It’s always great to get out here, meet the local politicians, meet the local community. We do get a lot of membership from this. It [Community Day] gives us a chance to put a face behind the fire department,” said New Windsor Fire Chief Shawn McGrath. “I think New Windsor has a really good sense of community, especially within the emergency services within the town. This crowd this year has been outstanding. I think it’s probably one of the bigger crowds we’ve had, especially since after COVID. That’s what’s great to see, everybody’s happy to see each other, get to meet each other and enjoy the day.”

Several table vendors this year included New Windsor Republican Committee, 4 New Windsor, Renewal by Anderson, Kiki’s Kandles, Sand Castle Amusements, Airgas, Fusion Church, For the Love of The Sea, The Tipsy Turtle/Stellar-NY, Mount Hope Falun Gong Association, Beloved Birth & Baby, Boutique & Wellness, New Windsor Democratic Committee, Jehovah Witness, Essence By Ellie, Tastefully Simple, Room #816, City on a Hill Clothing Company, Crafts by Glo, Action Enterprises, New Windsor Pediatrics and Family Care, The Softer Side, OCSC Gymnastics Team, Orange County New York Libertarian Party, Smiling Feet Music, Lorieva Inc, Nu Cosmic Earth, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, Pampered Chef and many more.

For the families of the town, bouncy houses, carnival swings, a carousel, a giant slide, petting zoo, helicopter rides, magic show, raffles and other games, a rollercoaster and more made the day that much more fun and exciting. “Just a nice family atmosphere. It’s just beautiful,” said Eric Motley who was visiting Community Day with his grandson and his family. “We are having fun.”

As the afternoon slowly started making its way towards the evening, residents gathered and awaited a final fireworks display that thus concluded another year of family fun and community spirit.