Summer for New Yorkers would not be complete without weekend trips onto Long Island. Whether it’s wine tasting on the North Fork, hobnobbing with the glitterati in the Hamptons, or dancing the night away on Fire Island, Long Island promises respite from NYC’s soaring temperatures and sagging social scene between the months of May and September.
To close out the ninety days of summer, Long Island once again offered up a variety of activities for New Yorkers of any demographic. While Bon Jovi played a concert for the rich and famous in the Hamptons, West Sayville hosted an end-of-summer fling for the masses on Sunday: an all-day music festival and unlimited Long Island-brewed Bluepoint beer. Two thousand people of all ages assembled for the 17th annual Bradstock, which is, according to its website, “a kind of gathering of the vibes. So many people from different walks of life…all sharing the same vibe that grows from coming together to listen to (and play) good music, sharing the love and doing it all for charity.”
The festival, which took place at the Long Island Maritime Museum, donated all proceeds to the museum and other civic groups. Bluegrass, roots, jazz, and reggae bands alternated between two stages throughout the day, but, aside from a hundred or so people standing near the stage, music took a back seat to making the best of the unlimited Bluepoint beer, doled out to concertgoers from taps whose hoses connected to abundantly-supplied trucks.