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Fol de Rol

Armonk Lions Club Hosts the 46th Annual Fol-De-Rol June 2nd thru June 5th, 2022

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The Armonk Lions Club’s Fol-de-Rol is back after a two-year hiatus.This fun-filled family event, to be held in Wampus Brook Park and on Hunter Field on June 2nd to June 5th, will feature rides, entertainment and music as well as food and merchandise vendors. Something for everyone is promised!

This past year the Club faced a major decision. As President Doug Martino remarked, planning for this upcoming Fol-de-Rol almost didn’t happen. “Because of dwindling membership, the Armonk Lions were literally days away from shutting down,” said Martino. “Had that happened, the Fol-de-Rol, a 45-year tradition, would have died forever. We simply had too few members to do the planning and running of such a large event.”

Armonk is a small town with a strong community spirit and word quickly spread about the fate of the Fol-de-Rol. A few days after a meeting in early November in which members discussed closing down the Armonk Lions Club, Matt Milim, who lives in Armonk and was recently elected to the Town Board, asked to meet with Club members. He brought a number of people to the meeting who were passionate about wanting the Fol-de-Rol to continue and who were willing to join the Armonk Lions Club to help make that happen. By the end of December the club was revitalized with enough new members to plan and run the 46th annual Fol-de-Rol.

In early January, Club members, both new and old, swung into acton. The key to the success of the Fol-de-Rol is finding vendors, who provide rides, entertainment, food and merchandise. As a result of this effort, the Lions Club has been able to line up new vendors and and create new entertainment ideas.

Attendees will find lots to do and see. A preliminary list already includes: rides, banjo players, pig races, music, and all sorts of things to buy–lawn ornaments, handmade bags and accessories, home-decor items, clothing, jewelry, jams, baked goods and more. Hungry? Expect pizza, crepes, donuts and coffee, wraps, Italian ices, and even vegan fare.

The Fol-de-Rol is more than a community event; it is the Armonk Lions’ annual fund-raiser in which 100% of the proceeds are donated to local organizations and for people in need. Over the years, the Armonk Lions have funded many projects in North Castle: the Gazebo and Lions Way Bridge in Wampus Park, town camp scholarships for local children, dugouts for the ABL, defibrillators for North Castle Police and Fire Departments, and the NC4 disaster relief trailer.

In Westchester County, it has donated to the Open Door Medical Clinic in Mount Kisco, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and Puppies Behind Bars. It has also contributed relief monies through the International Lions Clubs.

The Armonk Lions Club is still seeking additional vendors. For information, go to armonklions.org.

Save the Dates!!!

The 46th Annual Fol-de-Rol Schedule Rides:
Thursday & Friday, June 2 & 3, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday, June 4, 12 p.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday, June 5, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Crafts:
Saturday & Sunday, June 4 & 5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Making of the 45th Annual Fol-De-Rol: A Fun-Filled Event for All

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Lea, a puppy sponsored by the Armonk Lions who partcipates in Puppies Behind Bars
PHOTO COURTESY OF ARMONK LIONS CLUB

This year will be the 45th of that beloved Armonk tradition, the annual Fol-De-Rol. From June 6-9, residents and visitors will flood Wampus Community Park to enjoy rides, food, vendors, entertainment and more – there will even be a pig race–all arranged for and run by the Armonk Lions Club, to raise funds for their many charitable endeavors.

“It takes you back,” North Castle Town Supervisor Michael J. Schiliro, a longtime Armonk resident, said of the Fol-De-Rol. “It’s a throwback–a simple country fair.”

Schiliro said preparation for the event isn’t too demanding for the town. They plan for police presence, and ready the park. The volunteer firefighters make sure a truck is there. The advance work is really done, he said, by the Lions.

“We plan all year,” said Douglas Martino, president of the Armonk Lions Club. “In January we kick into high gear.” Members of the Lions get permits and insurance and get vendors–an extremely time-consuming process, Martino said. “We don’t like to have two of the same type of vendor.”

Categories such as jewelry may have duplicates, because attendees appreciate choice in certain categories, but overall there’s a three-person committee that seeks to find a diverse and interesting group of vendors who sell everything from pet food to local honey.

“During the event itself we man the ticket booths, set up for the vendors and help them, help set up the tables and so on,” Martino said, adding that the Lions also arrange for lavatories. They bring doughnuts and coffee to the vendors early in the morning to show appreciation as well. “We sell raffle tickets throughout the event,” Martino said. First prize will be $1,000.

A Way to Mark the Years…

Stacy Wilder has lived in Armonk for 25 years. And over time, her experience at the Fol-De-Rol has changed. For a while, she took her children to the rides. “It’s nice to have something so local, without having to go to Playland or Great Adventure,” Wilder said.

As Wilder’s children got older, they wanted to go to the Fol-De-Rol with their friends. “It’s like a rite of passage in Armonk, to go at night with your buddies,” Wilder said. Now, Wilder attends by herself. She enjoys seeing the many people she knows in town, and perusing the vendor’s wares.

And Bring in New Faces

Neal Schwartz, owner of Armonk-based College Planning of Westchester and president of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce, always set up as a vendor at the Fol-De-Rol when his business was new and he was looking to get to know people in town and spread the word about his services in a friendly way, without a hard sell. “That was how I connected to the community,” he said.

Schwartz said besides benefitting good causes, “the biggest benefit (of the Fol-De-Rol) is that some people may not have been familiar with Armonk and might never have been here before. It certainly brings people to town and keeps them in town for that particular weekend and there’s natural overflow.” Attendees often seek out local restaurants for a meal before or after, Schwartz said.

The Fol-De-Rol has even caused interest in living in Armonk, Schwartz said. “The hope is–and it’s happened–that they’ll come and then they’ll say, ‘This is where I want to live.’”

“The Armonk Lions Club gets all the credit in the world for putting this thing on–and then they put the money back into the community,” Schiliro said. “It’s a win-win-win-win-win.”

The Armonk Lions Club helps fund scholarships every year, built a gazebo in Wampus Park, and underwrote the North Castle Citizen’s Council Disaster Relief Trailer, among many other local contributions, Martino said, adding that they’re always looking for new people to join the Lions. The Lions also donate to Open Door medical centers, Meals on Wheels, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and many more, especially sight-related charities. The Armonk Lions is sponsoring Lea, a puppy who is part of the program Puppies Behind Bars. Lea will be trained by an inmate at the Bedford Correctional Facility and hopefully one day will become a service dog for an injured veteran or first responder.

“If it’s a nice day–and that’s the risk factor in all this–you’re outside,” Schwartz said of the Fol-De-Rol. “What’s not to like?”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARMONK LIONS CLUB

Family Fun Plans for Armonk Lion’s Club Fol-de-Rol and Country Fair

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Feeling nostalgic for the good old days? Come to the 44th annual Armonk Lion’s Club Fol-de-Rol and Country Fair, June 7-10, and give your family an experience to remember!  Enjoy a pie eating contest, face painting, pig races, carnival rides and midway games! Visit food and craft vendors and check out musical entertainment. The fair is held in Wampus Brook Park, Armonk and starts Thursday night, June 7th with a DJ, rides and food from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.   Rides continue Friday night from 6 pm to 10 pm. On the weekend, there will be craft vendors in addition to rides, live music and lots of other entertainment for the whole family.

The Armonk Lions Club is a volunteer service organization that runs the fair as its only fundraiser. All money raised is used to support local community organizations and projects, and to help people in need by donating to organizations like Guiding Eyes for the Blind and Meals on Wheels. The club also sponsors a scholarship for two deserving seniors from Byram Hills High School.  This year we are also sponsoring Puppies Behind Bars, training service dogs as companions for returning US Veterans.

Admission is free!  Tickets or a bracelet are sold for the rides. We also sell raffle tickets to support our service work, with prizes of cash, a TV, sports tickets, etc.  Raffles may be purchased through our website or in person at the fair.

Come for the food, come for the fun and come to support the Armonk Lions Club.  Hours are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., June 7th and June 8th; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 9th (rides open at Noon), and Noon to 5  p.m. on June 10th. The Fol de Rol is located in Wampus Brook Park, at Maple Avenue and Bedford Road in Armonk, NY. Visit ww.armonklions.org  or go the Armonk Lions Fol de Rol and crafts festival facebook page for more information.

Visitors to Armonk’s Fol de Rol Found a Myriad of Activities to Enjoy

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By Amanda Kraus

The distant thumping of music can be heard from the parking lot of beautiful Wampus Brook Park. As you approach, the constant beat gives way to the familiar melody of a popular song flowing from the fair’s DJ booth. As you make your way towards the lights, fun, and people, the comforting smell of buttery popcorn fills your nose, drawing you in even further. It is at the 43rd annual Armonk Lions Club Fol de Rol that I find myself walking through crowds of people: babies, children, adults, and grandparents, all enjoying the myriad of activities that you can find at the fair.

While parking, admission, and many activities are free, the Fol de Rol is the Armonk Lions Club sole fundraiser for community service projects and charitable causes; it’s motto is “we serve,” as Linda Trummer-Napolitano, the fair organizer, writes, “All Lions Clubs belong to the International Lions and all raise funds for various community organizations to meet the needs of others in times of hardship or disaster.” The fair features over nine carnival rides, which require tickets or rides bracelets that can be purchased at the ticket booth.

There are also different events, such as “the ‘Clydsedale’ type horses on Friday night, antique cars on view for Saturday morning; there are racing pings in the rides area that will be performing on Saturday and Sunday; on Saturday, the DYNAMO Dogs from Maryland are performing–these rescue dogs have been trained to do an amazing variety of tricks and have performed all over the country,” says Trummer-Napolitano. The fair has over 60 craft and food vendors, ranging from Greek cuisine to your typical carnival hot dogs; there is also a face painter, a henna tattoo artist, and a body glitter artist. Other than a DJ, the fair hosts many local artists performing in a wide variety of genres: jazz, 80s rock, pop, and acoustic folk–on Sunday the middle school band performed at noon.

I asked Trummer-Napolitano what her favorite activity at the fair is, to which she replied, “I love to go watch the crowds and shop at the various craft vendors booths; we have a lot of local food vendors from the Hudson Valley, such as an olive oil vendor and a maple syrup vendor, and there are some really creative jewelry vendors coming this year.”

There is something for everyone every year at the Fol de Rol. Regardless of age, you are guaranteed to have a good time. Admission was free too! Best of all, you can make a difference and support your community by enjoying the rides and local vendors. See you next year!

Inside Press summer intern Amanda Kraus is a rising junior at Tulane University studying English, Philosophy, and Psychology.