Alive After Five is a series of events put on by the Patchogue Chamber of commerce each summer for the past eighteen years. For four Thursdays throughout the summer, tens of thousands of people flood the Patchogue streets to enjoy the various restaurants, food vendors, musicians, and entertainment options. Each Alive After Five event has a theme and runs from 5 – 9:30 pm. Free shuttles run back and forth to predetermined parking lots to accommodate Alive After Five revelers’ influx.
The first event this year was on June 27th. June is Pride Month, and Patchogue celebrated and recognized local members of the LGBTQ+ community, their accomplishments, and contributions to the Village of Patchogue. LGBT Network, who became a TRITEC tenant earlier this year, cosponsored this Alive After Five. This the first time the LGBT Network has participated in an Alive After Five event, they expressed their excitement about being a part of Alive After Five and how, in the future, they plan to be a regular part of the program, especially during Pride Month.
A big part of each Alive After Five event is the music. This event featured seven different performance stages spread throughout Main Street. A few of the more notable locations were, the art’s stage sponsored by the LGBT Network at the Capital One Bank, the main stage in front of the Patchogue Theatre, and the family stage located at TRITEC’s village green at New Village. The family stage was run by the Teen center of Patchogue Medford Library. It is fitting that the Library was in village green because their facility was originally located on the land New Village now occupies. In 1907 Andrew Carnegie donated $15,000 to The Village of Patchogue to build a library. When TRITEC purchased the land, they preserved the vacant structure and drove it a quarter of a mile to a new location and donated it to the Patchogue Medford Library. The building is now settled on Main Street and is home to the Libraries teen center.
This year was the first year that multiple vendors lined Haven’s avenue where the Patchogue – Medford Library and Long Island Science Center each had tents set up in the village green. The events on the Village Green and vendors on Havens Avenue were a big draw for children, allowing families to participate in the festivities. Music was parovided by the children’s band, Lard Dog, and The Band of Shy.
The Pride focused Alive After Five event provided an inclusive, fun, safe environment for people of all ages. The turn out was fantastic, and it seems that The Patchogue Chamber of Commerce and the LGBT Network have struck a partnership built to last.
