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Business & Tech

Farmingville Chamber Hosts Feast of Farmingville

Sold-out event features food samplings, entertainment and community unity.

The enticing aroma of various cuisines commingling wafted through the air upon approaching on Wednesday, November 2 for the first Feast of Farmingville presented by the . 

There, for just $5 per person (children were admitted free) community members got to sample food selections from participating local eateries including: Cupcake Girlz, , , and The Flaming Hearth. The soothing sounds of acoustic pop duo, , completed the relaxed ambiance of the evening. Only 200 tickets were available on a first come, first serve basis.

"We sold out, which is a problem we don't usually have in Farmingville," said Marisa Pizza, the chamber's director of membership.

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The Farmingville Hills Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in January 2011, and their first meeting was held in March. The organization meets the first Wednesday of every month at The Flaming Hearth, and is already off to an auspicious start.

"Attendance is as high as 70 people, it's usually about 40. It's going very well," said owner of The Flaming Hearth, Rich Leudemann, as he grabbed another delectable morsel from the dwindling supply of creative confections on the Cupcake Girlz' tray.

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Leudemann was proud to host the event, which is part of an overarching plan to breathe new life into Farmingville's businesses and community.

"I think it's great for the town. It's a way to get people of the town to be familiar with the businesses, and to get the businesses active in the town.  It's the whole reason we got the chamber together. They've done a great job," Leudemann said.

Farmingville Hills Chamber President Mike Wentz is extremely passionate about revitalizing the community. The market research analyst resides in Farmingville with his wife Jennifer, a teacher. The young couple is committed to securing a bright future for their town.

"We want to make this a community to attract people to want to have a business, and live here ... We're trying to put in landscaped medians. We want to make Farmingville a drive to community, not a drive through. We want to slow down traffic, to make it more of a friendly place," Wentz said.

The coordinator of the newly reinstated Sachem School Business Alliance, Donna McNally, was on hand with several students from and High Schools. The students were volunteering their services, helping out at the feast, in return for Business and Marketing Honors Society service credits.

"The school business alliance was dormant, the last year or two. We're bringing it back to form a bridge between the community and school district," McNally explained.

Their next meeting will be open to the community and held from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 7 at Sachem North. The alliance's purpose is to help plan events such as a leadership luncheon, business etiquette brunch and a junior chamber of commerce for students.

The feast embodied the Farmingville Hills Chamber of Commerce slogan: "Time to make a difference."

"We want to increase the participation of people in the community at our events," informed Wentz. "We want to convey the message that if you want to make a difference, it starts with the people in the community."

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