Earlier this week, the board of directors of the Larchmont Boulevard Association voted to scale back their plans for celebrating the street’s 100th birthday. The group representing Larchmont businesses, which organizes the annual Family Fair, Â a community highlight, has been struggling to craft a fitting celebration of the street’s milestone anniversary. But the recent rise in COVID-19 infections driven by the Delta variant has put a damper on plans. (The Buzz is a member of the LBA and this writer serves on the LBA board.)
“We just don’t feel like we can really plan anything,” LBA President John Winther told the Buzz. “It’s very frustrating because we had wanted to mark the occasion with a proper celebration, but it’s impossible with so much uncertainty. We look forward to bringing back and expanding the Family Fair next year.”
Instead of the beer garden and concert the LBA originally planned for October 24, the group will celebrate Larchmont’s 100th birthday with a ceremonial birthday-cake-cutting  and a community group photo.
A small group of LBA Board members, including business owners Todd Warner (Tailwaggers), Katie Orphan (Chevalier’s Books), and David Rhodes (Rhodes School of Music), had been brainstorming with the Buzz and Betsy Malloy, organizer of previous Family Fairs, who had proposed the concert and beer garden. Heather Boylston of the Larchmont Village BID, and Windsor Square resident Gary Gilbert, had joined in the discussions about various centennial celebration scenarios, including moving the event back to November to coincide with Small Business Saturday. The resurgence of the pandemic was an uninvited guest at all these discussions, however, and ultimately, the primary reason for scaling everything back.
But we aren’t giving up! The Buzz will continue to work with the LBA and others to explore ways to celebrate our street’s 100th birthday that are safe and – hopefully – equally meaningful. Stay tuned for more developments.
