Get ready for the Bayport-Blue Point Community Expo

Two towns, one community, all under one roof, is the motto for the upcoming biennial Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce Community Expo.

On Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 4 to 8 p.m., the Bayport and Blue Point communities will join as one at the Bayport Flower Houses for a night of community connection as local businesses come together with elected officials, and civic, first responder, and educational groups.

“We like to get all of Bayport-Blue Point under one roof,” said Seth Needleman, chair of the chamber’s community expo committee, and owner of The Fish Store. “It’s a showcase of everybody under one roof of what our town delivers.”

Over 50 organizations have signed up for tables so far, with the event reaching near capacity as of earlier this week, according to Needleman. Local businesses including realtors and restaurants will host tables alongside Bayport-Blue Point student athletes, and the Bayport-Blue Point High School Jazz Band. Students of Jack Licitra in Sayville will also be performing live music.

The BBP Community Expo will also be featured on radio stations My Country 96.1 and WEHM (92.9 and 96.9), the latter of which will be live at the event from 4-7 p.m.

Local nonprofits including the Great South Bay Coalition, Friends of the Bayport-Blue Point Library, Bayport Civic Association, and Sayville Rotary Club will be in attendance.

And local first responders from the Community and Patchogue ambulance companies, Suffolk County police and Sheriff’s departments, along with the Bayport and Blue Point fire departments will also be in attendance, with personnel ready to inform residents about safety.

The Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce expects over 2,000 attendees across the event, and everyone is eligible for inclusion in a free, $300-valued raffle basket that contains items donated from local businesses.

With so many eyes on local businesses, members of the Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce see their community expo as a great way to make professional and customer connections.

“It adds a little more to the community feeling of Bayport-Blue Point. Everybody gets to meet everybody,” said Karl Auwaerter, owner of the Bayport Flower Houses and Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce treasurer. “[Chamber members] tell me that at the expo, they made some of their best contacts… There’s nothing better than face-to-face.”

The Bayport-Blue Point Community Expo has operated out of the Bayport Flower Houses every two years for nearly three decades. Auwaerter said he and his team, and especially wife Amy, prepare the venue over hundreds of hours leading up to the event—doing everything from clearing space to add more parking, to cleaning carpets in the flower houses.

“We’re just doing it for the goodwill of the community,” Auwaerter said.

Parking is available at the front of the Bayport Flower Houses, with recommended one spot per vendor, and additional parking across Montauk Highway near Chase Bank and at the flower houses on Gillette Avenue.

“I want people to come and experience what our town can offer because it’s a great little town,” said Needleman. “We call it two towns, one community.”