There was magic at the West Islip fair.

by Jeffrey Kerwin

It’s fall, so it must be time for the West Islip Fair, which was held on the grounds of the West Islip Public Library.

One of the highlights of the fair this year was a display by the West Islip High School Robotechs Team. Two of the robots the team built, along with a Segway, were on display.

Student Denise Stephensen and faculty advisor Mr. Buonomo said the idea for the team was born in 1999 when the school went to a regional competition. The team was officially formed in 2002, with 25 team members, and has grown to 40 for the 2004 season, according to the team’s website.

There was plenty to browse through at the WI Fair, including some great reading material.

It takes an average of six weeks to build a robot, according to Stephensen and Buonomo. Robots can only be 30-inches x36-inches x60-inches, and weigh a maximum of 130 pounds.

One of the robots on display was "Raising the Bar", which takes part in a "stack attack." According to Stephensen, robots in this exercise attempt to knock down totes or plastic storage bins.

Raising the Bar was designed to go up two six-inch steps and come to a stop on a platform. When the robot reaches the platform, the arm goes up, hooks onto the end and grabs onto a ten-foot bar.

The team took home a Chairman’s Award from SBPLI Long Island Regional Competition, which was held in January at Suffolk Community College. Buonomo said on the team’s website that "the day was so successful, Segway of Long Island has committed to supporting us at all public events."

But robots were not the only stars of the day. Many lovely plants, for which the fair has become known, were for sale at the West Islip Beautification Society table run by the Pepes, Marie and Rocky and their daughter Debbie. This non-profit organization depends upon "the generosity of the community" said Marie, which supports the plant sales throughout the year.

The Beautification Society was founded in 1976 by Dorothe Karwoski "The fair has really blossomed over the nearly thirty years it has been running," Marie said.

Karwoski’s goal was to make West Islip a unique landscaped hamlet and work over the years, funded in large from the proceeds of the fair includes fifty planted islands that the Society maintains including at John Street,Route 231, Keith Lane at Union Boulevard, and the Dorothe Karwoski Memorial Garden at the merge of Higbie Lane and Udall Road.

The first West Islip Fair was organized in 1976 to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial, according to Maria Pecorale, the Committee’s Chairwoman. She says, "It was the first time everyone in West Islip got together for one community event,"

It was a planned weekend, that would include a parade which went from the north- to the south-end of town, which would wind up at the school grounds adjacent to the public library. The fair was held on a Saturday and the next day, Sunday, a pageant was held that featured thirteen schools, which represented the thirteen original colonies.

The result was so positive that people asked us to do it again, said Pecorale. "The success of this fair every year shows that there are a lot of good things right in our own backyard," she said.