Riverdale Avenue Holiday Festival is Sunday

On Sunday, Dec. 2, Riverdale Avenue between West 236th and West 238th streets will be transformed into a holiday festival with a petting zoo, pony rides, live music, the Bronx Culture Trolley, clowns and food from local eateries.

The South Riverdale Avenue Merchants Association and the Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Van Cortlandt Development Corporation will host the Riverdale Holiday Festival, from noon to 4 p.m.

Riverdale instrumental guitarist Steve Oats, the David A. Stein, Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy, MS/HS 141 chorus, Tony Grova as Elvis and the Irish Music Trio will perform.

The Bronx Culture Trolley will loop around the Riverdale/Kingsbridge/Marble Hill area, from noon to 4 p.m., picking people up to bring them to the festival or other local attractions. Stops include TD Bank on West 230th Street, St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Marble Hill, the Van Cortlandt Park Ice Rink on Broadway, Elisa Contemporary Art on Mosholu Avenue, the Skyview Shopping Center on Riverdale Avenue, Country Bank on Johnson Avenue and Salon Zoe on Riverdale Avenue.

The festival is the brainchild of Mario Curanaj, owner of Salvatore’s of Soho and Yo Burger, and Rose Ann Milo, owner of children’s clothing store Baby It’s You. Community Board 8’s Economic Development Committee also helped to organize the festival. 

“Planning this festival has been very rewarding because the entire community supported it. Riverdale Avenue was a challenge to shut down for the day because it is a bus and emergency route,” Tracy Shelton, executive director of KRVC, said in a press release.

Many of the businesses on Riverdale Avenue will have specials for the festival. The event will also include raffles to raise money for two organizations that fight cancer, Hope Lodge and Pancreatic Cancer Care Network.

For more information, call 718-543-7100 or go to www.krvcdc.org.