Workout festival NY Fit Fest brings hope to Long Island to celebrate fitness and fun again as a family
NY Fit Fest has been on a mission to provide fitness and fun to every demographic since 2017, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses lost out on the opportunity to build their brand at this event. In past years, this fitness festival has brought well-known trainers and more than 40 different workout classes to the boardwalk and beachfront of Long Beach.
The NY Fit Fest corporation had two events scheduled for 2020, one on June 13 and Sept. 25. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the corporation to pull the plug on both events, but there are big plans in the works for Fit Fest on June 13, 2021.
“The City of Long Beach did not make its own determination on events like NY Fit Fest, but rather followed and enforced the guidelines promulgated at the state level,” said a city official from the City of Long Beach in response to the cancellation of 2020 NY Fit Fest.
NY Fit Fest is a great way for attending businesses to advertise
The festival was not only a chance for families to get out and do something new together, but it was also a huge marketing opportunity for attending businesses. Many businesses in the past have gained customers thanks to NY Fit Festival.
CycleBar Garden City attended the festival in 2018 and 2019 and owner, Lee Williams, was upset about the cancellation. Williams has grown his business in years past from the festival. With forced gym closure and lack of advertising from the festival, his membership numbers have dropped drastically, but he remains hopeful for 2021.
“Like many Boutique studios, NY Fit Fest’s mission is to bring diverse communities together to celebrate life, health and fitness — both mental and physical. As we re-emerge from the devastating impacts of the pandemic, our belief in our mission has never been more resolute. We are an essential business and we will come back stronger than ever before,” said Williams.
Williams believes that his membership will grow at the 2021 Fit Festival because it is a great way to advertise and remind fitness enthusiasts that CycleBar Garden City has made it through the pandemic and is stronger than ever before.
This event is paying its sponsors
Businesses are normally fighting to sponsor the festival but after the financial burden of the pandemic, many cannot afford to sponsor the event, said the Co-Owner of NY Fit Festival, Ingrid Krumholz Dodd.
“We actually have decided to give away five sponsorships to local restaurants and five gyms instead of them sponsoring the event,” said Dodd. She felt it was important to give back to these businesses after all they have done for the festival in past years.
Dodd mentioned when planning the 2021 festival, they thought about making this event only available to adults to save money. After closer evaluation, the board realized that choice did not align with the original values of NY Fit Fest.
“We want people to come to our festival and feel something that makes their soul jump,” said Dodd.
Instead, the festival is taking it to the next level to prove that “fitness and wellness don’t discriminate,” said Dodd. They are setting up a 10,000 square foot Ultimate Ninja Warrior course for the kids. They even have the Special Olympics team on board. The festival has classes designed for seniors and every walk of life.
Ticket sales begin May 1 for the June 12, 2021 festival. You can stay up to date with NY Fit Festival on their instagram as they reveal all they have planned for their upcoming event.
