Downtown Riverhead

The 59-foot, 4-inch tall addition on the rear of the theater will consist of an expanded stage and backstage area, including a new “green room,” dressing rooms, restrooms, kitchenette, laundry room, showers, and mechanical rooms, as well as approximately 2,970 square feet of first-floor retail space and 28 market-rate apartments on floors two through five.

The popular Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival will take place on Memorial Day weekend again this year, as it had every year since its debut in 1996 — until pandemic disruptions in 2020 and 2021. The daylong celebration of the arts and community will take place on East Main Street and on the grounds of East End Arts on Sunday, May 29, from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

The first pair of in-person meetings of the committee tasked with developing a strategic plan for Riverhead’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant took place yesterday in Riverhead Town Hall.

Riverhead is embarking on a state-structured process for devising its strategic investment plan for the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant it was awarded in January. The town's first two public meetings, including a public participation session, are scheduled for Monday.

The meetings, hosted by Riverhead’s Local Planning Committee — the advisory committee formed jointly by the state and town to guide the town’s spending of its award — are scheduled for March 21 at Town Hall, May 23 at the Suffolk Theater, and July 1 at either Grangebel Park or the Town Square site.

A LepreCon craft spirit crawl will take place along the “Riverhead Ale Trail” Saturday, March 19 to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Moving the popular summer street festival to Friday nights will make it a great way to kick off the weekend for visitors and locals alike, Riverhead BID President Steve Shauger said.

There was an excruciating monthlong wait for the last of the state's announcements of Downtown Revitalization Initiative grants. Today, Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin announced Riverhead has won a $10 million grant to help the town move forward with plans for a town square on the riverfront and other revitalization measures.

Riverhead Town has been awarded a $10 million grant from New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative program, which will go toward major town-sponsored improvement projects like the town square and transit-oriented development near the railroad station.

The Riverhead Lions Club 69th Santa Parade and and the town's 21st annual holiday bonfire are set to take place Saturday, Dec. 11.