Perhaps because it has no bars, restaurants, or souvenir shops, Orient, the easternmost village on the North Fork, isn’t as popular with summer visitors as its neighbors to the west. Yet for the writers, artists, architects, farming families, and nature-lovers who live here, Orient’s secluded location at the end of a causeway is a big part of its allure.

The North Fork is the type of place people dream about spending their summers on. It has everything from beaches to vineyards, to locally caught seafood and freshly grown produce. As the stars light up over the Long Island Sound each night, it’s easy to get caught up in the beauty, the peace, and the magic that is the North Fork.

Questions and Answers with Elizabeth Weigart of the Times Vintage in Greenport Q: How did you get to the North Fork? A: I moved to NYC when I was 18, for school—Marymount Manhattan. I studied studio arts. While I’ve always loved vintage, my first love has always been art.

Leah Sullivan | Century 21 Albertson Realty | Cell: 631.816.0876 Leah is blessed to call the North Fork her year-round home and for the opportunity to raise her children in the same hamlet that she was raised. She enjoys a deep-rooted connection to the community and environment, and has firsthand knowledge of the area and its’ unique history.

Strong’s Marine has set the benchmark for Long Island boating since 1945, when Stewart Strong opened the family’s first marina in Lindenhurst. Three generations later, with headquarters on the North Fork, locations on Peconic Bay, Mattituck Inlet and across Long Island, the Strong family continues to build Strong’s Marine into the region’s leading purveyor of luxury boating.

Holiday shopping on the North Fork can be an exciting and enjoyable experience. Treasures abound in the many local shops and stores throughout the quaint hamlets of the North Fork, featuring beautiful clothing, fine accessories, handmade jewelry, fun children’s toys, delicious chocolates, and so much more.

Historic downtown Riverhead is currently undergoing a renaissance unlike anything seen before. On Main Street there are new breweries, fine restaurants, yogurt cafés, tea shops, art galleries, music stores, new apartments, office spaces, and more. Riverhead is becoming a vibrant downtown once again.

Apple cider, pumpkin pie, and fine wines are just some of the fall goodies to savor at harvest time on the North Fork. With over 30 vineyards and 25 farmstands scattered throughout the pastoral landscape, the variety of local wines from grapes just off the vines, fresh fruit picked from the trees, and vegetables plucked out of the soil is truly amazing.

During Hallockville Museum Farm’s annual summer camp, there is one question in particular that the kids love to try and guess the answer to. “What here, at Hallockville, is older than the United States of America?” They’re asked this during the tour of the Homestead, one of the best known sites on the farm.