The Village Pops Concerts, directed and founded by former Farmingdale High School music teacher and alumnus Brad DeMilo, are set to begin on Wednesday, July 1 at 7:30 p.m.
In its 27th year, the Village Pops Concerts run for seven weeks throughout the summer in the gazebo on the Village Green.
Regular Pops Concerts will take place on July 1, 8, 22 and 29 and offer a variety of music including instrumental, Broadway and classical.
“There’s a whole gamut that makes music interesting to listen to,” DeMilo said.
On Sunday, July 19 at 5 p.m. there will be Family Picnic Pops concert. In case of rain, this event will be canceled.
The Children’s Concert will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 5 and a tribute to the music and people of World War II will be held at the season’s closing concert on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
“It’s amazing that we get as many people to come out as we do,” he added.
In the event of rain, Wednesday concerts will be held at Howitt Middle School.
DeMilo said he continues his involvement with the event because “it gives people something to do and it’s part of Farmingdale.”
“People want to play and people want to come to concerts and it’s nice to get away from your home and the television,” he added.
Village Historian William Johnston will once again be organizing the Minute of History, a series of lectures provided by local community members and representatives about the community’s past. This feature on local history was conceived by DeMilo as part of Farmingdale’s Tricentennial of Settlement observance in 1987.
The Farmingdale Festival Chorus, led by director Gene McCoy, will appear several times throughout the season. The chorus is a combination of singers from a few parishes in Farmingdale. The St. Kilian Players will also be performing on the Village Green throughout the season.
The Village Pops Community Band, a group of volunteer musicians who include Farmingdale High School alumni and other performers, come from Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau County and Suffolk County and range from 16 to 75 years of age. The band group meets once a week to practice and then they perform the concert. The Farmingdale Board of Education provides equipment and rehearsal space. The concerts are sponsored by the Village of Farmingdale, Farmingdale Public Schools, Sperry Credit Union, Cameron Engineering, VFW Post 516, FBHS, Farmingdale Board of Education and The Eve Eskin Brown Foundation.
Residents are asked to bring their own lawn chairs to the Village Green. For more information about the Village Pops Concert Series call Farmingdale Village Hall at 249-0093.
