LYNDONVILLE â€" The Independence Day bash of the year in Orleans County will once again return with an outdoor concert featuring the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hosted for the 34th year by the Lyndonville Lions Club, the day will boast a full-length parade, food, live entertainment, an arts and crafts show and a fireworks display at dusk.
The festivities kick off at 11 a.m. with the AFS arts & crafts show, which runs until 6 p.m., and pre-parade entertainment from the Hit Men Brass Band along Main Street. The Fourth of July Parade â€" "Celebration American Style" â€" will convene at noon.
At the high school, the Medina Masons will sponsor a free child identification booth until 5 p.m. and the Lyndonville Lions Club will conduct free eye screenings from noon to 3 p.m. Childrenâ€TMs games will take place until 3 p.m.
The Lyndonville Lions Club chicken barbecue, prepared by Yates Town Councilman John Belson, will serve from 1 to 5 p.m. take-out or sit down. Tickets are $8 each and available at the Town of Yates Clerkâ€TMs Office, Medinaâ€TMs Hartway Motors, Lyndonvilleâ€TMs M&T Bank. They can also be purchased from Lions Club members.
Each of the 49 members of the Lions Club works year-round to make the day a success, along with a team of Lyndonville and Yates residents who take the time to volunteer.
The Eagle Garden Tractor Pull will start at 1 p.m. and continue until 6 p.m. near the bus garage. The pull is an old fashioned weight pull competition of souped up riding mowers and garden tractors.
Mark Rust, a singer and musician from Woodstock who has released several recordings, will provide two free shows at the tent by the school on Housel Avenue at 1:15 and 3:30 p.m.
Additional live entertainment includes the Alexander Firemenâ€TMs Band Concert at 2:15 p.m. and demonstrations from Lakeside Karate School at 3 p.m. From 5 to 6 p.m., Distant View will perform in the parking lot of the old school, Pucher said.
The Arts & Crafts Show has been a crowd pleaser since it was started by Lyndonville resident and Genesee Community College art history instructor Joyce Chizick in 1975. Many of the favorites make a point to return year after year, setting up in the same location so that return visitors can easily find them, she said.
Proceeds from the booth rentals benefit the AFS International Student Exchange Program.
“Itâ€TMs always on the school lawn that faces Main Street, between the creek and the sidewalk,” Chizick said. “We have several artists and we have lots of crafts people. … Everything should be handcrafted.”
More than 50 vendors are expected to bring their unique wares, including Lyndonville residents Ginny and Ray Davis with their fabric crafts. The Ackerman family will again sell jewelry, and their son, Jason Ackerman, will sell his photographs.
For many, the highlight of the day will begin at 7 p.m. on the schoolâ€TMs soccer fields and lawn. For the past few years, an anonymous donor has donated the funds to hire the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for a free concert, Pucher said. They will perform in a band shell erected just for the occasion.
Concert attendees should bring a lawn chair or blanket. VIP seats are $10 and VIP parking is $5. Tickets are available at the Town of Yates Clerkâ€TMs Office and Medinaâ€TMs Hartway Motors.
Wanda Oakes, Chizickâ€TMs co-chair planning the Arts & Crafts Show, said the Philharmonic is always her favorite part of the day.
“When you sit in that area … and you look back, there is a sea of families â€" many of them with young children who are exposed to classical music,” Oakes said. “The whole lawn is just filled with people. Itâ€TMs one of the most exciting things in Lyndonville that Iâ€TMve ever done.”
“How many villages with less than 1,000 people can gather that size of a gathering for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra?”
Immediately following the concert, as dusk approaches, the display of fireworks will be let off. People line the streets of the village as far as the eye can see â€" sitting, standing or on top of their cars â€" to witness the Fourth of July tradition, she said.
The fireworks â€" a $10,000 investment, Pucher estimates â€" are paid for with funding from the Lions Club and the Lyndonville Area Foundation. The Hit Men Brass Band, Mark Rust and the Alexanderâ€TMs Firemenâ€TMs Band are made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the New York State Council on the Arts administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.
In the event of rain, the entire celebration will be rescheduled for July 5.