events

The Bedrock Boys, a polka band, kicks off the 13th annual "Friday Night in the Square" concert series on June 18.

The free, public concert takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. in Jackson Square in Downtown Batavia, located in the alleyway of Jackson or Center streets. Bring your own seating. Food and refreshments will be available for sale. If it's raining, venue changes to Batavia City Centre, inside the mall.

There will be a Chiavetta's chicken BBQ to benefit The Moving Wall monument to the Vietnam War. It's from 11 a.m. until sold out. on Wednesday, June 9 on the patio, behind Building #4 at the VA Medical Center in Batavia.

It is located at 222 Richmond Ave.

The lunch is sponsored by the Women's Auxiliary DAV Chapter 166. The food will be cooked on site. Pre-sale Tickets available at the Batavia Police Office on Main Street.

Cost is $8 and includes a half chicken, macaroni salad, potato salad, roll and butter.

The annual Ramble Arts & Music Fest returns to Batavia from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 3 at Jackson Square.

This year’s reunion of past and present musicians and artists sees performances from more than 25 bands including: The Ghost Riders, Red Creek, Penny Whiskey, and Old Hippie Reunion.

In addition, a raffle for a Yamaha acoustic electric guitar will be drawn during the Ramble. More information can be found at www.ramblemusic.com.

For those interested in an upcoming spiritual retreat, there will be an information session in the Sacristy of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, at 20 Ellicott St. in Batavia, from 7 until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8.

What lurks in the murky pond over there? Find out about the interesting creatures, get wet and muddy and explore this unique ecosystem.

A Pond Discovery class will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday, July 10 at the Genesee County Park & Forest Interpretive Nature Center.

Cost is $5 per person or $10 per family. Pre-registration is required.

Participants will use nets to dip into the pond and see what resides there. Wear clothing and shoes that you don't mind getting wet and muddy.

There will be a public hearing on proposed restrictions on outdoor wood boilers on Monday, June 14. It will be at the Conable Technology Building on the Batavia campus of Genesee Community College.

An informal informational meeting will be from 5 to 6 p.m. The actual public hearing is from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced that new restrictions might be placed on operating requirements for both new and existing outdoor wood boilers.

Batavia's First Presbyterian Church is running its planting project, "God's Little Acre," for the second year in a row. Volunteers are needed to help plant crops at the garden on South Main St. Rd. in Batavia on Saturday, June 5.

Volunteers will meet at the church, at 300 E. Main St. in Batavia, around 9:45 a.m. to carpool. Planting will end around noon. Volunteers will also be needed to weed, water and harvest throughout the summer.

Batavia's First Presbyterian Church invites community members on a field trip to Pavilion's Linwood Gardens for its annual Tree Peony Festival. All who are going will meet at the church, at 300 E. Main St. in Batavia, at 1:30 p.m. to carpool. The event will end around 4 or 4:30 p.m.

This outing is free, but an $8 donation to Linwood Gardens is appreciated.

U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Greg Gramiccioni and Letizia Tagliafierro of the New York State Attorney General's Office will be giving a presentation on fraud at the Office for the Aging, at 2 Bank St., in Batavia.

Free and open to the public, this presentation will be from 1 until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4. It will include information on the different types of fraud currently being practiced, as well as how consumers can protect themselves. Topics include:

Harpist Patricia Worrad will play at GoArt!'s Seymour Place, at 201 E. Main St. in Batavia, from 6 until 8 p.m.

Worrad will be playing traditional Irish tunes and classical pieces on a floor-standing lever harp, the design of which is based on the Celtic tradition. A themed dinner will also be served.

Advance reservation is required. The cost of the event is $18 per GoArt! member and $20 per non-member.

The Father's Day Car Show will be happening on at the Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, at 9993 Alleghany Rd. in Darien Center. It runs from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

A variety of cars -- including Antiques, Rods and Convertibles -- will be on display starting at noon each day, with awards are being given at 3 p.m. Live entertainment will be included.

For more details -- including cost -- call 599-4641.

Attention parents in the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District. There will be a PRACTICE evacuation drill for all students, K-12, on Thursday, May 27.

Dismissal for grades six through 12 is at 10 a.m.

Dismissal for grades K through five is at 11:30 a.m.

Any questions please call Merritt Holly, middle school principal, OACS.

Leadership Genesee’s 7th Annual Golf & Bocce Ball Tournament is at 11:30 a.m., Monday, June 14 at Terry Hills Golf Course. Gold Sponsor of the tournament is Clark Patterson Lee.

The four-person scramble that includes lunch, green fee, cart and buffet dinner is $115. Registration for Bocce Ball is $50 per person and it includes lunch and dinner. Dinner only is $30 per person.

Leadership Genesee’s 7th Annual Golf & Bocce Ball Tournament is at 11:30 a.m., Monday, June 14 at Terry Hills Golf Course. Gold Sponsor of the tournament is Clark Patterson Lee.

Now until June 1, teams may sign up for the four-person scramble that includes lunch, green fee, cart and buffet dinner for $100 per person. But after June 1, the price is $115. Registration for Bocce Ball is $50 per person and it includes lunch and dinner. Dinner only is $30 per person.

The Dave Matthews Band will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2, at Darien Lake's Performing Arts Center, at 9993 Alleghany Rd. in Darien Center.

For more information -- including cost -- call the Performing Arts Center at 599-5040.

Representatives from Keuka College will be at Genesee Community College's Batavia Campus, at 1 College Rd., to talk about the Accelerated Studied for Adults Program (ASAP). This will take in Room T121 of the Conable Tech Building from 6 until 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2.

Tom Rivers, an author and longtime staff writer for the Batavia Daily News, will give a reading and presentation of his recently published book, "Farm Hands: Hard work and hard lessons from Western New York fields." A Q&A session will follow.

It will take place at GoArt!'s Seymour Place, at 201 E. Main St. in Batavia, from 7 until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26.

Local wheelchair-bound veterans need your help to attend the 30th annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games.

Starting at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21, there will be a take-out chicken BBQ at Clor's Market in Batavia to help them pay for the trip.

The "Games with Heart a Mile High" will be held this summer in Denver, Colo.

(Note: The end time is a "guesstimate," the BBQ will be sold until sold out, whenever that is.)

Batavia Players present their spring production of Oscar Wilde’s "The Importance of Being Earnest" this week. Show time is 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, May 20-22.

PLEASE NOTE: The venue has changed to John Kennedy School, 166 Vine St., in Batavia. (It was earlier planned for the Players' New Harvester Theater.)