Scores of local residents are grabbing their lawn chairs and heading over to the Farmingdale Village Green, as the annual Village Pops Concert puts a musical spell over the community this summer.

The concert series, which has become a local warm-weather tradition, has been under way since the first week of this month. The free entertainment is provided by a community band led by Brad DeMilo, who is also director of the Farmingdale High School Marching Band. This is the seventeenth season for the program, which has attracted a larger and larger audience every year since it was initiated.

The concerts, which began on July 7, and end on Aug. 18, are being held on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. In the case of rain the site will be the auditorium at Farmingdale's Howitt School.

The series will also include, for the thirteenth year, the "Minute of History," which features lectures by local community members about Farmingdale's varied past. This way of focusing on Farmingdale's heritage was begun by Director DeMilo as part of the community's Tricentennial of Settlement observance in 1987.

As the opening Minute of History, on July 7, Village of Farmingdale Mayor Joseph Trudden gave a presentation on "Trolley Day." His lecture described the excitement of the local community as they celebrated the opening of the Cross-Island Trolley Line, which connected Farmingdale, Amityville and Huntington, on Aug. 25, 1909. "Even before the automobile era, Long Island had few routes connecting the north and south shores. The Long Island Rail Road's routes have always been basically east-west, to and from New York City," the mayor noted. "So it was a major occasion in Farmingdale and also Amityville and Huntington on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1909 when the Cross-Island Trolley Line opened, connecting these communities with an 18-mile route."

Residents can hear more about Farmingdale's unique history by listening to upcoming Minute of History lectures. Other presenters include Barbara J. Post, president of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society, Dr. Benjamin J. Giminaro, deputy mayor, Village of Farmingdale and president-elect of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society, Daniel G. Looney, deputy historian of the Village of Farmingdale and Josephine Macchia, trustee of the Farmingdale Board of Education.

For further information about the Village Pops Concert Series, one may call Farmingdale Village Hall at (516) 249-0093.