The Village Pops Concerts, directed and founded by former Farmingdale High School music teacher and alumnus Brad DeMilo, are set to begin on Wednesday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m. They will continue each Wednesday for seven consecutive weeks in the gazebo on the Village Green.

DeMilo said the people who attend enhance the spirit of the concerts.

"It's quite something," DeMilo said. "I find the concerts an absolute charming part of the summer in the village."

The Farmingdale Festival Chorus, led by director Gene McCoy, will appear several times throughout the season. The chorus is a combination of singers from three parishes in Farmingdale.

DeMilo said he enjoys developing new ideas for each year.

"That pretty much is my year," DeMilo quipped. "People only see me seven times a year, but that's not all I do."

Various themes for different concerts include a number of patriotic selections for the Fourth of July, a children's concert, a WWII concert, a new theme called "It's Christmas in July" and lots of other surprises and fun with the infinite variety of music.

"We do this for people who aren't able to get out around Christmastime," DeMilo explained. "So we thought it would be fun and unusual to play the music they would hear if they did happen to go to a concert during Christmastime."

This will be the 24th season for the Pops, and the 20th year of 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. Farmingdale Village Historian Bill Johnston of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society will organize the Minute of History.

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.

At a recent Village Board meeting DeMilo thanked the administration for their continued support.

"I would like to start organizing a committee to mark next year's silver anniversary of Village Pops to make it special," DeMilo suggested. "I would also like to have a theme song published by a notable composer."

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.