The Incorporated Village of Farmingdale is celebrating two anniversaries on Sunday, July 8. They are the 75th anniversary of the Village Hall-Fire House Building and the 25th anniversary of the Village Pops.

After its incorporation in 1904, the village rented what had been a local office of the Town of Oyster Bay. Once the decision was made to build its own Village Hall-Fire House on the same site, the village purchased and razed the building. In 1930 this decision was a difficult one since the country was in the midst of a great economic slump and the anticipated cost of the project was $140,000. Village residents rejected this proposal by a 2-1 margin in December 1930. In March, a second proposal was presented to residents with the bond debt scaled back to $74,000 and passed easily. Bids were sought, contracts awarded and construction began in the summer of 1931. The new Village Hall - Fire House Building was officially dedicated by Mayor Frank Scholl in 1932. It was the first time the two fire services, the Hook and Ladder Company and the Water Witch Company were united under one roof.

In 1979 an addition was constructed to the building including a new entrance, lobby and meeting chamber and over the last several years, updating and upgrading of infrastructure and operation systems at Village have been completed.

In 1983, with the availability of the Village Green as a suitable site, the Village Pops was founded by Brad DeMilo. Consisting of volunteer musicians, this band has performed weekly during the summer under DeMilo's direction for the past 25 years. In recent years, the Gazebo/Bandstand at Village Green has been the site of the Pops concerts. Residents look forward to gathering with friends and neighbors weekly to enjoy these wonderful concerts.

To mark the anniversaries, the village has planned a celebration including Open House at the Village Hall-Fire House on Sunday, July 8 beginning at 2 p.m. There will be activities for the children in Village Green and refreshments behind the Fire House. At 5 p.m., the Village Pops will begin their Anniversary Concert with the same musical selections performed in their initial concert in 1983.

Village Trustee Patricia Christansen is chairing the anniversary celebration.

"At first we considered two separate events but after further thought decided it would be exciting to combine both events into one big celebration for the village," she said. "We are so fortunate to live in a village so rich in history and I think everyone enjoys when we have a celebration to commemorate these events."