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 25 at 7:30 p.m.

In its 26th year, the Village Pops Concerts run for seven consecutive weeks in the gazebo on the Village Green. In lieu of a Wednesday, July 9 concert there will be a Family Picnic Pops concert on Sunday, July 13 at 5 p.m.

"The pops audience is invited to bring a blanket and enjoy a light supper either before or during the concert," DeMilo explained.

The Children's Concert will be held on Wednesday, July 3 and a tribute to the music and people of World War II will be held at the season's closing concert on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Village Historian William Johnston will once again be organizing 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 Farmingdale Festival Chorus, led by director Gene McCoy, will appear several times throughout the season. The chorus is a combination of singers from a few parishes in Farmingdale.

The St. Kilian Players will also be performing on the Village Green throughout the season.

Margaret Barrett, past president of the St. Kilian Players, said they will perform a few numbers from 42nd Street during one of the July Village Pops concerts. This is the third year St. Kilian Players are participating.

"It's good publicity for us and it's very nice to be a part of. It's a good group of people," Barrett said.

Various local businesses and individuals supply and sponsor weekly ice cream raffles, with the ice cream supplied by Bollinger's on Main Street.

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. The concerts are sponsored by the Village of Farmingdale.

"They are the major benefactors of what it is we do every summer," DeMilo said.

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.