The concerts at the Gazebo every Friday night have been great! It's a lovely (and inexpensive) way to spend a night out! Some of us can remember the same type of concerts at the old band shell which fell into disrepair and was replaced by the Babylon Beautification Society's gazebo. In fact we recycled the benches, which are still in use today! The concerts begin at 8 p.m. and in the event of rain they are moved to the High School auditorium.

Speaking of concerts, Village residents enjoyed the free Summer Concert held on the Conklin House lawn on July 18th. Sponsored by the Babylon Village Arts Council, the concert featured the music of Late Night Audio. Since it was an early evening concert, families arrived with chairs and picnic dinners. Theweather cooperated nicely and everyone had a wonderful time.

The Post Office Café addition will be open for business by October. Mark Lessing says that the new kitchen will be state of the art and that the new space, which is being totally redesigned, will be available for overflow diners and catering.

Luc and Cooper Coyle of Gamecock Lane celebrated their 11th birthday with family and friends at the Village Pool on July 17th. The twins are the sons of Glori and Michael Coyle and this is the tenth year that the pool was the site of their birthday festivities. One and all seemed to feel that this was the best celebration to date!

It's been an eventful summer for Alice and Joe Vanderveldt. Daughter Meredith Vanderveldt is sporting a cast on her left leg after breaking her foot. She will be taking off for University of South Carolina in Columbia in mid-August. Meanwhile, son Gavin is engaged to Heather Jorgensen from Massachusetts. They hope to wed in 2011. Gavin works with Corporate Computer Security Systems and Heather is a cardiac care nurse working toward a Masters to become a nurse practitioner.

Dot Campi's back in town for the summer and has been seen all over the area. Dot now lives in California with her daughter, Robin Giordano, but still manages to spend part of her summers in Babylon. Her many friends are delighted to welcome Dot home!

Bill Wolfe, of the Argyle Grill, has revealed some of the details of their new wine bar, located across the street at 69 Deer Park Avenue. Look for the Barrique Kitchen & Wine Bar, expected to open in the early part of September. The Barrique (which means small oak barrel) will feature a big wine list, sold by the glass and half bottle. They will also be serving tapas (small plates of food meant for sharing) including items such as veal meatballs, flatbread pizzas, salads, sautéed calamari, steak, etc. Initially, the Barrique will be opening late afternoon, six or seven days a week.

Thefourth annual Bay Fest was a huge success. The evening was clear and the crowd was large. Various local artists showed their work including Kathy Herzy, Evan Reinheimer, Monica Friedrich, and Edward Lee. The crew from Coach Realty was manning the Chamber of Commerce table and asked us to remind people that Restaurant Week will be August 2nd thru the 9th.

Mayor Ralph Scordino and Trustees Tony Davida, Debbie Basile, and Alice Vanderbilt were all seen enjoying the fun. Different types of seafood were available as were hotdogs and hamburgers, grilled corn, cotton candy and all sorts of goodies. The cranberry pecan oatmeal cookies from the Pisces Café were especially good, as were the ice cream cups from Cold Stone. (You can tell I'm a firm believer in desserts!)

Music was provided by the Red River Ramblers, the Guy Mendilow Band, and Beaucoup Blue, with Jack Finkenberg serving as the evening's Emcee. The only disappointment was the clam shucking contest, which had to be cancelled due to insufficient contestants. Come on, baymen, start practicing for next year's contest! (Happi Auer, this includes you!)

Children had their faces painted, played games, and ate hot dogs and cotton candy. I watched Tyler Sacaccio who sat quietly, absolutely absorbed in the music. Tyler is the son of Michelle and Steven Sacaccio and the grandson

of Pat Sacaccio (and greatgrandson

of Dot Campi).

Back to the Babylon Village Restaurant Week…participating restaurants include the Babylon Carriage House, Argyle Grill, Horace & Sylvia's, Ristorante Gemelli, Post Office Café, Pronto!, Armadillo Grille, Lucy's Cafe, Lily Flanagans, and Café Il Villaggio. From Sunday, August 2nd to Saturday, August 9th, these restaurants will provide a three course prix fixe meal for $24.95. That's quite a bargain in these tough times.

Rob Gallagher celebrates his birthday on July 31st. Many happy returns!