By Anna Edwards
Entertainment including live music, theater, comedy and fireworks will be taking place throughout the summer at Paper Mill Island.
The events are hosted by the Baldwinsville Center for the Arts and include Shakespeare in the Park, food truck nights, orchestra performances and jazz.
“We tried to do a variety of things for this season,” said Jim Dale, the president of the Baldwinsville Center for the Arts.
The concert events, which mostly take place on Saturdays, will be accompanied by food trucks and beer sold by WT Brews.
Bands include The Dirty Doves, Amber Fly, Fondu, Pony Tail James, and Pat Tato & the Baked Potatoes.
Eric Reinagel, a member of the Village of Baldwinsville Board of Trustees, said that Paper Mill Island is the perfect location for these events.
“Paper Mill Island is just this beautiful, scenic island in the middle of the Village of Baldwinsville … It’s just a great venue,” Reinagel said.
The Baldwinsville Center for the Arts will hold performances and fireworks on Independence Day. It will also host a 4th of July Parade where kids 12 and under can decorate their bikes red, white and blue.
“It’s a nice family event,” Dale said.
Reinagel said that the performances are popular because of the unique venue and the atmosphere of live music.
“There’s a great slice of humanity out there. I love it,” Reinagel said.
This is the Baldwinsville Center for the Arts’ first year taking over the summer concert series.
They have been planning since April.
Dale said the short timeframe did not give the group enough time to book national acts, but they pulled in many regional bands to perform.
Dale said that the group has already created a Paper Mill Island Committee that is working on the 2025 summer season and is focused on booking acts for the following year.
For a full schedule of performances visit baldwinsville.org.
