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August is chock full of happenings in Batavia

By Joanne Beck

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Fall may be coming, but not before a plethora of events take place later this month.

Event applications are on City Council’s conference meeting agenda next week. It’s set for 7 p.m. Monday in Council Chambers, City Hall.

Take your pick: an Italian Fest, a bike rally, a rummage sale, an awareness event, a chicken barbecue, and backpack giveaway, or a block party (for neighbors in the block).

EverPresent Church has planned a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 20 in the parking lot outside of its Batavia City Centre property. Look for the pop-up tents. A private neighborhood block party has also been set for noon to 3 p.m. on Aug. 20 on Fordham Drive.

Also on Aug. 20, across the street from the Centre, the vibe is to get European — specifically Italian — with a festival from 1 to 9 p.m. Music, food, games and crafts will be offered on Jackson, Center and School streets. Hosted by Batavia Business Improvement District, the event, it has been said, will bring a little bit of Italy to Downtown Batavia.

After all of those pizza slices and cannolis, you might want to check out the bike rally fundraiser for Batavia Notre Dame’s United youth hockey team. Bikers will take off for the 10K course at Batavia High School parking lot at 5 p.m. Aug. 21.

This is a first-time event to raise money and offset costs of travel and uniforms, Varsity Hockey Coach Marc Staley said. He would also like to donate some of the proceeds to the Genesee Amateur Hockey Association, he said.

“Last year we did a meat raffle, and it was successful. But, we're trying to think this year about things that we could do to involve more of the youth hockey players, and involve the community and have sort of a healthy thing,” Staley said to The Batavian Friday. “And so it's not a race or anything like that. We’re gonna ride together. I think we have over 50 people, and we’re hoping to get to 100.”

There will be a limited number of T-shirts, and anyone who registers by Tuesday is guaranteed one, he said. Organizers will take registrations right up to event day. The cost is $25 for kids and $40 for adults. The course is in the northeastern quadrant of the city, he said, similar to where local 5K races are.

“Then we're going to have a few fun things at the end of the rally, a little cookout, and we're going to raffle off a few things,” Staley said. “But really what it is, it's a bike ride. It's a bike ride for hockey players and for people in the community who support the program and want to do something healthy, and have fun and ride with the kids.”

This rally will also hopefully give United a little exposure, he said, while raising money for team uniforms and travel expenses, such a bus upgrade when the team goes to Albany for a couple of games with Albany Academy and Bethlehem.

During summer work-outs, Staley noticed a large number of kids in seventh and eighth grade joining in with the jayvee and Varsity players. He would like to organize a modified team with those younger players, which would happen in March after the other games have finished.

The bike rally is just another physical event to get people outside, he said, and early Sunday evening seemed like a good time when there might be less traffic and it still allows people to partake of other Sunday activities beforehand.

Click here for an application. Note that the deadline states Sunday; however, Staley said that it's by Tuesday for a guaranteed T-shirt.

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Genesee-Orleans Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse will be hosting an Overdose Awareness Day from 4 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 at Austin Park, Batavia. There are to be speakers, resource tables, and the band Groove, with danceable rock, in the pavilion. Although this event is geared toward substance abuse and overdose awareness, everyone is welcome to attend, GCASA staffer Sue Gagne said.

The event's debut was in 2019, and then it didn't return for two years due to the pandemic, Gagne said. Organizers are excited to bring it back as an educational tool and for some fun with the local band that includes Neil and Joe Gagne and Peter Gomez.

Also visiting Austin Park from 1 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 27, Just Kings will be hosting a backpack giveaway and chicken barbecue fundraiser.

Other event applications for the fall include Ascension Parish with an Oktoberfest fundraiser on October 1, and All Babies Cherished with a vendor fair on October 22.

File photos of a Just Kings chicken barbecue and GCASA's Overdose Awareness Day.

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