Batavia ice cream social to support Flag Day memorial, fireworks
A patriotic party is planned for Sunday in Batavia, as volunteers raise money for Fourth of July fireworks, a Flag Day memorial and more.
The third annual ice cream social is from 5 to 8:20 p.m. at the Riverwalk, Island Avenue and Houston Street.
Batavia aldermen will man the ice-cream scoops, serving up sundaes for $3. "We hope to go through several barrels of ice cream," said Linda Schielke, one of the event's organizers.
There will be a raffle of teakwood outdoor furniture, with tickets at $10, and a raffle for other prizes, with tickets at $1 each.
Floating luminarias cost $5 and can be decorated with wishes and tributes to loved ones or military veterans. They will be released on Depot Pond at 7:40 p.m.
Flag Day magnets, benefiting the Flag Day memorial, and "Bulldogs Unleashed" T-shirts will be sold. "Bulldogs Unleashed" is a fundraiser for the Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence, the Batavia Library Foundation and the Batavia Parks Foundation.
Besides the ice cream, people can buy food from vendors including Bernie's Bully Dogs, Fernando's Kitchen and Team Fib BBQ.
Festivities begin with a flag-raising at 4:55 p.m.
From 5 to 6:30 p.m., local dance academies and musicians will perform.
At 6:30, "Bulldogs Unleashed" will unveil the decorated bulldog statues that will be displayed around town this summer, before being auctioned off in September.
At 7:45 p.m., the Batavia Community Band will perform.
The evening wraps up with announcement of raffle winners and a flag-lowering ceremony.
The founder of Flag Day, Dr. Bernard Cigrand, lived in Batavia in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation calling for a nationwide observance of Flag Day. Cigrand had been working on the project since 1885, when he was a 19-year-old teacher teaching new immigrant children at a one-room schoolhouse in Wisconsin.
Volunteers have plans to build a Flag Day memorial near the Riverwalk, covering the history of the United States flag.
The Fourth of July fireworks show is run by volunteers and paid for by donations.