Be excited–no, ecststic–about the upcoming Rock The Lake concert series this summer. Thanks to people like Michelle Turner and the Lakewood Community Development Corporation, they’re bringing music back to the lake but with a decidedly village spin. The stage will be brought in to the beach at the park in Lakewood–a perfect vantage point for both boaters and attendees. By hill or by sea, you’ll have a great view.

You can tell when a local government really has it together. If you haven’t seen the new playground at Hartley Park, come over and take a look. It’s not just an average playground the LCDC dreamed up and the village board approved: it’s an event, an extravaganza on a hill by Chautauqua Lake. The village didn’t just build a playground, they built the best playground ever. And they didn’t let a little thing like a hill get in the way. They incorporated the hill into the design. You can catch a slide to go downhill from uphill.

Genius.

When do governments ever do that? When do they say, “Let’s really go to town on this one. It’s for the kids.”

At the same park, you’ll find the Rock The Lake concert series this summer, all free, all planned to be the foundation of a perfect summer season. Your afternoon might look something like this: arrive at the park with your beach chairs or blankets around noon to get a great spot on the hill. Have lunch at one of the participating food trucks, or bring a picnic basket filled with good things. Grab an ice cream at the new homemade ice cream shop on Chautauqua Avenue, or, if you’re not in a creative mood, you can have lunch at one of our Chautauqua Ave. eateries. There’s some new shops on the Avenue, so it’s worth taking a spin through town.

The concerts run from 2:00 to 5:00, and this year, they’re starting with four in the series, with the first on July 6th. Shawn Patrick McGraw & The James’s will kick off the series with an appearance by The Dryes from Nashville. Nothing like a little country twang to get the summer started.

On July 27th, reminisce about your high school summers in Bemus Point with Hollywood Nights–the Bob Seger cover experience. The opening act will be our local Interstate Daydream.

August 10th, there’s a Rat Pack show with a Barbra Streisand tribute. And the final concert in the series will be on August 24th with Brass Transit–a Chicago tribute band.

But we haven’t gotten to the new twist: there’s a beautiful three-row golf cart waiting to be raffled off at the final concert. Tickets will be on sale throughout the summer season and you might just spy the cart around town. It looks like the Tesla of golf carts–way too cool for a golf course. It’s road ready, and ready to be parked in your driveway.

I never win anything–I don’t have “win things karma,” but I’m putting that golf cart dream out to the universe.

I’ve written before about being good stewards of lake traditions–festivals and events and places that not only define our sense of place but also our visitors’ experience. When we lose one thing or anything, it puts a big hole in the way we view our community.

In a small town, people count on their yearly festivals and events to round out their lives and deliver experiences that shape their perception of home. Traditions that last and stand the test of time become part of what home means.

So, hearing the Lenhart will open again next summer and that we have a new concert series on the water this year should make us all happy. Two old lake traditions have been rescued from the past, little threads of who we are re-woven into the present. In this day and age, the Lenhart could have been bulldozed and turned into condos, or the summer concert series could have turned into old pictures on the Casino walls.

But not today. Today we’re reshaping what it means to live near and visit Chautauqua Lake. And it’s always thanks to the people who care about our community and are always revising what it has to offer. All places need multiple layers to thrive—traditions, events and people to give it real depth.

So, we’ll see you on the hill this summer. I’ll be the woman that is first in line every week to buy raffle tickets for that very cool golf cart. And should I win, I’d be happy to give you a ride.