by Donna Carroll Batton

Created on: April 23, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

It's that time of year again and my anticipation is growing. It was another long, dreary, cold winter in Buffalo, but the warm, beautiful summers more than make up for it. The leaves are popping out on trees all over Western New York. Crocuses, daffodils and tulips are displaying their vivid colors. The days are longer now and filled with sunshine. It's the time of year that makes you glad to be alive.

My husband is a native Floridian and not used to being cooped up in the house all winter. We are both too old, at sixty-five, to take up skiing and my ice-skating days are well behind me. I spend my long winter days writing while my husband spends his in his workshop, crafting beautiful wood items and dcor. We wait, not altogether patiently, for the first signs of spring. Finally, our patience is rewarded. Let the summer begin!

I have always been an avid music lover. I like anything from soft rock, to country to rhythm and blues. The only music I don't care for is rap and hard metal. My husband has similar tastes, another reason we are so compatible.

When we first moved back up here, from Florida, to help my 94-year-old mother care for my invalid brother, I spent a lot of time showing my husband around Buffalo and its suburbs. One beautiful evening a couple summers ago, while strolling through the Erie Basin Marina, admiring the gorgeous gardens and glistening Lake Erie, we heard the sounds of music. We followed the sound to the patio behind the Hatch, a restaurant on the waterfront. It wasn't a band, as we had first thought. It was karaoke, led by a local dj and set up in the wooden gazebo, the harbor and lighthouse in the background. We sat and listened to the music and watched the people. We discovered karaoke evenings took place here every Friday and Saturday evenings from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Our summer concert obsession had begun.

Next, we learned about concerts at Burchfield Art Center in West Seneca, the suburb where we live. These concerts are every Tuesday evening all summer long. We began reading the Gusto magazine in the Buffalo News for listings of other outdoor concerts. We soon realized that there was no end of free or inexpensive entertainment in the area.

We now keep our folding lawn chairs in the back of our van and a bag handy for our water and drink bottles, bug spray and books (for when we get to the concerts early to ensure good seats). We listen to various local bands, orchestras and singers. We hear blue grass, rock and roll, philharmonic symphonies and traveling, musical groups. We meet people from various areas and ages. We consider them our "summer, musical community." The only thing we would change, if we could, is to make the summers longer.

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