NAPANOCH – A warm August night. A community out in lawn chairs sharing time together while listening to music from local bands playing country, rock and roll, and occasionally big band faves.

For the better part of a decade, the front lawn of the Napanoch Senior Center at 70 Main Street has come alive with music every Wednesday night of the eighth month in such ways. And the effort's well received as one of the keys to what it is to live in the hamlet, the surrounding town of Wawarsing, or the entire region where the Gunks and Catskills meet.

"It's really great; it's terrific," says Napanoch Public Interest Group member and Wawarsing councilman Stephen Bradley.

While the concerts are relatively new, the actual public interest group was formed much earlier when a group of hamlet residents got together to protest a proposed slaughterhouse receiving an operational permit. The slaughterhouse applicant moved on but as it happens, the group remained engaged to help with the betterment of the community, its volunteers working alongside other local service groups such as the Noonday Club to provide community events. Beyond concerts, one of the bigger events NPIG also participates in is the annual Pioneer Fire House toy drive.

Bands are often chosen based on word-of-mouth reputation. This year, the lineup includes a bluegrass band, Hudson Crossing, this past week, a Motown group, Soul City, playing August 16, a pop-rock band, Breakaway, planned for August 23 and a country/western band, Rivers Edge, on August 30.

The concerts kicked off this season on August 2 with Take Trio, a local rock and roll group.

"They were good and it was fun," Bradley said, adding that the first concert saw a large crowd that matched everyone's expectations.

Costs associated with the concerts are covered by the public interest group from monies gathered through the previous year's 50/50 raffles. Each year, half of the raffle proceeds from two concerts go to the Napanoch Senior Center and St. Marks Methodist Church. This year that giving will take place August 16 and 23.

The free concerts hosted by the Napanoch Public Interest Group in conjunction with St. Marks Methodist Church, and assisted by the senior center, are held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. rain or shine every Wednesday this month. In the event of rain, everyone moves to the nearby Elks Lodge pavilion.

Isn't it time you got out and joined the fun?