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Honoring Our Local Heroes: The Story Behind Firefighter Weekend in Finger Lakes Campground

Sep 9
3 min read

This Friday marks 25 years since September 11th. This weekend, September 11–13, is our FIREFIGHTER weekend, honoring our modern-day heroes, both fire service and military. It doesn't look like our other themed weekends, and it isn't supposed to.

If you've seen "Firefighter Weekend" on our calendar and wondered whether it's the same thing as our Casino Glow & Hunt weekend, it isn't. This one stands on its own, built around a memorial service, a fundraiser, and the people it honors.


The Weekend Schedule


Friday

  • 8:00pm–11:00pm — Bonfire & DJ Jake


Saturday

  • 9:00am–3:00pm — Tipsy Chix

  • 11:00am — Military and Fire Department Parade

  • 11:30am — 9/11 Memorial and American Legion Service, with Taps, a gun salute, and a flag retirement ceremony

  • 12:00pm — VFD Check Presentation

  • 1:00pm — Firemen's Chicken BBQ, held in honor of Brad Milton

  • 8:00pm–11:30pm — Tipsy Chix

  • 8:30pm — Live band: Bare Melt


The Morning: Parade, Service, and Remembrance


Saturday starts with a Military and Fire Department Parade at 11am, followed by a 9/11 Memorial and American Legion Service at 11:30, complete with Taps and a gun salute.

That service also includes a flag retirement ceremony, the respectful, traditional way worn or tattered American flags are retired, done properly and with honor rather than left to fall apart on a pole somewhere. If you have a flag at home that's ready to be retired, you can drop it off at our office ahead of the weekend and it will be included in the ceremony.


The Chicken BBQ and the Check Presentation


At noon, we present a check to local Volunteer Fire Departments, the proceeds coming directly from the weekend's fundraising. At 1pm, that fundraising takes the form of the Firemen's Chicken BBQ, held this year in honor of Brad Milton. Every dollar from ticket sales goes to Volunteer Fire Departments.


It's straightforward: you buy a ticket, you get a chicken dinner, and the department gets the support.


Music and Community, All Weekend in Finger Lakes Campground


This weekend still makes room for the community to gather, even in the middle of something solemn. Friday night is a bonfire with DJ Jake. Saturday, Tipsy Chix is on-site both during the day and into the evening, and at 8:30pm, Bare Melt takes the stage, one more reason we're one of the few Finger Lakes campgrounds with live music built into a weekend like this instead of treated as an afterthought.


Quick Answers


Is Firefighter Weekend the same as Casino Glow & Hunt Weekend?

No — they're two separate themed weekends. Firefighter Weekend is built around a 9/11 memorial service and a Volunteer Fire Department fundraiser, not games or a casino theme.

Saturday at 11:30am, right after the Military and Fire Department Parade at 11am.

All proceeds from Firemen's Chicken BBQ ticket sales go to local Volunteer Fire Departments.

Yes. Drop off any worn or tattered flags at our office before the weekend, and they'll be included in the flag retirement ceremony during Saturday's service.

Yes — DJ Jake plays Friday's bonfire from 8–11pm, and the band Bare Melt performs Saturday at 8:30pm.


Why We Do This


We're a campground in a small, rural stretch of the Finger Lakes, and like most places out here, the people who'd respond in an emergency are volunteers doing it on their own time. Firefighter Weekend is a small way of saying we see that, once a year, out loud — with a parade, a moment of silence, and a chicken dinner that actually does something for the people who show up when it matters.


If you're staying with us September 11–13, come find the BBQ Saturday afternoon. If you're not, you're still welcome to stop by for a plate and a few minutes with the people it's for. And if you've got a flag that needs retiring, bring it to the office before the weekend, we'll make sure it's handled right.



 
 
 

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