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BEST BETS: Sept. 2 to 9

Drum corps come marching in

Thousands of musicians will march into town for the 2010 Drum Corps Associates World Championships Friday to Sunday. Some 3,500 musicians representing 50 corps from throughout North America are slated to participate. Individual and ensemble events will be held Friday during the DCA I&E/Mini Corps Competition. Held at the Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside, the Rochester Riverside Convention Center and outdoors on Main Street, the I&E is known as the largest block party in drum corps. All drum corps are on display Saturday, an alumni competition is scheduled in the afternoon Sunday and the championship competition is that night. Shows will be held at Marina Auto Stadium, the Radisson and the Convention Center. Admission to Friday's events is free. For tickets to the other events and more details, visit dcacorps.org.

Events mark Labor Day

Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford plans a fireworks extravaganza on Saturday that includes music, ground light displays, aerial fireworks and narration. Gates open at 3 p.m.; the fireworks display is at dusk. The music starts early (5:30 p.m.) with the pre-fireworks performance of Beatlemagic, a Beatles tribute band. Visit gcv.org for ticket information. A laser light and fireworks show is at 10 p.m. Saturday at High Falls in Rochester. And the Labor Council presents the annual Labor Day Parade Monday. It starts at 11 a.m. at East Avenue and Alexander Street. For details, visit rochesterlabor.org. 

On the big screen

  "The American" stars George Clooney as a hitman on his last assignment in Italy. It opened Wednesday. "Going the Distance" opens Friday. The romantic comedy centers on a young couple (played by real-life on-again, off-again couple Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) who are trying to keep a relationship going separated by 3,000 miles. Its hilarious co-stars include Christina Applegate, Ron Livingston, Rob Riggle and Jason Sudeikis. Find movie times. 

State Fair concludes Monday

The New York State Fair continues this weekend, ending on Labor Day. Tim McGraw and Montgomery Gentry perform at the Grandstand Friday; country artists Rascal Flatts with supporting acts Kellie Pickler and Chris Young will perform on Saturday; and the New York State Tractor Pulling Championship is Sunday. On Labor Day, the New York State Championship Demolition Derby and Double Figure 8 Races will once again pit drivers of cars from across the state in an annual battle of motor sports survival. Qualifying cars crunch, bump and slam each other until only one vehicle remains moving. Among the free music acts to be seen this weekend at the fair are Mitchel Musso, Katharine McPhee, Keith Sweat and Marc Broussard. Visit nysfair.org for details. .

Historical drama in Mount Hope Cemetery

Actors will transport visitors at Mount Hope Cemetery to an intensely painful time in the private life of Frederick Douglass during a historical play Saturday. The year is 1860, and Douglass has returned hastily to Rochester from England upon receiving news of the death of his young daughter, Annie. As audience members follow the cemetery's winding paths, they will encounter costumed actors portraying Douglass' circle of friends on their way to comfort him and his wife, Anna: businessman Austin Steward, suffragist Mary Anthony, Quaker activist Amy Post, the Rev. Thomas James, founder of Rochester AME Zion Church, and others. The play ends at Douglass' grave. The 90-minute drama begins at 10:30 a.m. at the north entrance opposite Robinson Drive. Visit rmsc.org for details and to make reservations.

Comedy Central star at UR

John Oliver, a writer and correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," will perform his own stand-up routine Friday at the University of Rochester. Oliver also hosted a six-episode series of his own for Comedy Central. His 9 p.m. performance in Strong Auditorium is part of UR's Yellowjacket Weekend. Visit rochester.edu or click here for tickets.

An artist's life

Abstract watercolorist Allen “Denny” Smith has his first solo exhibit in more than three decades at the Spotlight Gallery in Corning. “Now, at 60, I’m doing what I should have done at 25,” he says. The show of nine large paintings will be on display through Sept. 8. Smith, a resident of Elmira, graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1975. Instead of pursuing the life of an artist, he chose the business side of art, working at museums, galleries and art shops until 2009. Recent exhibitions include the 2009 Rochester-Finger Lakes Biennial. A reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 3 at the gallery on Market Street in Corning. While you’re in town, check out the Tiffany blown-glass show at Corning Museum of Glass. Sixty pieces from outside collections are on display. It closes Oct. 31.