READERS’ ROCHESTER
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BEST BETS: July 16 to 22
Horse competition is under way
The Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials, which kicked off this morning in Victor, are a big deal for equestrians. The annual event has international status among eventing competitions. Eventing is the triathlon of equestrian sport. Horse-and-rider teams compete in three categories: dressage, cross-country and stadium. It originally was used to test military chargers. The local competition is one of eight across the country in the Adequan 2010 USEA Gold Cup Series. It began in 1990 as a strictly local event with about 70 riders. Some 20,000 spectators now turn out. The trials draw 300 riders and their horses from the United States, Australia, Germany, Finland, Canada, Hungary, India and Mexico. The trials continue through Sunday in Victor. Admission is free; parking is $10 a car. For directions and details, visit stuarthorsetrials.org.
Visit the birthplace of women's rights
Less than an hour's drive from Rochester is the birthplace of the women's rights movement. The Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, site of the first women's rights convention in 1848, has several events planned Friday to Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of this historic event. On Saturday, the park offers living history presentations, ranger-guided walking tours and historical readings. Sunday's events start at 9 a.m. with a non-denominational service officiated by the Rev. Allison Stokes with special guest Rev. Betty Bone Schiess, a 1994 inductee of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. There's also an ice cream social and Ladies Vintage Base Ball Game. For a complete schedule, visit conventiondays.com.
On the big screen
"Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, opens Friday. It's about a world where technology is capable of entering the human mind through dream invasion. Nicolas Cage stars in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The story follows master sorcerer Balthazar Blake, who recruits a seemingly everyday guy in his mission to defend New York City from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath. It opened Wednesday. Find movie times.
Summer time travel
The Sterling Renaissance Festival opened this month. Located on sprawling grounds in Sterling, the annual event features hundreds of professional actors offering 140 stage and street performances, authentic jousting, parades, games, music and outdoor entertainment. The festival is set in Warwickshire, England, circa 1585. Join the merriment at the pub sing and wench auction. The festival runs Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 15. This weekend's theme is Romance Rendezvous, featuring a renewal-of-vows ceremony at the chapel and a presentation of Shakespeare's "The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet." For details and directions, visit sterlingfestival.com.
Free music at the Public Market
The city’s Bands on the Bricks free concert series returns this summer to the Rochester Public Market with the addition of Night Markets. Vendors will set up booths, and a wide variety of prepared foods and a beer and wine garden will be available for concertgoers. Bands on the Bricks kicked off last week and continues Friday with the Kid Kurry Band opening for the Marshall Tucker Band. Night Markets begin at 5 p.m. and Bands on the Bricks at 6, wrapping up at 10. For more information and the full lineup for summer, visit cityofrochester.gov.
Image City opens anniversary show
Image City Photography Gallery marks its fifth anniversary with a special exhibit of photography by gallery partners and special guests. The show will feature the work of artists including Bill Bernbeck, Daniel P. Crozet, Joel Krenis, Steve Levinson, Dan Neuberger and George Wallace. Guest photographers include Kim Denman, Helen Ellis, James Trenton Francis, Donita Painter and Lou Ryen, and award-winning photos by members of the Camera Rochester photography club also will be exhibited. The opening reception is 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, and all photographs priced at $100 or more can be purchased at a 20 percent discount. For details, visit imagecityphotographygallery.com.
Downtown Canandaigua art and music fest
Canandaigua's annual art and music festival is this weekend on Main Street. The free festival runs from noon to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Visit canandaiguaartfestival.com
Annual Duck Drop
Pittsford Youth Services holds its 12th Annual Duck Drop fundraising event Friday around 8 p.m. It's immediately after Pittsford's summer concert featuring Hot Sweets in the Port of Pittsford Park. Buy a duck raffle ticket for $5, and see if the duck whose number corresponds to your ticket wins the race in the canal. First prize is $500. For more information, visit www.pittsfordyouthservices.org..
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