Thursday, October 1, 2026
After three weeks of cancelations, musicians, Sea Cliff residents and music lovers returned to Clifton Park for the Sea Cliff Civic Association’s Sunset Serenade. Local band Chicken Head performed on the July 23 evening, attracting a crowd of all ages.
“The weather was perfect,” said civic association President Ann DiPietro. “The band was amazing.”
The previous three Thursday night concerts were canceled due to heat, rain and poor air quality. Sunset Serenade is held by the civic association annually.
Sea Cliff resident Petrice Kaider approached the civic association with the idea for summer concerts 25 years ago after she moved to the village from Northport, where weekly concerts were held. She took on the role of contacting and scheduling bands for the event, something she still does now.
In its first year, the civic association held four concerts at Memorial Park. The series grew immediately, escalating to roughly 10 weekly concerts the following summer. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the civic association put together a video featuring local bands in place of in-person concerts. When concerts returned in 2021, Sunset Serenade moved to the larger Clifton Park so people would have more space to spread out amid concerns about Covid.
“The numbers quadrupled at Clifton Park,” DiPietro said. “There was no way we could ever have had those crowds at Memorial.”
Sunset Serenade features exclusively local bands and is free to attend. DiPietro said using only local bands gives them exposure and creates a sense of community, sometimes even resulting in the formation of new bands.
“It’s always that sense of the wonder of Sea Cliff that in a tiny village we’re able to have such enormous talent,” she said, “and then to have a showcase for the talent is amazing.”
The series will continue on Thursday nights through Aug. 27 when Brown & Bunce will close out the summer.
