Explore Buffalo invites you to visit Knox Farm State Park, 437 Buffalo Road, East Aurora, from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 13, to learn the history of the Knox family’s farm and summer home! The Friends of Knox Farm will open the farm’s buildings, which are seldom open to the public, and Explore Buffalo docents will be inside each building providing a tour and the stories associated with each site. Tour the main houses, the polo stables where the ponies were kept, sheep barns, gardener’s cottage and many other historical buildings.

As a prelude to the Aug. 6 Drums Along the Waterfront - Tour of Champions competition taking place at New Era Field in Orchard Park, the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps from San Antonio, Texas will be making a promotional tour stop in Gowanda on July 7. Arriving from a competition in Boston, the Crossmen will be utilizing Gowanda Central School’s facilities for a day-long rehearsal.

With musical-athlete membership of 150 strong, the Crossmen compete in Drum Corps International’s (DCI) World Class level, which is considered marching music’s major league. The corps finished in tenth place in last year’s DCI World Championships held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Founded in 1974, the Crossmen are a 501 (c)(3) education and youth development organization assisting young people in becoming outstanding individuals through music and the performing arts.

As the desire for solar energy continues to grow both locally and across the nation, we’re seeing rooftop solar units with much greater frequency and in practically every neighborhood. And if you look a little closer, you’ll also see pole-mounted solar panels popping up in back yards and open fields in both rural and urban communities.

But thanks to Buffalo Solar Solutions Inc., solar energy in Western New York just entered a whole new world, one that combines solar panels, architecture and ingenuity to introduce a new option for homeowners that is as artistically eye-opening as it is energy efficient.

What is believed to be Western New York’s first solar pergola was recently constructed for a Lancaster homeowner, and the end result is sure to generate excitement for those seeking a clean energy option that adds to the overall beauty of their home and landscaping.