As incoming students will soon discover, the Greater Rochester area is absolutely bursting with special events -- this town loves its festivals -- and there's never a shortage of interesting things going on in the region. Below find a selection of some of the major events scheduled to take place during the next academic year. Note that most of the student clubs will announce their events as the school year gets going, so check your school's website for more information. For a comprehensive listing of all the concerts, exhibits, theater shows, festivals, and other events taking place during a given week, check out City Newspaper, new on stands every Wednesday, or consult the searchable online calendar at rochestercitynewspaper.com.
August
Palmyra Pirate Weekend
August 10-11
Village of Palmyra
Movie night, all-day activates with pirate theme
Piratesoftheeriecanal.com
German Fest
August 10-12
Fireman's Field, Spencerport
German food, drink, dancing entertainment
rochestergerman.com
Carifest
August 11
Riverside Festival Site (Court & Exchange St.)
Parade, Caribbean music, art & crafts, food
Rwifo.com, 585-227-2183
Brockport Summer Arts Fest
August 11-12
SUNY Brockport, Holley Street
Food, music, rubber duck derby, dragon boat race
brockportartsfestival.com
Rochester Ukrainian Festival
August 16-19
St Josephat, 940 E. Ridge Road
Ukrainian arts, crafts, food, dance, and music
rochesterukrainianfestival.com
Wedgestock
August 18
South Ave in South Wedge neighborhood
Music, food, street performers, pet parade
wedgestock.org
Fairport Music & Food Fest
August 25
Liftbridge Lane, Fairport
Live music, food
fairportmusicfestival.com
First Knight Celebration
August 26
Campus welcoming event
College Green, GeneseoCollege
Geneseo.edu
Classes Begin
August 27: SUNY Geneseo, NazarethCollege, SUNY Brockport, Roberts Wesleyan
August 30: University of Rochester
YellowJacket Weekend
August 31-September 2
Homecoming events
UR, River Campus
sa.rochester.edu
September
Classes Begin
September 3: Rochester Institute of Technology
September 4: St. John Fisher, MonroeCommunity College, Finger LakesCommunity College
Rochester Pagan Pride Day Festival
September 8
EllisonPark
Food, workshops, drum circles
Rochesterpaganpride.org
Clothesline Festival
September 8-9
MemorialArtGallery
Renowned arts & crafts vendors, live entertainment
mag.rochester.edu/clothesline
Macedon Lumberjack Festival
September 8-9
Macedon Center Fireman's Field, Canandaigua Road
Log rolling, two-man crosscut, busk saw, log chop, other events
macedoncenterfire.org
Greentopia Festival
September 10-16
Centered in HighFalls district
Environmentally oriented festival with music, film, more.
Greentopiafest.com
Irondequoit Oktoberfest
September 14-16 & 21-22
CampEastman, DurandEastmanPark
Music, dancing, food
Irondequoit.org
Palmyra Canaltown Days
September 15-16
Village of Palmyra
Wagon rides, car show, food
palmyracanaltowndays.org
NOTA Fest 2012
September 16
Neighborhood of the Arts
Local venue deals, music, events
notaba.org
Savor Rochester: Festival of Food
September 17
Public Market
Samples from local restaurants, bakeries, specialty foods
festivaloffood.org
First NiagaraRochester Fringe Festival
September 19-23
Various downtown locations
New arts festival, featuring theater, music, art, dance, and more
rochesterfringe.com
Roc Con 2012
September 21-23
Rochester Main Street Armory
Anime and sci-fi convention
rochestermainstreetarmory.com
MVP Health Care RochesterMarathon
September 23
Downtown Rochester
Boston Marathon qualifying event; full marathon, half marathon, marathon relay
Rochestermarathon.com
Rochester Fashion Week
Sept 27-30
Various locations
Fashion shows, boutique crawl, other fashion-related events
fashionweekofrochester.org
Homecoming
September 28-30
RobertsWesleyanCollege
Roberts.edu
Hilton Apple Festival
September 29-30
Town of Hilton
Arts, crafts, car show, apple wares, pie contest
hiltonapplefestival.org
October
ImageOut Film Festival
October 5-14
Dryden Theater, Little Theater, other venues
Gay and lesbian film and video festival
imageout.org
RochesterRiver Romance Weekend
October 5-7
GeneseeRiver corridor
Variety of events celebrating the GeneseeRiver
cityofrochester.gov/riverromance
Rochester Jewish Book Festival
October 10-November 11
Jewish Community Center, Edgewood Ave
Book events featuring Jewish authors and book of Jewish interest
rjbf.org
Meliora/Eastman Weekend
October 11-14
Homecoming events for University of Rochester
River and Eastman campuses, University of Rochester
Rochester.edu/melioraweekend
BrickCity Homecoming
October 19-21
RIT
www2.rit.edu/brickcity
November
Finals
November 12-17: Rochester Institute of Technology
Thanksgiving/Fall Break
November 18-25: RIT
November 20-25: SUNY Brockport, St. John Fisher
November 21-25: SUNY Geneseo, University of Rochester, Monroe Community College, Finger Lakes Community Center, Roberts Wesleyan
Classes Begin
November 26: RIT
December
Classes End
December 6: NazarethCollege
December 8: SUNY Brockport
December 10: SUNY Geneseo
December 12: University of Rochester
December 14: MonroeCommunity Center, Roberts Wesleyan
Finals Week
December 8-14: NazarethCollege
December 10-15: St. John Fisher
December 10-21: SUNY Brockport
December 12-18: SUNY Geneseo
December 15-20: MonroeCollege Community
December 16-22: University of Rochester
Semester Ends
December 14: Roberts Wesleyan
December 21: Finger LakesCommunity College
January
Classes Begin
January 14: Nazareth, St. John Fisher, Roberts Wesleyan
January 16: University of Rochester
January 22: SUNY Geneseo, MonroeCommunity Center
January 24: Finger LakesCommunity College
January 28: SUNY Brockport
Mendon Ponds Winterfest
Mid-January
Scores of winter outdoorsy activities, including demos.
MendonPondsPark
mendonpondswinterfest.org
February
Lakeside Winter Celebration
Mid-February
Snow-sculpture contest, chili challenge, polar plunge, other activities.
OntarioBeachPark, Charlotte
cityofrochester.gov
Finals
February 18-23: RIT
Winter/Spring Break
February 24-March 3: RIT
Winter Break
February 16-24: MonroeCommunity College
February 18-24: Roberts Wesleyan
March
Spring/Easter Break
March 4-10: St. John Fisher
March 9-17: University of Rochester
March 11-15: NazarethCollege
March 18-24: Finger LakesCommunity College, Geneseo, Brockport
March 28-April 1: Roberts Wesleyan
March 30-April 7: MonroeCommunity College
April
Rochester Erotic Arts Festival
April 5-6
Radisson Riverside Hotel, 120 E. Main St.
Erotic art show, performances, workshops, body art, poetry slam
rochestereroticartsfest.org
Rochester International Film Festival
April 25-27
Dryden Theater, George Eastman House
Rochester's short-film festival
Rochesterfilmfest.org
Classes End
April 26: NazarethCollege
Finals
April 29- May 6: NazarethCollege
April 29-May 4: St. John Fisher
May
Imagine RIT: Innovation + Creativity Festival
May 4
RIT
Interactive presentations, exhibitions, games, music, entertainment
rit.edu/imagine
RocCity Tattoo Expo
May 2-6
Radisson Hotel RochesterRiverside
More than 100 world-class artists tattooing on site.
Roccitytattooexpo.com
Lilac Festival
May 10-19
Highland Park
Live music, festival foods, and lots and lots of flowers
Lilacfestival.com
Classes End
May 1: University of Rochester
May 7: SUNY Geneseo
May 11: SUNY Brockport
May 16: Finger LakesCommunity College
May 17: MonroeCommunity College
Finals
May 6-13: University of Rochester
May 8-14: SUNY Geneseo
May 10: Roberts Wesleyan
May 13-17: RIT
May 18-23: MonroeCommunity College
Commencement
May 11: NazarethCollege, St. John Fisher, Roberts Wesleyan
May 18: Geneseo, RIT, Brockport, Finger LakesCommunity College
May 19: University of Rochester
