ESL Ballpark transforms into big competition to have a good time America’s 250th

Joe Curtis watched his children, 11-year-old Myracle and 8-year-old Jackson, leap up and down in bounce homes and on a Eurobungy within the ESL Ballpark outfield for hours on Sunday.

The children had been having a blast: “This is the most effective day ever!” yelled Jackson.

Everything went according to plan for Curtis, whose kids are in town for the summer. He saw that Monroe County was celebrating America’s 250th birthday with a free celebration in downtown Rochester.

“We heard that it was a good family-oriented event,” Curtis said, “So we just wanna make sure we take advantage of all the opportunities that this lovely city has to offer us.”

The event featured music from local bands including Ampla-Fire, Controversy, and Prime Time Brass. The outfield was transformed into a festival filled with family-friendly activities such as supersized cornhole games, batting cages, and slides.

Visit Rochester President Don Jeffries led the 10-month planning effort in collaboration with Monroe County, the Rochester Red Wings, and Roc Holiday Village’s Jenna Manetta-Knauf.

“This is just a chance to showcase Rochester,” Jeffries mentioned. “You know, it’s a great place to be, it’s a great place to live, and a great place to visit.”

He relished being concerned on this challenge particularly.

“ I’m a real patriot,” Jeffries mentioned. “I love America. I love the country we live in, and to put something on to show that love for America was an honor for Visit Rochester.”

Rochester Red Wings proprietor Naomi Silver shares that delight.

“Baseball is Americana,” Silver said. “Every day we celebrate what this country is founded on, and people love coming here, I think, in large part because of that.”

More than a dozen nonprofits, together with WXXI, participated within the occasion.

The celebration concluded with a fireworks show over downtown Rochester.