Things to do this weekend in Rochester (May 4-5)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The weekend is nearly upon us — if you are looking for something to do in Rochester, there are plenty of events to check out:
The Red Wings will continue their match-up against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs into the weekend. First pitch for both weekend games is 1:05 p.m.
The Red Wings will continue their Garden Factory Week. On Saturday afternoon, there will be a clean sweep and on Sunday afternoon, the Red Wings will hold 'Kids Run the Bases.'
You can buy tickets on the Red Wings' website by clicking here.
'An American in Paris,' inspired by the 1950s film by the same name, will be on stage at the JCC throughout the weekend.
Saturday's show will be held at 8 p.m. and Sunday's show will be held at 2 p.m. Tickets can be bought online on RPO's website.
The opening day of the International Plaza's Market Days will be held on Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be live performances from Alma De Mexico during the ceremony. For those who can't make it, a full list of events can be found here.
The annual Kite Flight invites residents of all ages to Ontario Beach Park this Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m.
The event will start with kids being shown how to make kites, then they will fly those kites at 1 p.m. Afterward, there will be the ROC City Circus.
The event is free for all to attend.
A pickleball fundraiser 'Pinkleball' will hold a pickleball event in support of the Breast Cancer Confidence Project on Saturday, May 3, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
In addition to playing pickleball, there will also be a mammogram unit on-site at Dinkers Pickleball Facility. The cost to enter is $25 per person, $20 for anyone under the age of 12.
The Rochester International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, May 1 at the Dryden Theater, with its final day being on Saturday, May 3.
There will be a matinee at 3 p.m. and screenings of short films at 7:30 p.m. Each show will feature a trophy presentation and Q&A with the filmmakers.
If you can't make it to Saturday's screening, the Thursday and Friday screenings are at 7:30 p.m. both days.
The 6th annual Rochester Renaissance Festivus will be held on Sunday on Atlantic Avenue starting in the afternoon.
There will be entertainment for people of all ages, food, and arts and crafts at the festival.
If you know of an event happening this weekend, send it to us at WROCDigital@nexstar.tv!
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The harsh reality, though, is that Detroit won't get to just pick and choose from this bunch, which represents the top of the free-agent market. Those players are going to have a lot of interest from all over the league. So while the 'other' option in this poll represented less than 4 percent of the vote, it may actually be the most likely outcome. Based on the feedback earlier in the survey, this one was no surprise, with fans most confident in Detroit's drafting. There were some fans, however, who made note that 'Most confident doesn't mean confident,' or put simply, 'Not confident in any.' That surely reflects the frustrations of a fan base that has gone so long without tangible on-ice success to point to. There were also some who drew a distinction between the first-round drafting and in rounds 2-7. But while there have been some players picked in the second round who Detroit is probably kicking itself over (JJ Peterka, Logan Stankoven and Brock Faber top that list), the trend fans are observing is more par for the course. Once you get past round 1, making the NHL at all is generally considered a win, and it can take a long time for those players to develop to that point. Consider that two Red Wings rookies in 2024-25, Albert Johansson (2019 second round) and Elmer Söderblom (2019 sixth round), were part of Yzerman's first draft class and only just now reached the NHL. So while the later-round picks haven't arrived yet, that doesn't mean they won't, with Trey Augustine (2023 second round), Max Plante (2024 second round), Dmitri Buchelnikov (2022 second round) and Anton Johansson (2022 fourth round) among the most intriguing names. That being said, Detroit likely does need one of those players (or a future later-round pick) to really hit it big at some point, even with how well it has done in the first round. Being just 'par for the course' in rounds 2-7 could easily add up to a similar result in the standings. The majority of the fan base (nearly 70 percent) expects Detroit to compete for a championship in the next five years, which would seem to indicate more faith in the team's direction than fans proclaimed earlier in the poll. There's a higher bar to competing for the Stanley Cup than just making the playoffs, and while there could be some difference in definition of what 'contention' actually looks like, this is a fairly high number for a team in the Red Wings' position. Advertisement One reader said that as Detroit's young players and prospects continue to develop and the team rounds out around them, 'they will be a team with enviable depth (without superstar talent), like Carolina.' 'There are key foundational pieces in place,' another added. 'Seider and Edvinsson are going to be the high-end D-men so important to being a contender. I'm hopeful that one of the young goalie prospects will blossom into an elite player, and I'm confident that guys like Kasper and Danielson are built for the playoffs.' But while outvoted, the 30 percent who felt Detroit was five-plus years away was adamant. '5 years is underselling it,' one said. 'Without doing something dramatic in free agency we don't have the stars in our system to win the Cup,' another added. 'Typically the core of the prospects will need at least 2-4 years of experience before they fully understand that the playoff run is a totally different task,' one more reader noted. Obviously, this is the ultimate 'time will tell.' But the bulk of fans still believe Cup contention is on the horizon for this group. These two questions were meant to be analyzed together, partly as an indicator of how much the playoff drought could be sapping enthusiasm (and willingness to shell out for tickets, parking and the other costs associated with going to a game). It's admittedly only one measure, but it appears most fans expect to maintain their current attendance level next year, with more fans wanting to move up rather than down. 'Games are expensive,' one fan noted. 'Don't want to shell out the money for a family of four if I feel like we're going to see a loss. Kids are 8 and 10. Prime years for becoming fans for them. Would love to see a turnaround and winning season like the Tigers, Lions and Pistons are doing.' (Photo of Steve Yzerman: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
