The city of Ceres Recreation Division will kick off the annual Concerts in the Park series next Tuesday, June 5 with "Church Night."

Concerts are held 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Whitmore Park in downtown Ceres and are open to the public at no charge. The tradition dates back at least 24 years.

"Church Night" involves music performed by church choirs and other faith based groups in Ceres.

Concerts in the Park will continue the next five Tuesday evenings. Scheduled are:

• Johnny Rocket & The Thrust with a car show (June 12). The theme of the night is Graffiti Night;

• The Harlan Star Band with free kid's activities (June 19);

• The River Rising Band (June 26) with a Community Night theme;

• Ernie Bucio's Little Big Band (July 3) which will play patriotic music for the evening. The band will continue on despite the death of Bucio last year;

• Greg Scudder and Beer 30 on July 10. The theme that night is Ag Night.

"All concerts are free and are family friendly," said city of Ceres Recreation Supervisor Cambria Pollinger. "We encourage families to bring out their favorite picnic dinner and lawn chairs."

Non-profit groups will not be selling food items at this year's concert series since most people bring their own picnic foods, said Pollinger. That could change with demand.

For more on the summer concert series, call 538-5782.