Archive | March, 2017

Making art with Peeps. You know you want to.

5 Mar

OK, I’ll put this right out there. I don’t like Peeps.

birdhouseYou know, I’m talking about those yellow marshmallow chicks and every other iteration of Peepdom that has since been introduced. I kind of put them in the same category as those faux-orange circus peanuts.

That being said, I’m REALLY looking forward to the second annual Greater Rochester Peep Show scheduled for April 8 and 9 at the Webster Recreation Center. (Not coincidentally, the week before Easter.) It’s a fundraiser for the Webster Community Chest, and while I didn’t go to it last year, I have seen pictures from the event and it is the CUTEST THING EVER.

Basically, show participants create dioramas and other works of art, incorporating Marshmallow Peeps candies. The results were creative and quite impressive. You can see a few photos here, but also visit the website to see a whole gallery.

But — and this is important — the show cannot happen without the artists.

Organizers have put out a call to families, clubs, Scout groups and local businesses to draw up some plans and come up with some spectacular Peeps creations to enter into the show. There’s no charge to enter and artwork will be returned if desired.

up-up-an-awayDisplays can be large or small, and every one of them will be exhibited at the show for the whole community to see and vote on. Prizes and ribbons will be awarded for those chosen by the public as the most popular. Check out the website for more information and inspiration, or email peepshow@frontier.com with questions.

The 2nd annual Greater Rochester Peep Show will be held on April 8 and 9 at the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive. It will be great family fun, perfect for kids of all ages, and admission is free. Last year an estimated 2,000 people attended, and organizers hope to double that this year. That means they need a LOT of entrants.

Proceeds from the event will benefit several local nonprofit agencies including the Catholic Family Center, Dream Factory of Rochester, Heritage Christian Stables, Webster Museum, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society Upstate New York Chapter.

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peeps-at-work

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Webster Community Mailbag

3 Mar

mailbagLots of great events and good news to share with everyone today!

If you’ve got nothing to do tonight, consider enjoying a basketball game, courtesy the Webster Willink and Spry Middle School Student Councils. Their annual benefit basketball game takes place TONIGHT, March 3.

The game pits Willink and Spry students and staff in several entertaining and occasionally competitive contests.

This year the Spry Student Council will be donating their proceeds to Autism Up, and the Willink Student Council will be donating their proceeds to the Veterans Outreach Center.

The games take place at the Webster Schroeder High School gym beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door for $5. Refreshments and other concessions will be available for purchase.

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Andrew Kennedy

Boy Scout Troop 110, sponsored by St. Martin Lutheran Church in Webster, has proudly announced that Andrew Kennedy has earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

Andrew’s Eagle project was in two parts: An Interfaith Youth Day of Service and an Interfaith Festival. As a part of his Eagle Project, he selected four possible work sites that youth volunteers could work at. These sites were the Islamic Center of Rochester (ICR), the Baber African Methodist Episcopal Church (Baber AME), Asbury First United Methodist Church, and Foodlink. He also recruited work site leaders to lead the four different work crews, because he clearly would not be able to be everywhere at all times.

For the Interfaith Festival, he recruited and selected eight faith-based musical groups to perform and 12 community service organizations to have information booths around the stage. On August 10, he split up 30 volunteers into three groups, dropping Foodlink as a work site, and completed the projects at Baber AME, Asbury First and the ICR. Respectively, he created and distributed back to school supply bags, sorted over 100 5-gallon bags of clothing for the Asbury First Storehouse, and did serious landscaping.

Wow.

In addition to now being an Eagle Scout, Andrew is an accomplished trombone player and soccer player.

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The Community Volunteer Fair returns to the Webster Public Library on Wednesday March 15 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Residents can connect with the following organizations that have volunteer opportunities available in the Webster community:

AutismUp, Challenger Miracle Field, Friends of the Webster Public Library, Friends of Webster Trails, Heritage Christian Services, Hill Haven Nursing and Rehab, Hope Ministry, Maplewood Nursing Home, Never Say Never Foundation, WASP Webster Association of Senior Program Supporters, Webster Arboretum, Webster Central PTSA, Webster Comfort Care Home, Webster Community Chest, Webster Museum and Historical Society.

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The Webster Lions Club’s semi-annual Texas Hold’em Tournament takes place Friday March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Webster Columbus Center, 70 Barrett Drive. Doors will open at 6:30, with the tournament starting promptly at 7. Buy-in is $40 ($45 at the door), and re-buy is $20. There will be a cash bar. All proceeds will be used to support Webster Lions Club charities.

First place winner will receive $500, $150 for second place and $50 for third. ‘

For more information, call 585-234-5480 or email websterlionsclub@gmail.com.

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Pledge not to use the “R-word”

2 Mar

rword

I missed an important day yesterday. March 1 was officially the day to pledge to Spread the Word, to End the Word.

The “word” is the “R-word,” offensive enough that we don’t even like to write it, let alone say it out loud.  And a few days ago I received an email inviting me to log onto the R-Word.org website  and sign a pledge to stop using the word.

As the website explains,

The R-word is the word ‘retard(ed)’. Why does it hurt? The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It’s offensive. It’s derogatory.

Our campaign asks people to pledge to stop saying the R-word as a starting point toward creating more accepting attitudes and communities for all people. Language affects attitudes and attitudes affect actions. Pledge today to use respectful, people-first language.

I don’t use the word, and I can also say that I haven’t recently heard anyone else use that word. But I do remember hearing it at least once within the last year, and I recall saying something about it. But I also remember I didn’t do so with as much conviction as I should, because I don’t like personal confrontation.

But I’ve found myself this year working in a school with a large population of children with challenges, and I love them to pieces.  So if I ever hear someone use the R-word again, I will definitely speak up and defend their dignity.

Today more than ever, we need to  stand up for our differently-abled adults and children, and help work toward inclusion instead of division.

You can still sign the pledge here, and visit the website for more information. Plus, check out this great student-made video if you want to get inspired and perhaps even shed a tear.

Thank you to the Edison Best Buddies, Thomas LINK Crew and the YAC and Unified members and players for helping to spread the word.

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One year, 100 parks. Hear all about it at the ADK talk

1 Mar

park collage.pngRemember how I went out and explored 100 parks last year? I called it my 2016 Tour de Parks Challenge, and it pretty much consumed my life. I wrote about it several times in my East Extra column (the most recent one is here) and probably touched on it a few times here in my blog as well.

Well, you’re going to have to hear about it one more time.

Shortly after I began my quest last year, I realized exactly how much of a challenge I had shouldered. I actually considered letting it fade off unnoticed. But then I got an email from the Genesee Valley Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, inviting me to be the featured speaker at one of their meetings.

I was stuck.

That meeting has finally arrived, and I would like to invite all of my readers to attend, if you’re at all interested in hearing about my adventures.

The event takes place on Wednesday March 8, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Eisenhart Auditorium of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, 657 East Ave.

It should be interesting, I hope. I’m working up a fancy-pants display board with pins showing all the parks I visited, and a PowerPoint presentation highlighting some of the funny, surprising, beautiful and disappointing things I saw and learned. And yes, I’ll even tell everyone which one was my favorite. Sort of. The whole shebang should only be about 45 minutes.

Please join me. There’s no admission charge. Maybe you could grab dinner beforehand and make it a night out.

And if you’d like to read up on all the parks I visited, here’s a link to the 2016 Tour de Parks blog I maintained through it all.

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