Archive | September, 2019

Webster community mailbag

27 Sep

So many things to tell you about today. Let’s get right to it.

Good food for a good cause

Sandy [new]TTONIGHT, Friday Sept. 27, a food truck rodeo at Veterans Memorial Park in Penfield will benefit Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong.

The event, scheduled from 4 to 9 p.m., will feature trucks from Bay Vista Taqueria, Abbott’s, Chef’s Catering, The Meatball Truck, Waffles R Wild and Marty’s Meats. Live music will be provided by John Akers and Coupe de Villes, and the kids will enjoy bounce houses and face painting.

Admission is $5 for adults (remember, it’s for a good cause!) and children are free.

Veterans Memorial Park is located behind Penfield Town Hall, 3100 Atlantic Ave. (there’s also an entrance off Jackson Rd.).

Another food truck rodeo!

Don’t want to drive ALL THE WAY DOWN TO Penfield for dinner tonight?

The Spry Middle School PTSA invites families to come enjoy some “beats & eats” at their second annual Welcome Back Food Truck Rodeo, also tonight at Spry, 119 South Ave. Trucks will include Meat the Press, Effortlessly Healthy and Magical Marinades BBQ. Free Rochester Foam Dart Legal Nerf games will be offered in the gymnasium, and you can purchase some Webster spirit wear while you’re there as well. A DJ will provide music.

It’s picnic style so bring your chairs.

And EVEN MORE FOOD!

TOMORROW, Saturday Sept. 28, St. Rita School will host a Sticky Lips fundraiser from 4 to 7 p.m. at the school, 1008 Maple Rd., Webster.

On the menu that night will be BBQ chicken (leg and thigh), pulled pork, fresh cornbread, two homemade sides as well as a coupon for a free appetizer card when you visit the restaurant.

Tickets are $12 each and can be bought ahead of time through the school’s website at stritawebster.org/school via credit card (click on the online giving tab where you can place your order) or you can purchase tickets directly at the school.

Is it March yet?

Also TOMORROW, Saturday Sept. 28, the Village of Webster’s very own authentic Irish pub, Barry’s Old School Irish, will host its annual “Halfway to St. Patty’s Day” party.

Live Irish music will be provided by Dave North from 7:30 to 11 p.m., and throughout the evening keep an eye out for Irish dancers, whiskey samples, a “proper” Irish toast and Guinness give-aways.

Barry’s owners Danny and Jessica are encouraging everyone to “green out” for the evening, so poke through your closet for all your St. Patrick’s Day wear!

Barry’s Old School Irish is located at 2 West Main St., at the Village of Webster’s four corners.

Comfort Care Home wine tasting

WCCH LYS 2019 skHave fun and help your neighbors in their time of need by attending the “Lift Your Spirits” fundraiser for the Webster Comfort Care Home on Friday October 18 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Artisan Works, 565 Blossom Road.

The Webster Comfort Care Home, located at the corner of Holt and Klem roads, provides free hospice care to the terminally ill of our Webster community, and comfort to the patients’ families. The agency is run solely on donations and fundraisers like this.

The event will feature wine and beer tasting from local breweries, music by Andy Calabrese & Chet Catallo, appetizers, full cash bar, silent auction and raffles for great prizes including a balloon ride over Letchworth, a Sabres Suite for their Dec. 27 game against the Bruins, lodging, dinner certificates, rounds of golf, a humidor, jewelry, home decor and more.

Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased online at www.webstercomfortcare.org or by calling 585-872-5290.

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Webster Fall Fest returns Oct. 5

26 Sep

The Town of Webster and Webster Parks and Recreation will kick off fall with the annual Webster Fall Festival, on Saturday October 5 from noon to 4 p.m. at Gosnell Big Woods, 680 Vosburg Road.

This is an awesome family-friendly event with donuts, cider, wagon rides, children’s crafts and games, pony rides, hot dogs, donuts and live country music courtesy Tennessee Lights. Admission is free and there’s plenty of parking.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester.

I went to this event last year and had a lot of fun. You’re sure to see some neighbors and friends there, and it’s a very inexpensive way for the whole family to enjoy early autumn. Click here to see a gallery of photos from last year.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Webster Schroeder HS kicks off fall musical season

25 Sep

Joseph2Wow. The fall musical season has already started in our high schools, and I haven’t even had a chance to write up my annual preview column for the D&C.

So let me take the opportunity RIGHT NOW to tell you about Webster Schroeder’s upcoming performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, happening this weekend.

Here’s the description from the ticket website:

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Joseph is one of the most enduring shows of all time. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a re-imagining of the Biblical story of Joseph, his father Jacob, eleven brothers and the coat of many colors. Told entirely through song with the help of a main character Narrator, the musical follows preferred son Joseph as he discovers his ability to interpret dreams.

Showtimes are Friday Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Sept. 28 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Reserve tickets are $10 to $15, available at any area Wegmans or online at websterschroedermusicals.com (I always get mine at Wegmans, since ShowTix charges a service fee.) Schroeder productions are always incredible, so I highly recommend putting this one on your calendar.

Webster Schroeder High School is located at 875 Ridge Rd.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Lots of library news, including a new nature trail

24 Sep

Our Webster Public Library, in Webster Plaza, 980 Ridge Rd., always has a lot of great programs and special events on their calendar, but this one is especially great.

woods

In this Google image, the Hickory Bark Woods are seen north of the library (marked in red) 

On Saturday, Oct. 5, the brand new Hickory Bark Woods Trail will be officially introduced to the public at a grand opening ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. The trail is located on Van Ingen Drive, on the north side of the library, basically across from the front entrance. There’s a stand of woods there which you may not have really noticed before. Now it has a trail and boardwalk which lead to a platform which will be used for nature programs.

 

The project represents a joint community effort of the Webster Public Library, the Friends of the Webster Public Library, the Town of Webster, the Friends of Webster Trails, and the Boy Scouts to enhance a unique natural area for the benefit of Webster residents.

Come on out that Saturday and check out the town’s newest trail!

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In other library news,

Bring the whole family to learn about Bees in Your Backyard on Wed. October 2 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the library’s community room.

Participants will learn how fresh honey is good for you, see a beehive and taste fresh honey. The program is free but registration is requested.

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ikebanaLearn about Ikebana (ee-kay-bah-nah), the Japanese art of flower arrangement, on Friday Oct. 4 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This fascinating program, presented by the School of Ichivo Ikebana, demonstrates this disciplined art form in which the arrangement is a living thing where nature and humanity are brought together. It’s steeped in the philosophy of developing a closeness with nature.

Live demonstrations will be held on Friday at 1 and 4 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. It all happens in the library’s community room.

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The Friends of the Webster Public Library Fall Book Sale begins Thursday, Oct. 10 and runs through Saturday, Oct. 12.

Hardcover books are just $1, paperbacks only 50 cents, and all books are new to the sale. Credit cards are accepted. Stop in to check out the selection of books on cooking, gardening, hobbies, biographies, religion, history, sports, travel, performing arts, large print, humor and more. And make sure to enter the raffle for gift baskets packed with books.

The sale will run on Thursday, Oct 10 from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (fill a bag for just $4); and Saturday Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (the bag sale will continue). All proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Public Library

Speaking of the Friends, here’s a way to help them out while doing your fall housecleaning.

On Saturday Oct. 19, the Friends will sponsor a fundraising event at the Webster Savers, 980 Ridge Rd. Bring your gently used items to the rear of Savers near the library parking lot between 10 a.m. and noon. Soft goods such as clothing, bedding, towels, curtains, backpacks, hats, mittens, ties, socks, scarves and purses will find a new home here.  Hard goods such as small electrical items, toaster, hair dryers, curling irons, coffee makers, mixers, toys, games, stuffed animals, puzzles, sports equipment, knick-knacks, jewelry, baskets, ornaments, hand tools, dishes, glassware, cutlery, pots and pans are also welcome.

Savers will make a donation to the Friends based on how many items are received.

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Finally, here’s a great program for anyone who has found themselves in the role of caregiver.

A six-week educational program will focus on the needs of family caregivers of individuals living with chronic conditions. It will help caregivers develop self-help tools to reduce stress, communicate more effectively, deal with challenging feelings and more.

Classes meet at the library from 5:30 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday from Oct. 15 through Nov. 19. The program is free but registration is required; call the library at 585-872-7075 ext. 3 to sign up.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Village Quilt Shoppe in the news

22 Sep
QUILT SHOP 3

Village Quilt Shoppe owners Vanetta Parshall and Monique Liberti

Just a quick note this morning to point everyone to my Our Towns East Extra column this morning in the Democrat and Chronicle, in which I feature one of the village’s newest businesses, the Village Quilt Shoppe. Its arrival is helping to revitalize East Main Street.

You can find a link to the article here. 

Remember to also “like” my Webster on the Web Facebook page to stay on top of all sorts of Webster happenings.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

 

Run, walk or roll to benefit Miracle Field

20 Sep

Image result for miracle field run, walk and roll

The 5th annual Run, Walk & Roll 5K and Miracle Field Stroll is scheduled for Sunday Sept. 29, and I’d like to encourage EVERYONE to take part.

Not a runner? No problem. You can walk. You can even bring along the baby in a stroller, or your dog. The main thing is that you come, because it’s going to be great exercise with a lot of new friends, doesn’t cost too much AND it benefits a great cause.

The annual Run, Walk & Roll benefits Challenger Miracle Field, an adaptive sports field for children with developmental, physical or intellectual disabilities. Specifically, this year the event is raising money to help complete the all-inclusive Karpus Family Play with Possibilities Playground,

This year’s race will be even better than ever, since for the very first time, it will begin and end right at Miracle Field, behind Town Hall on Ridge Road. In its four previous years, it started at Thomas High School, but it just seems RIGHT that everything is focused around Miracle Field this year. After all, it’s a beautiful facility and it’s a great opportunity for more people to see it and realize that.

The race course will begin at the corner of Hard Rd. and Van Ingen Drive. Runners will go north on Hard Road, onto the Route 104 bike trail, around the North Ponds loop and back to Miracle Field, where refreshments await.

The Miracle Field Stroll with take place on the field and on the sidewalk by the soon-to-be-built Karpus Family Play with Possibilities Playground! You’ll enjoy the field that so many children of different abilities have been playing on and enjoy music to dance along with as you walk.

Cost is just $20 for the 5K (for both runners and wheelchair athletes) and $17 for strollers. On the day of the race, the cost goes up to $30 and $22, so try to register early.

It all begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday Sept. 29. Click here for more information and to register. And to read more about the amazingness that is Miracle Field, click here.

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Webster mailbag and BIKE RACK NEWS!

18 Sep
Bike rack 2

Three Barry’s Runners — Mike Bodine, Don White and Jim Mossey — with the new bike rack, installed this week on West Main. 

The Village of Webster is finally getting its bike racks!

They’ve been more than a year in coming. It was last June that I approached the Village Board with a proposal to install some bike racks to make our village more cyclist-friendly. The idea came out of a discussion I was having with a running buddy at our weekly Barry’s Runners group. Many of the group members bring their bikes to the run and they usually end up crowded along the Barry’s Pub fence.

Not any more. Just this week, our village Public Works Department installed the first new bike rack on the sidewalk in front of Barry’s Pub/The Garage Sale Store on West Main. It’s the first of what will eventually be four racks. The other three will be placed at Veterans’ Park, Village Hall, and somewhere down in the Village Bakery parking lot (where exactly is yet to be determined).

Thank you to our Superintendent of Public Works Jake Swingly and his staff for getting this done. I truly believe that the new bike racks will make our already friendly and welcoming village even more so.

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Now on to a few mailbag notices:

The Webster Public Library will host a blood drive on Thursday, Sept. 19 from 1 to 6 p.m. in the library’s community room.

Walk-ins are welcome, but you can also make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. The Red Cross is still trying to make up for summer shortages, so please consider taking an hour out of your day and help save some lives.

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motorThe Webster Museum and Historical Society invites the community to an open house on Saturday Sept. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m.

If you have never visited our village museum before, this will be a great opportunity to check out all of the permanent and rotating exhibits.

The focus this weekend will me “motoring,” with exhibits inside and outside. There will be vintage cars and an antique tractor, and the big-wheeled penny farthing bicycle.  Ed Harding will show some of the Native American artifacts he’s found in his yard, you can learn about fossils, play some colonial games, make some butter and more.

Refreshments will be served.

It’s going to be great fun for the whole family, and (don’t tell the kids) educational, to boot. Plus it’s all free.

For more information visit the museum website or on Facebook.

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St. Rita School will be hosting a Sticky Lips fundraiser on Saturday Sept. 28 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the school, 1008 Maple Rd. in Webster.

On the menu that night will be BBQ chicken (leg and thigh), pulled pork, fresh cornbread, two homemade sides as well as a coupon for a free appetizer card when you visit the restaurant.

Tickets can be bought ahead of time through the school’s website (click on the online giving tab where you can place your order) or you can purchase tickets directly at the school. See that attached flyer for more details.

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Kitchen philosophy

17 Sep

fridgeI have a very messy fridge (at left), and I always have. Like many families, the front of our refrigerator is our communication center and a vital tool for reminding me of appointments, generally keeping our lives in order. It always boggles my mind when I go into someone else’s house and see that their fridge is completely bare. I would be rudderless.

I was thinking about that the other day. I was staring at the fridge as my coffee was cooking, and was reminded about a blog I wrote back in October of 2008, on the eve of the 2008 election. Then, as now, I titled it “Kitchen philosophy,” and it read like this:

You know, you can tell a lot about a person by looking at her refrigerator.

Take mine, for example. A close inspection of the schedules, fliers, magnets, white board notes and calendar dates jostling for space on my fridge will tell you these things about my family:

  • we’re Buffalo Bills fans
  • at least one of us works for the YMCA
  • the kids get good grades and are musically talented
  • we’re involved in our church
  • we shop at Aldi and Tops
  • we’re blood donors
  • we watch WXXI
  • we’re into martial arts
  • someone attends Nazareth College
  • we care about the environment

The fact that there are three calendars on our fridge would also indicate that despite all these activities (and the chaotic appearance of the fridge), we’re pretty organized about everything and are keeping on top of life pretty well.

Now, that’s an amazing amount of information gleaned from one small part of a person’s life. And if you think about it, that’s a heck of a lot more than we know about either of the two presidential candidates or their VP picks, people we’re going to be trusting with running our country and helping our families maintain the status quo.

So what about this … how about we ask each of the four candidates to take a picture of their refrigerators and publish them in the New York Times. Those simple photos could tell us more about their character than any stump speech or debate ever could.

A lot has changed in my life since that fridge from 11 years ago. I no longer have any children at home, for example, which changes things a LOT. I also have an entirely new house — and new fridge.

So I thought it would be fun to do this again. Here’s what I gleaned from my current messy fridge:

  • My kids are grown, but I’m still proud of them. Their photo holds a prominent spot
  • We still shop at Aldi, and even tough I’m not a Tops shopper anymore, I still hold a soft spot in my heart for them — my Wegmans shopping list still says “Tops”
  • My daughter is getting married.
  • I like live theater
  • I shop at Kohl’s
  • I like pizza!
  • I’m into cycling, and am still involved in martial arts
  • We’re still going to the same dentist
  • I work in the Webster schools.

A lot of things are different. But so much stays the same.

What does your fridge say about you?

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If you do nothing else today…

14 Sep

…make sure you AT LEAST get out to the Rochester Garlic Festival. Because it’s downright amazing.

IMG_1535

It’s taking place at the Webster Recreation Center on Chiyoda Drive until 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. And it’s a must-see festival.

I spent some time there this afternoon and came away extremely impressed by the number of vendors (garlic and non-garlic), the quality of the entertainment, variety of kids’ activities and food trucks. Vendors are spread throughout the Rec Center’s gymnasium and outside under tents, and there’s are separate rooms inside for the cooking demonstrations and several tasting stations.

Parking was not a problem, either. If there’s not room in the lot immediately in front of the Rec Center (and it was crowded), you can park across the street and walk, or take a shuttle bus. Our town’s wonderful Special Police are there to help.

All of this amazingness costs just $5 admission, and children under 12 are free. And all proceeds benefit Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester, a fully-accessible sports facility which we are fortunate to have right here in Webster.

So if you didn’t have a chance to go today, carve out a few hours tomorrow, and bring the kids. You won’t regret it.

For more details about the vendors and entertainment lineup (including State Line and the Zach Brown Tribute Band), visit the Rochester Garlic Festival website here.

You can also see a lot more photos from the event here.

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Weekend reminders and 9/11 photos

12 Sep

garlic fest logo

A couple of reminders about a few events coming up this weekend you won’t want to miss.

The first is the return of the Webster Garlic Festival — now called the Rochester Garlic Festival — on Saturday and Sunday at the Webster Recreation Center.

This is a great family-friendly event with a lot of entertainment, food, vendors and, of course, garlic. But you don’t have to like garlic to enjoy the festival, because most of the vendors are non-garlic ones.

Click here to read a column I wrote about the festival for more details, or visit their website here.

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quilt shoppe logo

This Friday and Saturday, make sure to pop into the Village Quilt Shoppe at 21 E. Main Street in the Webster, as this brand new business celebrates its grand opening.

Owners Monique Liberti and Vanetta Parshall opened their new shop in August and have already been warmly welcomed to the village by seamstresses who love having a convenient local source for quality fabrics and notions.

The grand opening is scheduled for Friday and Saturday Sept. 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with food, door prizes, gifts for everyone and scissor sharpening on Saturday.

Whether you’re a quilter or not, why not stop in and say hi.

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Last night’s Village of Webster 9/11 remembrance ceremony was a very nice affair once again. The approximately hour-long ceremony was well represented by first responders and local and regional politicians. The speeches were quite moving, and the late-summer temperatures very comfortable.

This year’s musical selections were presented by the Webster Village Band, which was a change from past ceremonies, at which the Chorus of the Genesee performed. The band did a nice job, but I was disappointed to not see some of my Chorus friends and hear their sweet harmonies.

The attendance by community members was also rather disappointing, numbering about 65. There were more musicians and official ceremony participants than there were audience members. And aside from a few little girls who had come with their firefighter father, I didn’t see any young children.

That’s too bad. I think it’s important that the younger generation know about and learn about what happened on 9/11/2001. No matter that the world it created is the only one they will ever know. They need to hear about the thousands who died, the heroic first responders, and to see how our country persevered, and became stronger.

They need to never forget, too.

Click here to see more photos.

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email me at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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