Archive | 2020

O Christmas tree….

10 Dec

Continuing my theme of it’s-such-a-stinky-year-I-want-to-get-Christmas-started-early, I convinced my husband the other day to make our annual trek to the Christmas tree farm a good week earlier than we usually do.

It was actually a more complicated process than it might sound, requiring quite a bit of unexpected research. It started when we got a mailing from the farm we usually patronize, informing us that the price for a cut-your-own tree was going up from $35 to $50.

That was a bit of a shocker. And it got us thinking that we might need to shop around.

I start asking friends for recommendations, hoping to find someplace a bit more reasonable. Long story short, those places do exist, but most of them are too far afield to make it worth the gas money trade-off. Because so many people recommended Woody Acres — which happens to be about three miles from our house — we ultimately decided to go there, even though their trees also cost $50. Our original choice seemed to be getting picked over a bit anyway.

I was blown away by the incredible selection of beautiful trees I saw there. It only took us 15 minutes, and only a few steps off a main path, to find a great tree, so perfectly shaped that it looks like it came from a movie. My eyes were a bit bigger than my Christmas tree nook, however, and we had to angle and shove it in much like the Grinch tried to shove a Christmas tree up the chimney.

A lot of you out there probably still have to find your perfect tree, and I know that this weekend will be a busy one for tree shoppers. So if you need to shop around, here are some local options. You’ll want to check their websites or Facebook pages to check pricing and see if they have pre-cut, cut-your-own, or both.

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Village of Webster hosts three fun holiday contests

9 Dec

The Village of Webster is doing its best to put some sparkle and fun into this very unusual holiday season.

In the next few weeks, the Webster Business Improvement District (BID) will host three contests designed to get community members out and about and exploring the village.

The first, a Gingerbread House Contest, is going on right now through Dec. 12. Six village businesses have created some very fanciful gingerbread houses. Community members can see each one at the participating business or online at websterbid.com and vote for their favorites. Three prizes will be awarded for Most Creative, Best Decorated and Most Traditional.

The participating businesses include:

  • Bernardi & Company CPAs, 40 Barrett Dr.
  • Beyond Cuts Salon, 33 North Ave.
  • Finn’s Automotive, 45 E. Main
  • Martino’s Pizza, 160 W. Main
  • Xceed Credit Union, 189 W. Main
  • Maplewood Nursing Home (must be viewed online)

This contest ends on Dec. 12, so get your votes in soon.

And by the way, get together with your family and come up with your own gingerbread house creation. Take a photo and email it to Elena@websterbid.com, and you could win a prize, too!

Next is the Snowman Scavenger Hunt, which runs for one week from Dec. 13 to 19.

The kids are especially going to like this one. Each participating businesses will hang a snowman poster inside the store or in the window, and each poster will have a different word on it. Players need to collect all the words to reveal a secret phrase. There will be 15 snowmen in all, and hints for where to find them will be posted on the BID website. Participants are also encouraged to take a creative picture with each snowman.

The top two puzzle solvers and the most creative photo with a snowman will each win a prize.

Finally, the week before Christmas, make sure to get downtown to see the village sparkle as shop owners decorate their windows and doors for the BID’s Window Display Contest. Community members can vote online for the Most Creative, the Most Colorful and the best Spirit of the Season.

For more information about all these upcoming holiday events, visit the BID website.

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Parade of Lights recap (photos and video!)

6 Dec

Click these links for more photos:

I’ve also posted several videos at the end of this blog.

The Village of Webster tried something new last night: a reimagined Holiday Parade of Lights to replace the very popular parade which winds down Main Street during the village’s White Christmas celebration every (non-COVID) year.

It most respects, it was very successful. Most would say too successful, actually.

While organizers expected only 4,100 cars to weave through the 1/2-mile long “parade,” many more unexpectedly showed up, creating very long wait times.

It was an unfortunate and aggravating situation for everyone, to be sure. But those who endured the invonvenience were rewarded with a magical and spectacular display courtesy more than 50 first responder agencies, community groups and local businesses who came out in force and endured the weather, their bodies and vehicles covered in twinkling lights.

People waiting their turn in the staging parking lot might have been grumpy, but when they saw what awaited them in the main lot, their frowns disappeared.

What I saw during my time there were kids and parents beaming, leaning out the windows waving back at the exhibitors. One girl yelled “This is AMAZING!” As they finally came to the end of the parade, the children positively exploded with delight upon seeing Santa wishing them a “Merry Christmas,” and many parents took the time to honk their horns, show a thumbs-up or yell “thank you!”

There’s been a lot of grousing on various social networks by families disappointed with the event. The criticisms are legitimate. But I’m sure the organizers and exhibitors would love to hear from folks who enjoyed themselves, despite the aggravations. These are people who spent hundreds of hours pulling together miriad details to create a much-needed holiday event, some of whom were outside in the cold and rain and snow for more than 12 hours.

So I would ask that comments here be positive and supportive. Because despite everything, The Holiday Parade of Lights gave everyone who waited in those long lines one magical night when we could forget about COVID and life seemed a little bit more normal.

Here are some videos from the event:

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Webster seniors host successful Thanksgiving food drive

4 Dec

I love hearing about it when otherwise ordinary people do extra-ordinary things. Especially when those “ordinary” people are young people.

  • Rachel
  • Giuliana
  • Eve

Such is the case with three Webster Schroeder students — seniors Rachel Kucewicz, Giuliana Zane and Eve Kowalczyk — who took it upon themselves recently to make sure the school’s annual Thanksgiving food drive was not canceled by the pandemic.

Traditionally, a small group of Webster Schroeder High School students runs a food drive in the fall to provide Thanksgiving meals to families assisted by Mt. Hope Family Center. The pandemic looked to put a damper on this year’s collection,. But these three young ladies, with help from their advisor Elizabeth Gefell, came up with an alternative.

Driven by the goal to feed as many Rochester families as possible, they asked students, staff, family, and friends for tax-deductible contributions made out directly to Mt. Hope Family Center Thanksgiving Basket Fundraiser. The trio hoped to raise $1,700, enough to feed 20 families. By their deadline on Friday, Nov. 20, they had easily surpassed that goal, bringing in $1,844.

Well done, ladies!

Mt. Hope Family Center, located on Edinburgh St. in Rochester, is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families who have experienced violence, abuse, neglect, or trauma. For more information, visit their website.

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Holiday music coming to you, courtesy Webster Library and WTHS

3 Dec

We can’t go to the schools to enjoy holiday concerts this year, but no worries. Next week, the Webster Thomas High School Select Choir is bringing the concert to us!

On Thursday Dec. 10, the Webster Thomas Select Choir will present a holiday concert via Facebook Live from 3:30 to 4 p.m. The event is hosted by the Webster Public Library and can be found via their Facebook page.

These kids’ beautiful voices will just blow you away. It’s a perfect way to kick-start your holiday season.

You do not have to have a Facebook account to see this concert, so put it on your calendar now and log in next Thursday. Questions? Email the Webster Public Library at webster.reference@libraryweb.org.

And while you’re on the library’s Facebook page, poke around a bit for information about some other fun activities the library has coming up.

Like their Gingerbread House Contest, for example. Starting Dec. 7, you can vote for your favorite, and help crown the Best Gingerbread House in Webster.

And the Virtual I Spy Game, which is designed for kids of all ages. On Monday Dec. 14 from 4 to 4:30 p.m., a series of I Spy challenges will have your kids racing throughout the house to find an object that matches the game’s description. Participants will also enjoy some I Spy puzzles. Click here to register for this online event.

Finally, just for fun, check out this video of library staff members showing their silly side:

https://www.facebook.com/websterlibrary/videos/3459896117390721

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Chorus of the Genesee is driven to perform despite COVID

1 Dec

Nothing, not even a global pandemic, was going to stop Webster’s own Chorus of the Genesee from making beautiful music.

The Chorus, which normally rehearses every week at the Harmony House in the Village of Webster, has found a creative way to continue their rehearsals while maintaining safe social distancing.

Like many of the chapters in the district, the Chorus has been meeting regularly via Zoom. But since mid-October, the’ve also been gathering in a parking lot off of East Main Street for live, stay-in-your-car rehearsals.

Steve Caso, the 2021 Chorus of the Genesee’s incoming president, knows his way around IT, and set up a system of wireless mics that broadcast to a specific FM station on everyone’s car radio. (The frequency, 91.1, is a jazz station out of Toronto. Anyone in Webster who might have tried to tune them in on Tuesday nights might have heard the rehearsal.)

  • Music Director Steve Caso, illuminated by headlights
  • Chorus President Dave Bay readies his microphone for rehearsal

Ten Chorus members attended rehearsal last Tuesday night, their cars arranged in a semi-circle in the parking lot. They surrounded Music Director Steve Link, who wore small lights on his hands so they would show up in the dark. He’s the only unfortunate Chorus member who has to brave the cold, while everyone else stays in their warm cars.

The Chorus is preparing for a virtual holiday season contest on Dec. 17 called Holidays in Harmony. It will feature choruses, quartets, special guests and celebrity judges, all presented via Zoom. Stay tuned for more information about that.

Be prepared for a surprise or two with this event, too. Chorus President Dave Bay wrote,

Like all barbershoppers, our visual impact is as important in the delivery of a song as the singing, which is clearly a challenge when each of us is in a vehicle in the evening.

We’ll be unveiling our solution to this dilemma, inspired by the challenges posted by COVID: car-eography (as delivered by the Car-us of the Genesee).

The Chorus of the Genesee is a non-profit, educational organization devoted to preserving the original American art form of Barbershop Harmony. The Chorus rehearses in Webster, New York, but performs all over the greater Rochester area. A portion of their proceeds support both local and national service projects.

For more information about the Chorus, check their website.

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Here’s a shopping challenge for you

27 Nov

Perhaps it’s just the fact that “Black Friday” has turned into “Black Friday Week” because people are spending more time at home and shopping online, but it seems to me that this year’s Black Friday craziness has been a little muted.

I’d like to encourage everyone to not let that happen to Small Business Saturday, which happens tomorrow, Nov. 28.

Our small business owners need our support more than ever this year help them survive this pandemic. Especially if we’re headed to an orange designation which might throw us back into another round of retail restrictions.

So I propose this challenge: sometime this holiday season, make a commitment to purchasing at least one gift at a small business. Even if (or especially if) you just need stocking presents, step into a small shop you’ve never been in before and I guarantee you’ll find something unique and perfect.

The North Bee, for example, at 27 North Ave. This is one of my favorite shops in the village, because I can always find something fun and different for office gifts or stockings.

The North Bee is packed with products from the hive, but goes far beyond just honey. (But if you or someone you love fancies honey, there are countless varieties here.) You have to check out her beeswax Christmas ornament tree, and beeswax statuettes for example. There are candies and even soft drinks, all honeybee-based. And Amy has really begun to focus her product line on health and wellness, like natural elderberry syrup and propolis products.

The North Bee has just celebrated its second anniversary, so Amy must be doing something right.

Another one of my favorite shops is The Village Quilt Shoppe at 21 E. Main. I’m not a quilter, but I like to stop in here occasionally just to say hi to the owners, Vanetta and Monique, who are two of the nicest people I have ever met. They’ve got all sorts of sales going on right now and a chance to win a gift raffle.

This is the perfect place to find a gift — or a gift card — for that quilter on your list.

And of course I can’t sing the praises of Lala of Webster enough. This adorable shop at 38 E. Main is packed with unique and creative gifts and is a must see for anyone shopping in the village. Owner Lisa Scholnski always has something new up her sleeve. Stay tuned for news soon of a special offering for seniors that’s in the works.

These three are just my favorite village shops, but li’l old Webster has so much to offer. Here are a few highlights:

  • Know someone who would rather read than do just about anything else? Grab a gift certificate from Yesterday’s Muse booksellers, 32 W. Main.
  • Performance Hobbies, 15 W. Main, is a hobbyist’s paradise.
  • How about supporting the musician in your family with something from The Music Store, 18 E. Main?
  • Grab some beautiful hand-made holiday chocolates at The Goodie Shoppe, 83 North Ave.
  • Nest Things at 11 E. Main is kind of like an upscale Grandma’s attic, packed with “carefully rechosen items” for the home, mother-to-be, and children. Lots of surprises in here.
  • Brighten up your holiday table and home with some flowers and wreaths from Kittleberger’s Florist, 263 North Ave.

And don’t forget to save some time to enjoy a snack and beverage at one of the village’s restaurants and pubs. You should definitely stop into Barry’s Old School Irish just to see the lights they’ve strung.

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The Thanksgiving Day Parade is alive and well — at Schlegel

25 Nov

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade might be going virtual this year, but for the staff and students at Schlegel Rd. Elementary School, it was alive and well earlier this week.

Inspired by Melissa Sweet’s picture book Balloons Over Broadway about the puppeteer who invented the parade’s signature balloons, Schlegel Rd. librarian Jamie Palmer decided she wanted to create a parade of ballons of her own.

So last week she sent home a note to parents, encouraging every child in the school to create a balloon depicting a book character. She planned to make a few of her own, and was hoping that she’d receive at least a few others.

Dog Man and Cat Kid

Last Friday, the balloons started coming in. First just a few. Then five or six more, then a dozen. By the end of the day, the library’s floor and tables were covered with balloons, so many that staff members had to watch where they walked lest they step on Dog Man or Harry Potter.

By Monday afternoon, there were 70 ballons ready to parade down the hallway outside the Schlegel library.

Students from every grade level participated, and the creativity was stunning. I was delighted by how many ways students had found to use their balloons — as wings, feet, tails, ears, eyes, noses, as separate body parts, sometimes blown up, other times deflated, sometimes twisted. One even used a long orange balloon as a scarf wrapped around Penguin from Salina Yoon’s Penguin and Pinecone series.

It took Palmer almost 7 hours to string up each balloon into three separate mini-parades. The result was stunning. And it was fun to see the reactions from teachers and students as they passed by the parades. Some teachers even brought their whole classes through for a tour.

I tried to take photos of all the parade entries, so check out these individual ones, then click through the gallery below. I think you’ll be impressed, too.

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Looking for outstanding holiday light displays

23 Nov

I decided to put up my house Christmas decorations yesterday. It was about two weeks earlier than I normally decorate every year, but of course this is far from a normal year. I rationalized that now more than ever we need something uplifting in our lives, and looking at Christmas decorations always brightens my heart.

It’s obvious I’m not the only one who’s thinking this way. On our regular walks through the neighborhood, my husband and I are seeing more and more lights and decorations going up. He likened the early displays to the rainbows everyone was chalking on their sidewalks or posting in their windows in the spring. “It helps mark the beginning of the end of this dumpster fire of a year,” was I think the way he put it (although he used a more appropriate term instead of “dumpster fire.”)

Charlie and Cora Venishel’s Penfield home is alays a winter wonderland.

I would love to help spread the happiness by highlighting some of the best holiday displays here in my blog. Perhaps it could be the “12 Days of Holiday Happiness” series or something like that.

But to do that, I need your help. If you know of a particularly nice display in your neighborhood, please drop me an email. Or perhaps you’re proud of what you’ve done at your own home. Send me an email! I’ll come out and take a photo, then tell everyone about it.

And don’t forget that the Webster Museum is looking for great holiday photos for their gallery.

They explain on their website,

What brings you joy? Do you dress up your pets? Make your own ornaments or special treats? Decorate your house or yard? Have family traditions? If it makes you happy, it will make others happy too!

Take a photo, then share it with all of Webster in one of two ways. You can email your photo to photos@webstermuseum.org or upload them (on the website).

I sent one in, picturing my family’s unusual tradition of stripping our shoes and socks off and walking barefoot in the snow. If you’re interested in seeing that weirdness, check it out on the museum website.

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Own a business? Join Webster’s Holiday Parade of Lights!

18 Nov

Have you heard about this year’s reimagined Parade of Lights, happening Saturday Dec. 5?

This very popular event, always the highlight of the Village of Webster’s White Christmas, was cancelled because of COVID restrictions. But it’s back — albeit a little different.  

Normally, fire trucks, community and business floats, and marching bands, all covered in twinkling holiday lights, parade down Main St. past thousands of spectators. This year, the trucks and floats will be stationary, and spectators will drive past them, enjoying the lights and music from the safety and warmth of their own cars.  

More than 1,500 cars have already registered to drive through and enjoy the display. Now it’s time for more businesses and community agencies to jump on board. 

As an exhibitor, you’ll be assigned a spot where you can park your vehicle for the entire parade, where upwards of 2,000 cars will drive past to see your holiday lights display and business information. (At an average of four people per car, that’s 8,000 people.) Plus, every participating business can provide marketing material for a VIP goodie bag which will be safely handed out to spectator vehicles as they enter the parade route. 

This is an outstanding opportunity to reach out to thousands of new and existing customers, and remind everyone that you’re still in business. So get registered, grab some holiday lights, and plan to have some fun! 

The Village of Webster Holiday Parade of Lights is scheduled for Saturday Dec. 5 from 3 to 8 p.m. on San Jose Dr. rain or shine. Participation is free, but you’ll need to register so organizers know how many vehicles to expect. For more information and to register, email 2020websterparadeoflights@neqals.org. Registration is required by Nov. 25. 

You can also find more information about the event at the 2020 Webster Parade of Lights Facebook page.

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

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