Archive | 2020

Find out more about Girl Scouts at this weekend’s fun day

25 Aug

Let’s hope this beautiful late-summer weather continues to hold through this weekend, because the Seneca Waterways Council has planned a pretty cool get-to-know-your-Girl-Scouts event this Saturday Aug. 29.

They’re calling it a “community fun day,” an opportunity for interested families to get a taste of the programs that Girls Scouts offer.

Local Scouts and BSA Girl Troops will host two hours of activities and events, this Saturday Aug. 29 from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at the Penfield Wesleyan Church, 1580 Five Mile Line Rd. The event is free but participants are asked to register ahead of time (so they know how many people to expect). To do that, click here.

For more information, you can email Brendan Flaherty at brendan.flaherty@scouting.org, call him at (585) 241-8530, or check out the flyers attached here.

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White Christmas a no-go (for now)

23 Aug
Chances are very good we’ll not be seeing this scene on Main Street this year.

I’ve been getting a few questions recently regarding the status of upcoming Village of Webster events, especially White Christmas and the Parade of Lights.

Not knowing the answer myself, I dropped an email to Robyn Whitaker, my contact on the Webster BID (the business group that organizes these events) and confirmed what I suspected would be the case.

2020 has officially become (almost) a complete washout.

Robyn wrote,

We had a discussion with the fire department and there will be no White Christmas this year along with no Trick-or-treat Trail, no Wine Walk, no Bourbon Bash.

She did add, however, that if things change (meaning if we can really get Corona under control I suspect), “we are willing to modify (our plans) so we can connect the community.”

Not all Village events have bitten the dust, however. Last night, the gazebo at Veterans Memorial Park played host to the first of three Friday night summer concerts, featuring Prime Time Funk. The series continues this coming Friday Aug. 28 with Judah Sealy and concludes on Sept. 4 with the Bill Tiberio Band. The concerts run from 7 to 9 p.m., and socially-distanced family-sized spaces will be marked in the grass.

For more information, visit the BID website.

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Time to show our love to the WVFD

22 Aug

If you live in the Village of Webster or on the town’s east side, you probably got one of these flyers in the mail recently.

Don’t throw it out. Or if it already has made it to the recycle bin, go grab it. Because this year more than ever, we need to support our Webster Volunteer Fire Department.

These are the men and women who will drop everything at a moment’s notice when they hear that one of their Webster neighbors is in trouble, rushing to help out in any way they can to — hopefully — make one of the worst days in your life a little better. And not a one of them is paid for their service.

This year, as you know, the annual Firemen’s Carnival was canceled due to the pandemic. That event has always been the fire department’s biggest fundraiser, and losing that influx of cash leaves a huge funding gap.

If you and your family has never required the services of our Webster volunteer firefighters, consider yourself blessed. But if and when that time should come — when you might be having one of the worst days of your life — it’s comforting to know that these dedicated volunteers will rush to your side.

So let’s all show them some love, and throw them some money. It’s pretty easy. Simply log onto www.donateWVFD.org, or complete and mail the envelope that was enclosed in the mailing.

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A few village business notes

19 Aug

Did you have a chance to stop by The Village Quilt Shoppe a little while ago for the anniversary celebration?

Owners Vanetta and Monique have a lot to celebrate, having weathered more than their share of first-year difficulties. Given what they’ve been through, it was perfectly ironic that the cake experienced its own mini-disaster on the way to the party.

So now they’re charging ahead full speed into their second year and already have tons of classes and special events on the books. They’d also like to get a handle on what their customers would really like to see in the shop. So if you have a few minutes, please help them out by filling out their on-line survey.

The Quilt Shoppe is also offering curbside pickup or postal mail if you’re not comfortable coming into the store, or you can schedule a private appointment during their off hours. Visit the shop’s webpage for more information.

The Filling Station Pub & Grill, 77 East Main, is adding a big new patio.

The beautiful new space will eventually be used for outdoor seating, adding to the existing outdoor dining space under the drive-through. But manager Wendy Antes can’t pinpoint when that might be, saying it is “a work in progress.”

Stay tuned.

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Webster community mailbag

18 Aug

There is NO reason to not have a good book to read during these last few weeks of summer. Not when the Webster Public Library keeps making it SO EASY to borrow one, or in this case, get a bunch for really cheap.

The library’s next pop-up book sale is this Thursday Aug. 20 from noon to 4 outside the library, at the back of Webster Plaza, 980 Ridge Rd.

All books are just $1 each (cash only please). Check out the poster for more details.

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Immanuel Lutheran Church , 131 W, Main in Webster, will hold a food collection on Saturday, Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The collection will be in the parking lot behind the church, which can be accessed off of Daniel Drive. Volunteers will take the food from your car.

Immanuel has run the Weekend Food Backpack Program in the Webster Schools since 2011, with generous support from other Webster churches, community organizations and residents. At the close of school they were providing bags of food to more than 70 children in all seven of the elementary schools. When the school buildings closed, they shifted distribution to the Little Free Pantry in the Immanuel Parking lot.

Immanuel Hunger Ministry manages a Little Free Pantry in the church parking lot. The Little Pantry is available for anyone who is need of some food. The philosophy behind the Little Free Pantry is “Take what you need and leave what you can” This Little Pantry is seeing support from people in the community as well as our church members.

Please donate non-perishable items, no glass containers or out of date items.
Suggested items are kid friendly foods such as:
Peanut butter
Jam of Jelly
Macaroni and Cheese
Tuna Fish or Canned Chicken
Pasta and Sauce
Soup and Ramen Noodles
Cereal or Instant Oatmeal
Shelf Stable Milk and Juice Boxes
Canned Vegetables and Fruit
Individual Applesauce, Pudding or Fruit Cups
Granola Bars and Other Snack Items
Canned Pasta – Spaghetti-O’s, Ravioli & Similar

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A five-year effort to clean veterans’ headstones at Webster Union Cemetery, spearheaded by Webster resident Stephen Cataldi, will conclude this Sunday, Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Interested volunteers are asked to meet at the cemetery, 345 Webster Rd. Read more about the project on the Facebook page here.

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Bella’s Bumbas’ mission is spreading worldwide

17 Aug

(A young boy in the Philippines learning to use his Bella’s Bumba.)

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you’re very familiar with Bella’s Bumbas.

Bella’s Bumbas is a non-profit organization run by Webster residents Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr, dedicated to building miniature wheelchairs for children with a wide variety of mobility issues. To date they have shipped more than 1400 chairs to children in at least 27 countries, often adapting the chairs for each child’s individual needs, and charging the families only for shipping.

Although the world has in many ways come screeching to a halt these last several months, children’s need for these special chairs has not slowed, and neither has Rebecca and Marty’s commitment to filling that need.

On the contrary, they’ve devised a plan to get even MORE chairs shipped worldwide, more economically, by packing and sending international “kits.”

Rebecca explained in an email,

Bella’s Bumbas has been trying out sending “kits” internationally to a few countries, and having success with it. We can UPS all the needed assembly parts, minus the seats, for three to four Bella’s Chairs. (We’ve sent them) to Indonesia, Philippines, and now we would like to start in Malaysia.

In Indonesia, they receive a box of parts from us, purchase a comparable local seat to attach and send within the country to the family in need. The family pays a portion of the international shipping of the parts, and the local shipping from our volunteer in Indonesia.

The kits are saving everyone money all around. 

If we were to ship one completed Bella’s Bumba to each Indonesian family that requests one, it would be approx $350.00 USD. We can send the same size box with three to four kits to our volunteer for nearly the same price.

What started just three years ago, when Marty cobbled together the first Bumba for his niece Bella, who was born with spina bifida, has now spread across the world, enriching thousands of children’s lives with newfound mobility. 

How you can help

Even though many of their parts are donated, Bella’s Bumbas does have to buy parts and cover some overhead expenses. If you’d like to help out, visit their GoFundMe page, where you can also read more about their background and continued efforts.  

They could also use boxes. The perfect sizes are 50 cm. x 45 cm. x 28 cm. (Rebecca uses two of these for the small chairs); 28″ x 20″ x 14″, and 29″ x 14″ x 24″ are great for the large chairs. If you’re getting Amazon deliveries regularly, you might also have the boxes they need; the ones that say P5 on the bottom are perfect (25.75″ x 20.75″ x 16.5″).

So if you have any boxes that are the right size, and would like to donate them, please connect connect with Marty and Rebecca through the Bella’s Bumbas Facebook page or email bellasbumbas@gmail.com. 

 

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Exciting news for the Knuckleheads

14 Aug

Exciting things are happening for the Knuckleheads.

If you’ve been watching their Facebook page recently, you might have seen the announcement that Len Dummer, owner of Knucklehead Craft Brewing, recently posted about the changes happening there.

It read,

Do you like the color of your brewery? Oh well, it’s going to change.

Watch for a lot of changes at Knucklehead because the Dummer family finally closed on the building and they own 426 Ridge Rd! Like Chef Josh’s food? Wait for it…we are totally re-modeling his kitchen with a build-out and all new equipment. Like to sit outside & enjoy a pint? We have hired Thomas Landscape Garden Center & Florist to build out a new beer garden with gas fireplace & a water feature. Trees will fall (for a future retaining wall to allow more on-site parking), windows will change, fences will be built, but Head Brewer Jake’s beer will remain the same delicious beer you love! Stay tuned as we move forward, be patient with us and continue to come in to your favorite “Webster’s only” brewery.

This is very cool news. It’s an expansion I know the brewery has been looking to accomplish for a long time. It also represents another small Webster business success story: not only surviving the pandemic, but finding a way to turn things positive.

That kind of enduring success can be attributed in large part to the loyal customer base Knucklehead has developed, and the kind of people we are here in Webster. Let’s continue to show the love.

Knucklehead Craft Brewing is located at 426 Ridge Rd. in West Webster.

A look inside the brewery in a photo from the Knucklehead Facebook page.

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A guest blogger lends me hand today

12 Aug

I am so thankful for friends.

A little while ago, my friend Dave Kassnoff offered to write a blog for me as I took a few days off for my elbow surgery. Here it is today for your enjoyment.

Picturing Webster today (reviving the photo contest)

by David Kassnoff

IMG_3903--s90sunset (2)

 Sunset from Lodge at Webster Park, D. Kassnoff

While Missy recovers, I thought it’s a good time to revisit a long-lost practice of celebrating the local beauty of our community.

But, when I go looking for a current, local photo competition, I come up a bit short.

The Webster Arboretum ran a photo contest for a few years, but the most recent entries I found appeared from June, 2017. Missy Rosenberry’s “Picture Webster” photo contest ran in the Democrat & Chronicle, predating this blog space, in 2010. The Webster Library has featured local photographers, both professional and hobbyist – but the library’s current limitations on hours and access makes a photo event unlikely in 2020.

So far, no photo contests on my radar. Or, it seems, anyone else’s.

This is slightly ironic, as Webster this year has played host to a number of photo enthusiasts. We’re a photogenic town, even without our usual parades and festivals. Digital photographer and newsman John Kucko regularly shoots and streams lakeside scenes from Webster Park, in summer and winter. Oklahoma Beach and its Sandbar Park were among the best places to photograph last month’s Neowise comet in the night skies. And, I’ll admit to capturing a few vistas along our Lake Ontario coastline this summer. Just for the satisfaction of it.

I’d hate to see Facebook and Instagram hog all the great pictures – and not recognize the imaginative picture-takers in our town. Our diligent efforts at social distancing have given rise to chalk-drawn driveways and other creative outlets. I’d like to see someone take the lead on a community photo contest, with entries posted on a website where viewers can comment. Webster is home to several HTML-coding experts, so this shouldn’t be so difficult.

Who’s willing to step up?

Mini-bio: A Webster resident, David Kassnoff teaches strategic communications courses at St. Bonaventure University.

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Webster community mailbag

8 Aug

There are several ways for you to help out your community — and environment — in today’s mailbag.

Bottle and Can Drive

Capture

For starters, the Webster Marching Band will hold their next bottle and can drive on Saturday August 22 at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Rd. 

Bottles and cans can be dropped off at the high school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day. If you have any that you’d like to have picked up before then, simply call the Bottle and Can Hotline at 234-8684, select option 1, leave a message, and someone will be in touch to pick up your returnables.

Food Drive

Capture2

That same day, Saturday August 22, Immanuel Lutheran Church at 131 West Main Street in Webster will host a non-perishable food drive. All donations will be used for the church’s Little Free Pantry and the WCSD Food Backpack Program.

Click on the poster above for more information about items they particularly need. The drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Blood Drive

blood drive

Another local opportunity for you to help save lives with your blood donation will take place on Tuesday Aug. 25 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Webster Volunteer Fire Department Firemen’s Building, 172 Sanford Street. To set up your appointment, call 1-800-Red-Cross. 

Electronics Recycling

The next local electronics recycling event will be held at Xerox on Saturday August 29 from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

The last time one of these drives was held at Xerox, the line of cars stretched down Phillips Rd. So organizers are requesting that everybody pre-register for this drive. Click here to do that.

Items that will be accepted include cell phones, computers, monitors, printers, audio video equipment, and small devices. There’s a limit of four TV monitors per car.

Book Sale! 

The Webster Public Library will hold a pop-up book sale on Thursday August 13 from noon to 4 p.m. outside the library on Van Ingen Dr.

All books will be $1 each. Please bring cash, wear your mask, and follow the social distancing guidelines that are laid out at the sale.

Movies and Concerts Return!

The Village of Webster is squeezing as much summer out of this year as they can.

Movies in the Gazebo Park series will return with two showings in the coming week in Veterans Memorial Park on North Ave.

Monsters uniMonsters University will be shown on Tuesday Aug. 11, and Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman on Saturday Aug. 15.

Both movies will begin at dusk, around 9 p.m. To encourage social distancing, the park will be marked off with specific “family areas” spaced six feet apart in the grass. There will be plenty of room for chairs and/or blankets within each spot and facial masks must be worn when outside your family space. There will be room for about 60 family spaces and are first-come, first-served. You can place your chairs or blankets in a space to reserve it on movie or concert days anytime after 2 p.m. the day of the event.

No popcorn will be served so feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks.

And the (abbreviated) Friday Night Concert Series is back, too!

Friday Aug. 21 will feature Super Mini Prime Time Funk with Ronnie Leigh on vocals and sax, Dave Cohen on drums, Andy Calabrese on keys and Ron France on bass.

Friday Aug. 28, the Juday Sealy Band will take the stage. Recently Judah, a School of the Arts grad,  released his highly anticipated single called “Off The Charts” which spent two months on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart. The group also features Webster HS graduate Deepak Thettu on guitar.

The Bill Tiberio Band returns Friday Sept 4, with Bill Tiberio on alto and tenor sax, Scott Bradley on trumpet and keyboards, Vinnie Ruggiero on guitar, Phil Lake on drums and Geoff Smith on bass.

The concerts are from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information visit websterbid.com.

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Village Quilt Shoppe celebrates first anniversary

6 Aug

quilt shoppe

The Village Quilt Shoppe in the Village of Webster is celebrating its one-year anniversary, and boy, do they have a lot to celebrate.

The anniversary celebration runs through this coming Saturday Aug. 8, with prizes, raffles, and other surprises. On Saturday there’ll even be cake and lemonade.

The first year for any new small business is always a challenge, but there was no way owners Vanetta Parshall and Monique Liberti could have anticipated the struggles they would face when they followed their dream and opened their shop at 21 E. Main St. last summer. For a while it looked like they weren’t going to make it.

After a strong grand opening, hugely welcoming reception from the community, and a rapidly expanding clientele, disaster struck.

Just days before the Village of Webster’s White Christmas celebration took place, an event where potentially hundreds of new customers would discover the shop, a water leak from the apartment above them came through the floor and destroyed much of their merchandise. They to close to regroup.

Thanks to their loyal customers who bought gift certificates and “flood fabric,” they made enough money to cover their deductible. After restocking and completing some renovations, including a new floor, they reopened just a little more than a month later.

Then, after a strong grand reopening, hugely re-welcoming reception from the community, and a rapidly expanding clientele, COVID struck, and they had to close again.

Of course, we all know that story. Following the governor’s regional guidelines, it was almost three months before they could open again in June. Reflecting the kind of people Vanetta and Monique are, they spent that time coordinating an effort to make masks for health care workers and other agencies.

So, at least for now, things are smooth sailing again. And the ladies credit their loyal clients for helping them weather the storms.

Monique wrote,

QUILT SHOP 3

Village Quilt Shoppe owners Vanetta Parshall and Monique Liberti

“Both Vanetta and I know that the primary reason we have made it is due to our customers. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU- we truly appreciate your support and are looking forward to another great year!”

She added, “Things can only get better. If we can make it through a flood and pandemic we can make it through anything.”

So make sure to pop in sometime in the next few days to say hi and congratulations.

The Village Quilt Shoppe is located at 21 East Main, at the corner of Lapham Park. They’re open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 11 to 5, Wednesday 11 to 6 and Saturday 10 to 3.

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

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.

 

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