Courtesy weather.com
So the weather doesn’t look really promising this morning, but Village Days will take over Main Street today, rain or shine. With any luck, the worst of the rains will move off by mid-morning, and we’ll just have cloudy and cool weather this afternoon.
In any case, I will most certainly be there, snapping pictures of all the people and action, so stay tuned for one of my patented Facebook galleries. (Maybe you’ll be in it?)
Village Days has returned.
Some young aviators ready their planes before last year’s Model Plane Flying Contest.
The event, which has in years past been scheduled in mid-August, took a skip-step this year and has landed on a brand new weekend, this Friday and Saturday September 21 and 22. The village decided to move the festival to get away from what has traditionally been a VERY busy summer weekend for vendors. Being up against five other festivals that weekend made attracting vendors to Webster a difficult proposition. It was also always really, really hot.
So what used to be a celebration of summer is now a celebration to welcome autumn, with even more vendors and more entertainment than ever before. They’re also combining Saturday’s sidewalk sale activities with the Main Street Farmer’s Market.
The fun starts Friday night with an Octoberfest theme, featuring a Super Food Court and a concert by The Krazy Firemen at the gazebo. On Saturday, Main Street will be closed for a street festival from 9:30-4, including lots of food, kids’ activities and live music. Here are some details:
Friday September 21:
Super Food Court from 5-10 pm, featuring German specialties from Nancy’s, Joe’s Push Cart, Hatter’s Pub, Coach Sports Bar and Brimont Catering. The Krazy Firemen, “Rochester’s original Octoberfest band,” plays in the gazebo from 6:30-9:30 pm.
Saturday September 22:
Street Festival from 9:30 – 4, featuring craft and food vendors, bounce house and slides for the kids, face painting and live music. Performance Hobbies will hold their annual Model Plane Flying Contest at 1 pm at the gazebo. The Super Food Court will once again be in full swing, and live music at the gazebo begins at 4 pm.
Hope to see you there.
Rodeo volunteers doubled as canopy-holders to keep the tents from flying away in the winds. (Click on the photo to see more.)
If you were one of the thousands of people who came out to the Trucks for the Tower Food Truck Rodeo on Friday evening, thank you! If you didn’t… well, I don’t blame you for a second.
Mother Nature chose to play a very cruel trick on the event, sending gale-force winds, pounding rains, and even a threat of hail Friday night, all of which arrived — coincidentally — right when the rodeo was scheduled to begin, and ended — coincidentally — right when the the rodeo was scheduled to end. As a result, a good percentage of the event’s very well-laid plans never happened. The bounce house and obstacle course the YMCA brought for the kids could not be used. The hundreds of chairs neatly set up in the dining area were never sat on. Volunteers originally scheduled to man ticket tables, sell concessions and pick up trash were reassigned to hold down the pop-up canopies so the wind wouldn’t turn them into big blue kites.
Not rain nor wind nor dark of night could keep these young ladies from having a good time in the dining room. (Click on the photo to see more.)
When it became clear that it wouldn’t simply be a matter of waiting the storm out, as many activities as possible were moved inside the Shriner Center, including the raffles, concessions, entertainment and dining. And so the festival continued.
And thanks to this incredible community, the event did very well, despite the weather. The parking lot was filled, the dining room was packed most of the night, and even though people looked like wet rats when they came into the building, they were smiling and having fun.
And the Shriners. What a wonderful bunch of people they are. Without blinking an eye, they allowed us to invade their facility at a moment’s notice. If they had not been so accommodating, the Trucks for the Tower fund-raiser would have been a huge failure.
So thank you again to everyone who helped pull this event together. To the individuals and businesses who donated services and prizes. To the Shriners for their hospitality. And to the Webster community as a whole for your unwavering support. Thanks to you, we’ll have the Bay View YMCA climbing tower rebuilt before the start of next year’s summer camp.
Click here to see more photos from the event.
R.J. Short did billboard duty, trying to attract cash mobbers.
I had the pleasure of attending two very worthwhile events in the village last night.
The first was the inaugural Webster Cash Mob, an event which was meant to encourage shoppers to descend en masse on one local business during one very short window of time, therein giving that small business owner an economic boost. The target of this first cash mob was Yesterday’s Muse Bookstore on West Main Street.
Unfortunately, the number of people who actually “descended” on Yesterday’s Muse was far less than a mass. It was more like 15-20. I think the mob organizer, Renee Short, was a little disappointed by the turnout, but undeterred. She was already planning a second mob for sometime in October.
When that one happens, I challenge this village to overwhelm the place.
My next stop was Veterans Park, where the village held its annual 9/11 memorial ceremony. While this year’s event paled somewhat to last year’s tenth-anniversary observance, it was still moving.
The 30-minute ceremony featured speeches by Mayor Peter Elder, Senator Michael Nozzolio and Assemblyman Mark Johns, and some beautiful music by the Chorus of the Genesee and village piper Jack Jacob Jarosinski. It concluded with Taps, beautifully performed from the hilltop by a lone bugler. Always makes me want to cry.
Webster is only one of a handful of Rochester-area towns still commemorating the events of 9/11/01. I asked Mayor Elder about that, to which he responded, “If we don’t remember the heroes of 9/11, we’ll forget the sacrifices they made. We need to keep those memories alive.”
And how many more years does he expect Webster to continue the tradition?
“As long as we possibly can. It’s very important.”
Click here or on the photo to redirect to a small gallery of photos from the ceremony.
The Village of Webster remembers the tragic events of 9/11/01 this evening with a memorial service at Veterans Memorial Park on North Avenue.
Last year’s ceremony was a very memorable event, which began with a solemn procession of first responders from the Webster Fire Department’s Enterline Station on South Ave to the park. It was followed by addresses from local officials, a presentation of the flag by the Cub Scouts, and some very moving music. I expect this year’s ceremony to be just as nice. Click here to see a Facebook gallery of photos from last year.
The ceremony begins at 7 pm at the gazebo, and the weather looks great.
Have you heard yet about the Trucks for the Tower Food Truck Rodeo planned for this coming Friday evening? If not, you haven’t been reading my blog lately. This is an event that is near and dear to my heart, and I’m on the committee that’s pulling it together. So basically, today’s blog is an ad for the rodeo. You can stop reading here and check out all the cute photos of kittens on Facebook, or read on and find out more about this great family event that benefits a great cause — rebuilding the Bay View YMCA climbing wall.
Here’s the background:
On June 24, the day before summer camp began, the 45-foot climbing tower at the Bay View 
Family YMCA was set on fire by arsonists. The entire tower was destroyed, including much of the climbing equipment and zip line. It was a devastating blow to the YMCA community. (If you’d like more information, check out my previous blog here.)
The YMCA has pledged to replace the tower before summer camp begins next year, which is pretty exciting. But even more exciting is that the new “climbing complex” will include two zip lines (so a parent and child could zip at the same time, for example), a bouldering wall, and I think they mentioned a high-ropes component as well. And even MORE exciting? Everything will be handicap-accessible.
The YMCA has taken a two-pronged approach to raising the $100,000 necessary to fund this ambitious plan. The first is to solicit larger businesses for corporate donations. This has been pretty successful so far; a recent email from Bay View YMCA Executive Director Mike Stevens announced that those efforts have already raised almost $25,000.
But there are a lot of Bay View YMCA friends out there who would like to help out on a smaller scale. That’s where the Trucks for the Tower Food Truck Rodeo comes in. If you’ve never heard about these things (I hadn’t), a Food Truck Rodeo is when a whole bunch of food trucks descend on one place at one time. It’s kind of like a mini State Fair, with all kinds of great dinner and dessert items at your fingertips.
But we’ll also have live music, kids’ activities (like a bounce house, gaga court, dunk tank and face painting), and lots of raffle prizes (scroll down for photos of a few of them).
These are the trucks who have confirmed their participation so far (more to come):
The Dough Boys * Tuscan Pizza * Frozen Delights * Marty’s Meat * Chowder UP Seafood * Wraps on Wheels * Caspers Street Dogs * Cheesed & Confused * Fett Svin BBQ * Snow Daze
Plus, we’ve got more than 50 raffle prizes donated from about 30 Webster and Greater Rochester merchants, including wine, two Kodak pocket video cameras, a Sabres jersey, a Thirty-one tote bag, and lots and lots of restaurant and retail store gift certificates. (We’re still collecting raffle prizes if your business would like to donate. Email me!)
Here are the details:
Trucks for the Tower Food Truck Rodeo and Family Festival
Friday, September 14, 5-9 pm
Damascus Shrine Center, 979 Bay Road, Webster, NY
Lots of food, desserts and beverages; live music by Webster-based Irish duo Barry’s Crossing; kids’ activities; raffles
Check out the event’s Facebook page for more details and updates as the event approaches.
For the third time this summer, half of the Bay Bridge will be closed to traffic this weekend.
Beginning tonight (Friday) at 8 pm, all EASTBOUND lanes over the bridge will be closed, and will not reopen until Sunday around noon.
Detour signs will be posted, directing eastbound traffic south on 590, onto Empire Blvd. to Bay, then north on Bay Rd. back to Rt.104 east. It will probably be a really good idea to avoid Empire Blvd. entirely this weekend and try to get around via Browncroft/Atlantic or Blossom Road. Even these routes will probably be busy, so plan ahead.
Going westbound over the bridge won’t be much easier; that will also be reduced to two lanes during the same period.
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As I was driving through the village recently, I noticed with some sadness that Barker’s Dozen Gourmet Dog Treats has closed up its North Avenue shop. The little bakery only opened up a year ago April. I always thought it was a clever idea and knew a lot of people who were big fans (including 499 of them who “like” the Facebook page). But perhaps store owner Gabriella Martinez … ummm … bit off more than she could chew when she tried to move her home-based business to a storefront.
On her Facebook page, Gabriella does explain to her fans that, “We are just switching it back to an online storefront so I can focus more of my time on Pup Culture.” This, apparently, is a digital magazine about dogs, “focused on furthering our human-dog relationship.” Check out the Pup Culture website here.
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You may have seen a mention in my blog a little while ago that a local “cash mob” was in the works. In a 
cash mob, a large group of people gather at a local business at a specified time and spend money — generally around $10-$20 — giving that business an economic jolt. What a great way to support small businesses.
Well, the details have been finalized. The very first Webster cash mob will take this coming Tuesday September 11, from 5-7 pm at Yesterday’s Muse Books on Main Street in the village. To participate, just show up and buy some books! Afterwards, the mob will be meeting across the street at Hatter’s Pub (another local business worth supporting) for a post-mob celebration.
The Webster Cash Mob folks plan to pick a new local business each month to mob. So this is just the beginning. You can follow the group’s Facebook page to stay updated.
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You might also consider stopping by Veteran’s Park after the mob, where the Village will hold its annual 9/11 Memorial Service, beginning at 7 pm. The gathering pays tribute to the thousands of fire fighters, policemen, EMT’s, and airline personnel, and private citizens who were killed in the line of duty on that awful day.
Last year’s ceremony was very moving and very meaningful. Definitely worth taking the time to attend.
I love helping to promote events where local people are going out of their way to help others. This item fits the bill perfectly.
The folks at Henderson Ford in Webster are sponsoring a book drive to benefit City of Rochester School #52. People are encouraged to donate new or gently used books, for children ages 6-12 (grades 1-6). The books can be dropped off through September 1 in one of four boxes located around the Henderson Ford dealership, 810 Ridge Road in Webster, or at one of these other locations throughout the Rochester area:
Edge Advertising Group, 6 N. Main Street, Fairport
Dixon Schwabl, 1595 Moseley Road, Victor
A Different Point of View, 2920 Monroe Avenue, Rochester
Omero’s Clothes, 274 Silver Fox Circle, Rochester
You’ll often hear about book drives throughout the school year, but I love the timing of this one because it lands just before the school year begins. I can just imagine how excited the kids are when they get to choose a brand new book just as school starts.
According to Megan, my contact at Henderson Ford, this is the second year the dealership has sponsored the book drive. But “we’ve upped the ante this year,” she reported. Last year they collected almost 1,000 books, almost enough to fill new Ford Escape. This year they’re aiming to fill a new Ford Focus.
Wow. A car filled with books. What a great goal. Please help them reach it.
The Webster community has been pulling together in a big way to help raise funds to rebuild the Bay View Family YMCA Climbing Tower.
You probably remember what happened: On June 24, the day before summer camp began, the 45-foot climbing tower at the Bay View Family YMCA was set on fire by arsonists. The entire tower was destroyed, including much of the climbing equipment and the popular zip line feature. It was a devastating blow to the YMCA community, all of the kids who used it every day at camp, and the families who tackled its challenges each evening.
Insurance did not completely cover the cost of replacing the wall, so fund-raising efforts began almost immediately. The campers even got involved. The preschoolers put out jars to collect change. Camp Bay View camper Joey Gerard has already raised thousands by selling woven bracelets.
But lots more money is needed, because the Y has some ambitious plans for the new tower. As they describe in one flyer:
The vision for the Bay View Family YMCA is the development of a multi-sided climbing structure that accommodates five climbers at one time on automatic hydraulic belays. In addition, a stair tower would be constructed to support dual zip lines allowing multiple children and adults to simultaneously zip. The YMCA is also seeking to enhance the surrounding area for children to “boulder” before actually climbing a tower. Bouldering provides children a wonderful introduction to rock climbing at a low height.
What is particularly exciting about the plans is that everything will be handicap-accessible, including the zip-line.
YMCA staff members, local business people and community leaders have already met several times to determine the best ways to raise the big money needed for these big plans. They’re developed a two-pronged approach: solicit corporate sponsorship donations (for the bigger money) and hold an awesomely entertaining fund-raising event for everybody who doesn’t have big money, but still wants to help out in some way.
Here are some details:
If you work at a business which would like to become a corporate sponsor for this effort, there are several levels available, starting at $500. All include your company’s name permanently displayed on a plaque at the new climbing center. Click here to download a brochure with more details.
If you would like to attend an awesomely entertaining fund-raising event to show your support, you’re in luck. A huge 
Food Truck Rodeo and Family Festival is being planned for Friday Sept. 14 at the Damascus Shrine Center, 979 Bay Road in Webster. If you’ve never heard about these things (I hadn’t), basically a Food Truck Rodeo is when a whole bunch of food trucks descend on one place at one time. It’s kind of like a mini State Fair, with all kinds of great dinner and dessert items at your fingertips. These events are apparently very popular, so much so that their fans follow them around.
This event will also feature lots of things for both kids and adults. Details are still being finalized, but there are plans for a bounce house and/or obstacle course, a dunk booth, face painting, live entertainment, raffles and more. Plus lots of food, of course.
Once again, here are the details:
Food Truck Rodeo and Family Festival
to benefit the Rebuild the Climbing Wall Fund of the Bay View Family YMCA
Friday, September 14, 5-9 pm
Damascus Shrine Center, 979 Bay Road, Webster
Click here to go the event’s Facebook page for more information
If you or someone you know can donate a raffle prize for this event, please let me know by emailing me at missyblog@gmail.com. All businesses who donate a prize will be recognized on big signboards placed at the entrance to the festival.
OK, I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but I was planning to post this blog more than a week ago before I left on vacation. But I was sitting on it while I awaited more information. Then when it finally arrived I totally wrote a whole new blog with it and forgot about this one.
I just came across it again. So consider this a bonus blog.
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The following photo and caption were submitted by my friend Kelly Mutschler, who’s a little proud of what her daughter Maggie and her volleyball teammates are doing for the community.
Members of the Webster Schroeder Volleyball team spent time a few weeks ago volunteering with the American Cancer Society. The girls assembled kits for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, which will be distributed to the attendees of the kickoff breakfasts in Rochester and Waterloo this month. Jessica Shatzel, a fundraising coach for this event, said,
It was my pleasure to work with the Webster Schroeder Girls Volleyball team who came to volunteer at the American Cancer Society’s Lakes Office in Rochester. The girls were here from 9 am until 1 pm and in that short time were able to assemble about 800 team leader kits for our upcoming Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Kickoff Breakfast. This was no small task as folders needed to be stuffed, tee shirts folded and ribbons tied, but they kept a positive and hardworking attitude throughout, an excellent representation of both the school and the athletic department. I am so grateful for all of their help! Without volunteers like these girls, events like this would not be possible.
Front row: Ciara Lutz, Cailyn Hart, Deanna Callerame and Jane Vanvessem. Back row: Cassie Campbell, Maggie Mutschler and Courtney Miller.
These are the same ladies who are holding the mattress fundraiser tomorrow which I mentioned in my Thursday blog. Click here for more information and for a $50 coupon.
This next photo is one I snapped a few weeks ago at Barry’s Old School Irish, where I was was having a gabfest with my friend and colleague Carol Klem. While our meeting was going on, at the next table over, several of the ladies from the Webster Museum’s Historic properties Committee were also meeting. They were starting to plan out which local homes would be recognized this year for their historic significance.
Webster owes this committee a debt of gratitude for regularly reminding us that our town has a very rich and exciting history.
And speaking of Barry’s Old School Irish, the little pub/bakery on Webster’s Four Corners will host a second Fiddle Workshop tomorrow from 3-4 pm.
The free workshop will be led by Barry’s Crossing fiddle-meister Sean Rosenberry. It’s designed for advanced beginners and intermediate players, but fiddlers of all ages and skill levels are welcome, and participants are invited to bring other traditional Irish instruments as well. Spectators are encouraged. Following the workshop, Sarah and Sean of Barry’s Crossing will perform a short fiddle set.
While family and friends watch, young fiddlers perform the tune they just learned at the first Fiddle Workshop in June.
For more information about the workshop, visit the Barry’s Crossing website and choose the “Shows” tab.
Barry’s Old School Irish is located at 2 West Main Street, smack dab in the middle of the Village of Webster. There is no charge for the workshop.
I feature the people and places and events that make Webster the wonderful community it is — and throw in some totally-not-Webster-related personal ramblings every once in a while as well.
I love it when readers send me news about the great things happening in their schools or the community, so please email me anytime at missyblog@gmail.com
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