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Photos from Halloween in the Village

30 Oct

 

Click here to see a gallery of photos from Halloween in the Village

The worst of yesterday’s weather held off until the afternoon, allowing hundreds — perhaps thousands — of children and their parents to enjoy Webster’s annual Halloween in the Village event. When things got started around 11:30, there were so many people it was hard to even walk down the sidewalks.  Even the spitting rain which began around 1 pm didn’t keep kids from their candy rounds.

What’s so great about this event is not only that it’s a great thing for the kids, but it’s also a great reason for people to come into town, see what the village has to offer and meet some of the business owners.  It’s too bad the weather wasn’t better, but I was pleased to see that it was a success nonetheless.

I’ve posted a few photos here. Click on any one of them or the link above to redirect to a Facebook gallery of many more.

 

 

Barry’s Old School Irish celebrates a year of good food, good drink and great friends

27 Oct

My friends Tom and Jill were among the big Friday crowd at Barry’s last night.

This evening, Barry’s Old School Irish Pub and Bakery on Webster’s 4-corners will celebrate its one year anniversary. In anticipation of that happy event, I sat at my computer last night, poised to craft the perfect blog about what has become my very favorite Webster hangout.

Fingers at the ready, I started to think. What exactly IS it about Barry’s that makes the place so special? The beer?  The to-die-for Guinness chocolate cake?  The live music?  There are just so many things about Barry’s that make it a pleasant place to be. But what is it that makes Barry’s unique?

It took me a little while, but finally it dawned on me. I realized why I go back there every Friday night. And some Saturdays and Wednesdays. And the occasional Sunday afternoon. It’s Mary Jane and Mike. Tim, Jerry and Robyn. Debbie, Sarah, Chris and Julie. Ken and Kim, Mac and Maura, Brendan and Gordon. These are the people of Barry’s, and every single one of them has become part of my extended family.

Funny thing about these extended family members, though, is that I couldn’t tell your most of their last names. Plus, I didn’t know ANY of them a year ago. But thanks to Barry’s, I’m now closer to these people than to most of my “regular” extended family members.

You see, any Irish pub can serve a Guinness. Any restaurant/bakery can serve up great dinners and desserts. But there aren’t many places where you can walk in and immediately feel like family.

Danny and Jessica Barry on the weekend they opened.

But that’s the way it is at Barry’s. The feeling in this little place is just … different. It’s like everyone there is only a stranger because you haven’t met them yet — but by the end of the night you probably will.  I’ve heard people refer to it as a “family bar,” which is a really weird phrase, but sums up the atmosphere perfectly. Just like the pubs in ol’ Ireland, Barry’s Old school Irish has become a community gathering place, in the mornings for coffee, scones or breakfast buffet (bring the kids!), lunchtime for some incredible Shepherd’s Pie, and evening for a pint and some live music.

Which is why I’m going to be there tonight, and I’ll probably get there early for dinner and to get a good seat for the performance by Barry’s Crossing** (featuring my son on fiddle, just so you know).  There’s going to be some good food, good drink, and great friends, plus a few surprises Danny and Jessica don’t even know about yet.

Oh, yeah, totally forgot to mention the momma and papa of this extended family of mine. Danny and Jessica Barry own this little slice of Ireland in the middle of the village. If you ask me, when they moved in and transformed what used to be a very ugly and embarrassing “Living Waters” property, they transformed the village of Webster as well. I am blessed to be able to call them friends. Tonight I will not be toasting their success as much as thanking them for being a part of our lives.

**Sarah and Sean of Barry’s Crossing got their start in the pub, so when they officially formed their duo, they named it after Barry’s Old School Irish. It’s kind of an interesting story. You can read it on their website here.

 

Climbing wall fundraising update (Have you bought your bracelet yet?)

22 Oct

I know a lot of my readers have been closely following the story about Bay View YMCA’s efforts to raise funds to replace the climbing tower which was destroyed by arson at the beginning of the summer.  Today I’d like to share an update on those efforts.

The news is very good.  The original fund-raising goal was $100,000. Thanks in part to some very generous anonymous gifts — including two recent donations of $40,000 and $5,000 — Bay View is only $1,000 away from that goal.

Joey Gerrard with his bracelets at the Food Truck Rodeo in September.

The YMCA expects to hold an official press conference soon to announce the overall status of the campaign and present more details about the rebuilding plans.  But we already know that what will rise from the ashes will be more than just a climbing wall, but a much larger, handicap-accessible climbing complex, including a bouldering wall and dual zip line.  And most exciting of all, it will all be ready when the kids return to Camp Bay View next June.

And do you remember Joey Gerrard, the young man who has almost single-handedly raised thousands of dollars by selling bracelets? (See an earlier blog about Joey by clicking here.)  Joey has about 400 bracelets left and is committed to selling them all. Here’s how you can help him do that, and help chip away at that last $1,000.

This Saturday, Joey will have a table at the annual Courage Bowl, which begins at 2 pm at Webster Thomas Varsity football stadium. This is the final game for the YMCA’s All Star Flag Football program, designed for children with special needs. At the Courage Bowl, these kids get a chance to play in the spotlight on a real varsity football field in front of hundreds of fans.

So come by the game, pick up one of Joey’s bracelets for $5, and support both a great cause and some great kids.

A follow-up on some good deeds

17 Oct

Students from Rochester City School 52 helped Randy Henderson unload books from a 2013 Ford Escape.

A quick follow-up today on a blog I posted a few months ago about a local business’ effort to help city schools.

Throughout the month of August, Henderson Ford held their annual Fill a Ford Book Drive.  New and used books for children ages 6-12 were collected at the dealership and several local businesses.  The Henderson folks report that it was a very successful effort; 1,203 books were collected and donated to students at Rochester City School Number 52, Frank Fowler Dow Elementary School.

The press release did not indicate whether that was enough books to actually fill a Ford.

Henderson Ford President Randy Henderson and Business Development Director Aki Henderson personally delivered the books to School 52 in a 2013 Ford Escape on September 11. The students welcomed them at an assembly where Randy Henderson spoke about the importance of reading.

Randy Henderson talked with students at School 52 about the importance of reading after dropping donated books off at the school.

* * *

I also wanted to recognize State Road School on a terrific accomplishment I heard about yesterday from the school district.

Last week the American Heart Association announced that State Road Elementary School came in first place for Division 2 New York State schools in the annual Jump Rope for Heart/Hoops for Heart event.  State Road students raised more than $10,200 in the event, held last March.

Plank Road South also has something to cheer about — they came in third place, by raising more than $16,400.  Congratulations to the students at both schools for a tremendous accomplishment and dedication to a good cause.

A student at State Road Elementary School jumps for the record in March.


Tuesday Webster Mailbag

15 Oct

There are so many things happening in the next week or two, I’m afraid they’re going to start falling through the cracks. So here’s an unusually early mailbag.

The Webster Town Board will hold a public hearing on the 2013 budget this Thursday night October 18.  Residents are encouraged to attend to ask questions about the budget, published in its entirety last week in the Webster Herald.  There will be time to comment on any line item and department. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm at the Webster Town Hall, 1000 Ridge Road.

* * *

Check out Operation BLUE this Saturday October 20, a full day of events sponsored by the Webster Marching Band at Webster Schroeder High School.  Operation BLUE 2012 is an open house and clinic held in the stadium from 2-4 pm. This clinic is free of charge and is offered to any Webster School District student in grades 4-12 interested in color guard, dance, percussion, woodwinds or brass. Interested musicians should bring their own instruments. A parent information session will also be held.

That evening is the band’s annual Autumn Fanfare, a field band competition featuring eight bands from across New York State. The event starts at 6 pm and tickets are available at the door for $6. Students participating in events earlier in the day will receive one free ticket.

* * *

Webster’s second Cash Mob also takes place Saturday, from 1-3 pm. This month’s target is the Art Stop, 10 North Avenue, just steps from the village’s four corners.  Stop by, drop a few bucks, and help give a small business an economic jolt.  Cash mobbers will meet afterwards at Barry’s Old School Irish for a pint and a scone.

* * *

Weather permitting, the Webster Highway Department will begin its autumn leaf collection on Monday October 22. Trucks will pass through town every week through Monday November 26, when they make one final west-side-to-east-side sweep. If you have any specific questions, contact the Highway Department at 872-1443, Monday through Friday between 7 am and 3:30 pm.

* * *

The Music at Immanuel Concert Series will feature Warner Iverson performing on Baroque Guitar on Friday October 26, beginning at 7 pm.

Warner Iversen is a multi-instrumentalist currently pursuing a doctoral degree with a double major in classical guitar and early music from the Eastman School of Music. Mr. Iversen has performed as a guest artist at the Juilliard School of Music, NYC and at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana. He recently made his debut as a musical director in a production of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis.

The concert is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow. A free will offering to benefit the Music at Immanuel Concert Series will be received.  Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church is located at 131 West Main Street, Webster, at the corner of Daniel Drive. Parking is available behind the church. For more information, go to http://www.immanuelwebster.org.

* * *

Make sure to make time a Saturday, October 27 to celebrate Halloween in the Village and Trick or Treat Trail.  You can click here for details, but briefly, you can look forward to donuts & cider, the annual costume contest, the scarecrow contest, a pet costume contest and parade, pumpkin painting, and of course trick-or treating all through the village.

The Webster Museum will also have some special events that day, from 11:30 am -4 pm. You can solve some mysteries and get some candy.  So make sure you stop by — 18 Lapham Park. More information at http://www.webstermuseum.org.

If you’re planning to make a scarecrow for the contest, time is running out. Check out the details here and get working!

* * *

That evening, Webster’s favorite little Irish Pub, Barry’s Old School Irish, will celebrate its one-year anniversary.  Everybody who’s anybody in the village will be there.  Actually, I think they’re planning special events all week to celebrate, but make sure you’re there on Saturday night to celebrate with an entire village.

Wednesday Mailbag

3 Oct

News about all sorts of special events have been landing in my email box lately. So let’s get right to it…

The westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge will be closed again this weekend, beginning Friday at 5 pm, through Sunday around noon.  Traffic is going to be heavier on Empire Boulevard for the duration, so you may want to plan some alternate routes.

* * *

Webster resident Sara Cullen is organizing a benefit to fight eosinophilic esophagitis, an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus. The event is called Spin to Win, and is planned for Saturday October 6 from 8:30 to 10:30 am at Gold’s Gym, 855 Publisher’s Parkway.

Cullen’s eight-year old son Donovan suffers from the condition. Participants may contribute by taking a two-hour spin class at the gym from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., or taking a 9:30 a.m. body pump class. There is a $20 donation to participate.

All proceeds will go toward research through CURED, Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease.

For more information, go to www.curedfoundation.org, or call the gym at 347-0047 to register to participate.

* * *

Did you hear that the school district is “re-evaluating” the Senior Project and has put it on hold?  That hasn’t stopped Schroeder senior Kaitlyn Newcomb from doing her own project.

Kaitlyn has organized a fund-raiser for the Webster Community Chest which is really unique. It’s called “Hoof’n It,” and will take place this Saturday morning, October 6, at the Webster Firemen’s Field. It’s a horse ride and walk. For $5 each, participants can mount a horse and take a guided 5-mile ride around the village of Webster. Anyone who does not want to ride is invited to walk along with the horses.

Registration will begin at 9 am the the ride begins at 10. Cash, check and non-perishable food donations will be accepted.  For more information, contact Kaitlyn at HoofinItWithRio@gmail.com.

* * *

Planning to go climb the iceberg at the Webster Aquatic Center on Columbus Day?  Better make other plans.

The Aquatic Center has sent word that the Iceberg Adventure scheduled for Monday has been cancelled. It’ll be back again on December 27. Contact WCSD Community Programs at 670-1087 with any questions.

* * *

Finally, this invitation from the school district:

Veterans Invited To Dinner in their Honor

Veterans living in the Webster Central School District are cordially invited to a complimentary dinner sponsored by Spry Middle School Student Council along with the Webster-Fairport B.P.O. Elks #2396 as a way of showing our appreciation to the men and women of this community who served, or are actively serving, in our country’s military. Spouses are also invited.

The event will take place Tuesday, November 13  from 4:00-6:00 PMat the Elks Lodge, 1066 Jackson Road, Webster. Reservations are required. Please call Flora Senecal at Spry Middle School at 216-0093 by Monday, November 5.

 

Explore Webster, win prizes!

24 Sep

I love a good challenge. So when I heard about this upcoming event sponsored by the Webster Health and Education Network, I immediately jumped on board.

It’s called the  All-Around Webster Scavenger Hunt. As the name implies, the hunt will guide participants to locations all around our fair town, where they collect clues, and possibly win prizes.  The idea is to give people a fresh look at the many parks and recreational sites in our community, and in some cases, help them discover places they’d never been to before.  And if you have a good time with your family while you’re doing it, all the better.

Clues will be found at the following locations:

* Bay View Family YMCA
* Abraham Lincoln Park
* The Big Woods
* Veterans Park, Webster
* Webster Skate Park
* Bird Sanctuary
* North Ponds Park
* The Webster Arboretum
* Kent Park
* Webster Parks and Recreation Center

This three-day event kicks off on October 6 and will run through October 8.  The cost is $5 for each team (up to 6 people on a team, including at least one adult). You can register and pick up your Scavenger Map at the Bay View Family YMCA on Saturday October 6 from 7 am to 7 pm, Sunday from 9 am to 9 pm, or Monday from 5:30 am to 10 pm.  Return you completed registration form to the Y, the Webster Parks and Rec Center, or the health office at any of the school buildings.  Correctly completed forms will be entered into a prize drawing.

Click here for  more information.

 

 


 

Village Days, rain or shine

22 Sep

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 hits town this weekend

17 Sep

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.

 

 

Trucks for the Tower a success, despite the rain

16 Sep

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.

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