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Webster community mailbag

25 Apr

Today’s mailbag is packed with events coming up in the next few weeks, so grab your calendar and dig in.

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The next Friends of the Webster Public Library Spring Book Sale is here, happening Wednesday April 26 through Saturday April 29. Gently-used hardcover books will be available for only $1, paperback books will be $.50.

Members of the Friends can shop before everyone else, on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. If you’re not a member and want a sneak peek, memberships will be available at the door or on the library website.  

The general public sale will begin Thursday April 27 from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday, April 28 is BYOB (bring your own bag) Bag Sale from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m, when you can fill a bag with gently used books for only $5. The bag sale continues on Saturday, April 29 but only from 10 a.m. til noon.

Proceeds from the spring book sale directly benefit library programs, book collections and other special projects.

ALSO, the Library will host a blood drive for the American Red Cross on Tuesday May 2 from noon to 5 p.m. Click here to make an appointment.

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The next St. Martin Lutheran Church’s Drive Thru Chicken BBQ will be held Saturday, April 29 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the church, 813 Bay Road, Webster.

Dinners of a half chicken, salt potatoes, coleslaw, roll, and butter are available for $15.00 – cash or check only. The event is drive-through only, and there will be no advance sales.

Dinners will be served first come/first served. Cars will enter the parking lot, follow signs, and purchase dinners using exact payment. Cars will then proceed to the side entrance to pick up boxed dinners.

Proceeds will benefit St. Martin’s Christmas Stocking Project reaching over 500 local youth in Monroe and Wayne counties.

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The Schroeder Theater Company invites you to join them as they travel Around the World in 80 Days!

The fearless and calculated Phileas Fogg and her newly appointed, resourceful servant Passepartout race to beat the clock in this country-hopping adventure. Fogg has agreed to an outrageous wager that puts her fortune and life at risk. Together, the two set out to circle the globe in an unheard of 80 days. But their every step is dogged by a detective who thinks Fogg is a robber on the run. Can they stay on schedule as they avoid police interference, traverse exotic landscapes, endure typhoons, and more?

Performances are in the Webster Schroeder High School auditorium, 875 Ridge Road, on Thursday May 4 at 7 p.m., Friday May 5 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 6 at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at Ticket Spicket or at the door.

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Webster Comfort Care Home has several fundraising events coming up this summer, but you’ll want to get signed up for this one right away.

It’s the 20th (almost) annual “Chip In for Comfort Care” golf tournament, scheduled for Monday July 10 at Webster Golf Club on Salt Rd. Registration fee is $125, and includes a grab-and-go breakfast, complimentary game balls, and prizes. Plus, they’re introducing a new “knock out the gnome” game this year.

Click here for more information and to register.

You can also support Webster Comfort Care on Friday May 5 by heading to the Masonic Lodge on Orchard Street for a spaghetti dinner from 5 to 7 p.m.

Dinner includes spaghetti, choice of sauce, salad, bread and dessert. Cost is $11 for adults, $6 for children 12 and under.

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The Webster Arboretum Association, together with local growers and local garden clubs, will host the 2023 Webster Arboretum Plant Sale on Saturday May 13 from 8 a.m. to noon.

A tremendous variety of beautiful, healthy plants from standard to uncommon will be available including annuals, dwarf conifers, hostas, geraniums, tomatoes, and more. It’s a great way to celebrate spring and get some live plants perfectly suited for your garden. And don’t forget Mother’s Day!

The sale will be held at the Webster Arboretum, 1700 Schlegel Rd. Webster.

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A Craft and Vendor Sale to benefit the Webster Volunteer Fire Department will be held at the Webster Fireman’s Building, 172 Sanford Street on Saturday May 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Almost 30 vendors are expected for this show, which will be held inside and outside the building. All proceeds will benefit the Webster Volunteer Fire Department.

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Looking ahead, the 2023 St. Rita Fiesta has been scheduled for Friday and Saturday June 2 and 3. All of your favorite Fiesta activities will be returning, including carnival games, a foam dart course, mini golf course, inflatables, dunk tank, plant sale, book sale, games of chance, food, drink, lots of live entertainment, and more.

More details to come, but in the meantime you can check out the website.

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

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(posted 4/25/2023)

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The Caring Community Concerts are back!

23 Apr

The Caring Community Concert series at the United Church of Christ (570 Klem Rd.) is back, and this summer’s lineup is a great one.

These concerts benefit local nonprofit organizations through free-will donations. The first one, scheduled for Wed. July 12, will feature Allegro, and proceeds will benefit the Webster Hope Food Pantry. (See the flier below for the whole schedule.)

There’s no admission, but each week the church collects a free-will offering benefiting that week’s chosen non-profit organization.

The UCC has been sponsoring these concerts for almost 20 years now, and through free-will offerings have raised tons of money for local non-profit organizations. People are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets and a picnic if they wish. There’s also a concession stand selling soda, hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork, and a weekly “special.”

The concerts all begin at 6:30 p.m., and food concessions begin at 6. The concerts are held on the United Church of Christ front lawn, at 570 Klem Rd. (In case of rain it’s moved indoors.) So put these concerts on your calendar now and plan to enjoy some great music for a good cause.

For more information about the concerts, click here.

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

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.

(posted 4/28/2023)

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Thanks to all who made today’s scavenger hunt a success

22 Apr

Just a quick blog today to say THANK YOU to all of the families who came to Finn Park this morning to participate in the Family Scavenger Hunt co-sponsored by the Webster Health & Education Network, the Webster Recreation Center and the Friends of Webster Trails.

Several dozen families took advantage of some beautiful weather to have a little fun exploring the Finn Park trails. Thanks to the recent rainy weather, there were several wet and muddy spots, but that didn’t deter the 58 young participants, ages 2 through 11, from taking the half-mile or mile-long hike. (I might have encouraged most of them to splash in the mud as they went along.) The kids could choose one of three increasingly difficult scavenger hunts, each asking them to search for different natural elements along the path, like birds, moss and flowers.

The kids all returned from their quest with smiles on their faces and a real sense of accomplishment. And probably the best part of all is that the scavenger hunt raised $280 to benefit the Friends of Webster Trails, which will be put to good use improving the already terrific trail system we have in Webster.

I was particularly impressed with one family, who came armed with litter pick-up tools, and took it upon themselves to fill half a garbage bag with trash from along the trail.

Also many thanks to Julie Schillaci at Webster Parks and Recreation, Anna Taylor from the Friends of Webster Trails, and Emily Pettit for all their help pulling this event together.

Arrows marked the scavenger hunt path.
Four-year old Lincoln Cline and his parents picked up trash along the way!
Anna Taylor, Friends of Webster Trails president, joined me at the registration tables.

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

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.

(posted 4/22/2023)

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Mini-art gallery pops up on West Main

21 Apr

You never know what neat new thing you’ll find when you walk through the Village of Webster. On Friday, the neat new thing I came across was a pop-up art gallery and sale in the former Heart to Heart Bridal storefront at the village’s four corners.

The gallery features the work of 91-year old Brighton artist Natalie Schwartz, whose large, colorful canvases fill the walls in the now-empty storefront. The show is being hosted by the owners of Mod4U, the little antique shop on North Ave., just around the corner from the sale.

The works of art themselves don’t often see the light of day; normally they’re all being stored in Natalie’s small living space at St. John’s senior living community. And that’s a shame, because they’re pretty awesome. Each one, it seems, reflects a different medium and subject matter, an eclectic mix that reflects Natalie’s diverse artistic tastes.

In a biography posted on the wall next to one of her paintings, Natalie wrote that she was “born … with a pencil in my hand.” Her love of all forms of artistic expression began when she was very young. As a child, she studied ballet and piano, took painting lessons at the Memorial Art Gallery, and as an adult discovered modern dance, which she continued even into her eighties.

For a while, she worked as a fashion illustrator for McCurdy and B. Forman Co., and eventually went back to RIT to complete a BFA and MFA in painting and printmaking.

Basically, Natalie Schwartz is a life-long learner whose enthusiasm for art is now on display for everyone to see.

For the next two days, anyway. The gallery will be open on Saturday and Sunday April 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, before all of the unsold paintings get squeezed back into Natalie’s apartment. So make sure to check out the gallery today.

Here’s some of what you’ll see (click on the photo for an expanded view).

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

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.

(posted 4/21/2023)

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Finger Lakes Tour de Cure will return to Webster on June 10

19 Apr

The 2023 Tour de Cure: Finger Lakes, the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) premier cycling event, is returning to Webster on June 10.

This huge event draws cyclists from all over the area, riding courses ranging from 12 to 100 miles, which begin and end at one of the Xerox parking lots off of Chiyoda Drive (across from the Rec Center). It’s the ADA’s largest fundraising event of the year,

And you want to talk about a party atmosphere? The day of the ride, that lot is filled with tents and music and fire trucks and food trucks, thousands of bikes and people. Webster can be very proud to be hosting this, one of the biggest Tours in the whole country. And it’s extremely well organized.

Thanks in large part to the event’s signature sponsor, West Herr, Tour Day will feature two live bands, food trucks and a kids’ zone. So basically this is a fantastic event for the whole family.

The COVID pandemic punched a big hole in participation, but Rochester riders are coming back in force. Last year 800 adults and children participated, raising more than $600,000 to help end diabetes. Organizers are expecting about the same in 2023, welcoming riders from Syracuse and Buffalo as well as Rochester.

But they need our help. Organizers are looking for cyclists to participate. Routes are available for all ages and abilities. You can find out more and sign up here. Many volunteers are also needed to help the event run smoothly. Click here for more information about that.

For at least a couple of years, Rochester’s Tour de Cure was the biggest Tour in the country. Unfortunately, that distinction was recently taken from us by Napa Valley, but if we all pull together this year, we’ll get to #1 again.

Here’s a little more information about the diabetes epidemic:

More than 37 million Americans have diagnosed diabetes, including more than 1.7 million in NYS alone. An additional 456,000 people in New York have diabetes but don’t know it. More than 5 million people in New York who have prediabetes, with blood glucose levels higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

People with diabetes have medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those who do not have diabetes. Total direct medical expenses for diagnosed diabetes in New York were estimated at $15.1 billion in 2017, with an additional $6.1 billion spent on indirect costs from lost productivity due to diabetes.

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

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.

(posted 4/19/2023)

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Two family-friendly events this Saturday

18 Apr

The Webster Health & Education Network (WHEN) is sponsoring two events this Saturday April 22 which both benefit family health.

The first is the Spring Drug Take-Back Day, your opportunity to safely dispose of your unused medications.

Wegmans is hosting the drug take-back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their 900 Holt Road location, as well as many of their other stores. This event gives community members the opportunity to remove potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs from their homes. The service is free and anonymous. Only pills and patches will be accepted – no liquids, needles, or sharps.

No appointment is necessary. Look for a drop-off location in the parking lot. Registration is not required, but it will allow WHEN to email you a reminder in advance of the event. Click here to register.

I label this as a family-friendly event because of frightening statistics like these from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:

  • nearly one in four teens reports taking a prescription drug not prescribed to them by a doctor at least once in their lives
  • almost half of teens say it is easy to gety prescription drugs from a parent’s medicine cabinet
  • teens are abusing everything from pain medications to stimulants, sedatives and tranquilizers

We need to do what we can to keep dangerous medications out of our children’s hands.

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On a lighter note …

Also on Saturday April 22, join your kids and friends for a fun and healthy Family Scavenger Hunt.

This easy hike/scavenger hunt will take place at Liberty Lodge/Finn Park on Maple Drive from 10 a.m. to noon. Different hunts will be available for three three skill levels, ages 2 through 12. The event will take place rain or shine, so dress for the weather, and make sure to wear boots if it’s been wet. It would also be helpful if you could bring your own clipboard and pencil.

The Family Scavenger Hunt costs $5, and registrations are being taken through the Webster Recreation Center. PLEASE register ahead of time so we know how many kids to expect. Payment can be made when you arrive at the park. Click here to register.

Proceeds will benefit the Friends of Webster Trails.

The Webster Health and Education Network was established in 1995 and is a recognized leader in the advocacy and promotion of healthy, substance-free behaviors and lifestyles in the Webster community. WHEN has always worked closely with the Webster Central School District, town, and community resources to support drug education and awareness initiatives. 

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

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.

(posted 4/18/2023)

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Community block party will celebrate three new businesses

17 Apr

Three new (and new-ish) businesses of Webster’s North 43: The Shops on Main Street are hosting a first-ever “North 43 Block Party” and ribbon-cutting on Thursday April 20 beginning at 5:00 p.m.

M/Body, Lumos Sauna and curated. are next-door neighbors in North 43’s lower level, 44 East Main, adjacent to the Village Bakery. Lumos is brand new to the development, M/Body opened last November, and curated. will celebrate its first anniversary in June.  

The event will begin with a ribbon-cutting and remarks from business owners and local officials. The party proper will begin around 5:30 with the Classic Taps Mobile Bar, a Pub 235 food truck, a DJ, live music, food tastings, plenty of activities for kids and families, face painting and giveaways. All of the North 43 businesses will also offer special shopping hours and activities throughout the evening.

The block party will also be joined by North 43’s other businesses, the Village Bakery, jojo Bistro and Wine Bar, Lala of Webster, R Salon and Spa, and Roc Dance.

The event is free and open to the public. 

Here’s a little more information about each of the new businesses:

  • M/Body is an inclusive and energized fitness studio that unites wellness seekers, builds  spirit and helps achieve goals by offering the best and diverse fitness classes including  cycle, barre, boxing, yoga, Pilates, HIIT, strength training as well as personal training  and health coaching. Click here to read the blog I posted about M/Body.
  • Lumos is a family-owned and operated infrared sauna studio founded in 2019 by Rachel Bantelman-Evans with the support of her husband Jordan Evans. Lumos features full-spectrum infrared saunas with both chromotherapy and dedicated red light  therapy throughout its six locations across Central and Western New York.  
  • curated. is a home specialty store, where owner Justin Brown believes that home decor should seamlessly combine vintage with new; that wares should be stylish but always functional; and that design can be sophisticated without sacrificing comfort. The shop’s unique collection includes decor pieces, furniture, kitchen and dining wares, lighting, pillows, artwork and gifts. Click here for the blog I wrote.

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

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.

(posted 4/17/2023)

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Another successful Community Arts Day in the books

15 Apr

The gorgeous spring weather Saturday didn’t keep many hundreds of adults and children from checking out this year’s Community Arts Day, held at Webster Schroeder High School.

The annual showcase of our students’ artistic talents filled the Schroeder hallways, chorus room and auditorium with cultural arts, fine art displays and musical entertainment. Each one of Webster’s elementary and secondary schools, including St. Rita, was represented by displays of artwork of all kinds from collages to sculptures, jewelry work to pen-and-ink drawings. The variety was remarkable and the talent on display downright amazing.

Demonstrations and performances were held throughout the day, including a very well-attended performance by this year’s extra-special guest, the Garth Fagan Dance School.

I was only able to spend about 90 minutes wandering the halls this year, so I missed a lot of the dancers and musicians. But I still managed to take almost a hundred photos of the artwork, kids’ activities, a few performances, and many of the community group displays. I’ve posted a sampling here, but click here to see a much larger gallery.

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

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.

(posted 4/15/2023)

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Community Arts Day is this weekend!

10 Apr

It’s as sure a sign of spring as the first robin: The Webster Central School District’s — and the entire Webster community’s — grand show-off day, Community Arts Day returns to Webster Schroeder High School this Saturday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This very family-friendly festival, which is marking its 46th year, showcases the musical and artistic talents of Webster School District K-12 students, and involves the entire community in a day to celebrate the arts. It was created as a collaborative effort to raise money to encourage and enhance fine arts programs throughout the district. (Below are a few examples of the artwork from previous years. Click here for a full gallery from last year.)

Dozens of activities are planned throughout the day, including art displays, carnival games, crafts, community group exhibits and more. Webster student groups will present musical performances throughout the day, and the Webster’s Got Talent talent show will feature aspiring student singers, musicians, and dancers from 12 to 1 pm. Community performing groups will fill out the schedule of events, and all the performances are free.

Admission to Community Arts Day is free. Proceeds from concessions, craft, and carnival booth sales will benefit cultural arts programs within the Webster Central School District.  

For a complete schedule of events and map of exhibitors, follow the Community Arts Day Facebook page, where updates will be posted regularly.

And by the way, the Webster Marching Band will be right next door in the Aquatic Center parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., so make sure to put that bag of empties in your car before you head out to the event!

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

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.

(posted 4/10/2023)

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Many thanks for making this year’s Peep Show the most successful ever

8 Apr

If you attended the Greater Rochester Peep Show last weekend at the Webster Recreation Center, you not only enjoyed a tremendous display of whimsical and creative Peep sculptures, you also helped make the event the most successful ever.

“Head PEEP” Michael Grenier reports that more than 2500 people attended the Peep Show this year, coming from Webster, many surrounding towns and even as far as Buffalo. The show raised nearly $8,000 before expenses — a record amount. And that was despite the fact that the attendance, albeit strong, was still slightly less than pre-pandemic levels. That means that the people who attended didn’t just wander around and look at the displays; they bought a lot of voting tickets and snacks and entered the raffles, all raising big bucks to benefit the Webster Community Chest and 12 other charities. (Visit the Peep Show website for a whole list.)

Also helping make the show a success were the scores of volunteers who managed a thousand little details, and the more than two dozen businesses and agencies who sponsored tables and rooms and provided door prizes. (See the list here.)

The Village at Unity
Sgt. Peeper
March of the Peepguins

The stars of the show, of course, were the displays, and they were spectacular this year.

Entries were separated into two categories, youth and adult. Community members were invited to vote for their favorite displays to determine the “Peeples Choice Winners.” The top winners in the adult category were:

  • First place: “The Village at Unity,” created by Lindsay Lown
  • Second place: “The Nutcracker, Sgt. Peeper,” created by Dancing With Denise
  • Third Place: “March of the Peepguins,” created by Rita Menaldino

The top youth winners were:

  • First place: “Advice from the Coral Reef,” created by GS Troop 60617
  • Second place: “Hopping with the Peepos,” created by Lilly B and Grammy
  • Thurs place: “Red Wings Stadium,” created by Rylynn C
Advice From the Coral Reef
Hopping With the Peeps
Red Wings Stadium

Click here for a complete list of adults and youth winners.

This year, for the first time, the Grand Prize winner was a real surprise.

Michael wrote,

The Grand Prize winner has always been an adult. We separate our entries into two groups–one for adults (16 years of age or over) and one for children–since it would be unfair to have little kids compete with grown-ups.

But there is strength in numbers, apparently.  This year’s Grand Prize winner was (the entry) made by Girl Scout Troop 60617, which is made up of 11- to 13-year-old girls. Although they had advisement and assistance from adults, the girls made all of the components of this display themselves. Each chose a sea creature to make (or two or three) and they assembled the components to make up the coral reef. Transporting the enclosure and putting it all together on site was the biggest challenge. 

Troop leader Megan Thompson added, “We had such a fun time building this as a troop, creating the different sea creatures and then all of us working together to build the coral at the end of our meeting.” 

Girl Scout Cadette Troop 60617 includes eight girls, ages 11 to 13. Their winning entry, “Advice From the Coral Reef,” is now on tour with 12 other displays. Their first stop is the Maplewood nursing home, where the residents are going to have their own Peep Show and vote for their favorites. After that, the displays will continue their tour at the Kirkhaven Nursing Home.

Megan Thompson From left to right is my daughter Amelia, who helps out with our troop and helped out with this project but is part of another troop, my youngest daughter Clara (she created the octopus!), and me.

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

(posted 4/8/2023)

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