Cold and drizzly weather didn’t deter more than 500 kids and their parents from attending last weekend’s Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Webster Business Improvement District (BID).
The event was held Saturday April 16 at the Firemen’s Field. Excited children and their parents started arriving shortly after 9 a.m. and were split into three age groups. At 10 a.m. everyone was released to the field to hunt for plastic Easter eggs and various other surprises. Not that there was a whole lot of “hunting” required; business owners had donated so many eggs (about 5,000) and prizes that they simply had to be scattered around the grassy field for the children to find.
Two lucky children in each group found tickets which could be redeemed for special prize baskets. But all of the other eggs held something pretty great, too, because the participating businesses were very creative and unbelievably generous with their donations. There were gift certificates and coupons, dental floss and lapel pins, small toys and rings, and Kelly at Burke’s Grill even stuffed $1 bills into her eggs. There were even a lot of prizes that were too big to hide in eggs, like toothbrushes, sunglasses and fidget spinners.
The Easter Bunny himself was even there to greet the children.
The event was a terrific follow-up to February’s Fall in Love With Webster festivities, demonstrating how committed our business owners are to collaborating on outstanding community events. More than 45 businesses participated in the hunt by providing filled Easter eggs and/or items for the grand prize baskets.
An event like this cannot be pulled off without a lot of help. A huge thank you to:
the team of dedicated volunteers, led by Lisa Scholnski and Jody Laurer, including Rhonda Gefell, Ray Gefell, Evan Gefell, Karl Laurer, Steven Schlonski and Stephen Vitello
Dennis Montgomery and the Webster Volunteer Fire Department
Jake Swingly, Superintendent of Public Works
Jake’s son Kyle (“Mr. Bunny”) Swingly
Brian and Nolan Bernardi and Robyn Whittaker
Kudos to everyone who helped organize and run this event, and gave our young people a special Easter memory.
Here’s a short slideshow of more photos from the morning, courtesy Jody Laurer:
Afterthoughts is a completely separate blog, where I’m reposting some of my favorite columns from when I was the Our Towns East Extra columnist for the Democrat and Chronicle.
I chose this particular column today because April is World Autism Awareness Month, and this piece highlights a jujitsu school which has for years offered classes for children on the spectrum.
Strike Back Martial Arts’ dojo used to be at 55 East Main St. in the Village of Webster, in the same building as Webster Hots (the sign is still there). COVID caused it to close in 2020, but it’s landed on its feet.
The column was originally published on June 4, 2015.
Martial arts helps children with autism
At a recent class at Strike Back Martial Arts in Webster, eight-year old Alex Maenza stood on the mats, awaiting instructions.
When “Sensei Mike” gave him the cue, he turned around, ran backwards toward the opposite end of the room, and caught a ball thrown at him from 20 feet away.
Alex beamed and bounced with delight. His instructors told him “Good job!” His parents were proud.
For most kids, this would be a simple skill. But for Alex, it was something to cheer about.
Alex and the seven other boys in his class are part of Strike Back’s Jujitsu Buddies program, for children ages 4-12 on the autism spectrum. For these children, skills like catching a ball, navigating an obstacle course, even interacting with their peers can be a major accomplishment.
Strike Back Martial Arts owners Mike Palmer and Dave Nicchitta describe the class as a comprehensive introduction to Jujitsu and martial arts for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. But these kids won’t be applying headlocks or throwing their classmates to the mats anytime soon. Other skills are much more important.
Click here to go to Afterthoughts and read the rest of the post.
With the conclusion of Webster Thomas High School’s recent production of Little Shop of Horrors, the final curtain has come down on the high schools’ 2022 spring musical season. But each school actually has a spring drama in the works.
Mark Stoetzel, the drama director at Webster Thomas, emailed me not long ago with some exciting news about their production of The Neighbors, planned for late May: it’s going to be staged outside.
The Webster GeoTech Class is building an outdoor stage in one of the school’s courtyards, complete with a pergola. On May 27 and 28, students will hit the stage to perform several one-act plays they’re writing themselves, each set in a townhouse complex.
More details to come as the date approaches.
The Webster Schroeder Theater Company is also working on a drama, The Secret Garden. Shows are scheduled for Friday and Saturday May 6 and 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are available now, but I’m having trouble finding a link or details on how to purchase them. If anyone can fill me in, please email me so I can share that information.
The Webster Museum has all sorts of programs planned in the coming weeks. They seem particularly excited about their upcoming exhibit focusing on the history of West Webster. The little hamlet had its very own zip code not too long ago (14581) and is currently anticipating a revitalization.
Among the materials the museum has collected are the two maps below. The first was drawn by Maguerite Collins around 1938, possibly as a class project. It shows the names of some of Webster’s earliest settlers and when they arrived. The second map, created in 1852, adds more names.
Descendants of some of these early settlers still live here today, and many of them never left. Interested community members are invited to “meet” some of them on Sunday June 19 from 2 to 4 p.m., when the Webster Museum hosts a West Webster Cemetery Tour. Costumed characters will on hand representing many of the hamlet’s former residents who are buried there, and guaranteed they’ll have some interesting stories.
More information to come about this fun event. (Teaser: I’m going to play a character!)
Stay tuned also for more details about the museum’s upcoming West Webster exhibit. Among the history to be shared will be photos and artifacts from the West Webster Fire Department. It was originally housed in Webb’s garage, then Brewer’s barn, then the former Goetzman Store, followed by its move to its current home on Gravel Road. A number of former West Webster residents have shared memories of turkey raffles, liverwurst sandwiches, craft shows and ice rinks in the firehouse parking lots.
Several programs have been scheduled in May to highlight West Webster history. I’ll tell you all about them in a future blog.
The Webster Museum, located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster, is open 2 to 4:30 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Beer lovers will want to be a part of a program scheduled for this Thursday April 21. Will Cleveland, former investigative reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, will talk about the past and future of the Western New York beer scene, a beat which he has covered since 2014.
The program, called “Rochester Craft Beer: The History and Future of the Scene,” runs from 7 to 8 p.m. and registration is required.
Tweens and teens, you can make your very own hair scrunchies on Wed. April 20 from 1 to 2 p.m. Materials will be provided. Kids in grades 4 to 12 are welcome. Registration is required.
This month’s make-and-take crafts include recycled milk cap fish (for kids), clothespin peek-a-boo eggs (for teens) and a bead bracelet (made from magazines) for adults. Materials can be picked up at the library during regular business hours while supplies last.
This is a drive-through event. Dinners will include a half chicken, salt potatoes, cole slaw, roll and butter for $12. There will be no advance sales; cars can pay when they enter the parking lot, first come, first served. Signs will direct cars to the pay station, and then to the side entrance where you can pick up the boxed dinners.
Proceeds will support St. Martin’s Christmas Stocking Project which reaches more than 500 youth in Monroe and Wayne counties.
The Tour de Cure is returning to Webster on Saturday June 11, and even if you don’t plan on riding, you can still help out.
In this annual premier cycling event, riders sign up to cycle anywhere from 12 to 100 miles, to benefit the American Diabetes Association. It begins and ends in one of the old Xerox parking lots near the Webster Recreation Center. If you’d like to participate, you can sign up here. Or you can help the cause by becoming a volunteer. More information about those opportunities can be found here.
Finally (and this is especially for all of you who are still reading this long blog, because I know you appreciate local news) I want to draw your attention once again to what’s happening with the Webster Herald.
Our little town newspaper recently experienced another editorial change, when Colin Minster left in March. A new editor, Tim Young, has since taken the reigns, and accepted the daunting challenge of publishing a weekly newspaper.
And it is daunting. I’ve said this before, but it deserves repeating: with a small, hyper-local, weekly publication like the Herald, the editor has to be a Jack-of-all-trades, not only managing the layout and editing, but actively searching out and writing stories of local interest. It’s a 24/7 position from which you can never take a vacation.
The job is made that much more difficult without support from advertisers, contributors and subscribers. I think we can all agree that local news is a dying breed. The Webster Post isn’t around any more, and the Democrat and Chronicle couldn’t care less about Webster local news. The Herald is now one of the few places we can go to to find news about our community. So we need to do everything we can to make sure the Herald doesn’t go anywhere anytime soon.
Tim touched on a few of these concerns in the column he wrote a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it’s not online anywhere, but you can click here to see a photo of it. In the column, Tim talks about how staffing issues are a challenge and that advertising is hard to come by. He also notes that people are actually complaining about all the legal advertising in the Herald, pointing out that those legals are the only things that are keeping the paper afloat.
It’s not fair to criticize the job a weekly editor is doing without being willing to help do something about it. Like make sure to renew your subscription every year. Encourage your friends to subscribe. Send in sports stories and photos, and your child can be pictured in the paper. Advertise your business. And how about stretching your writing chops and consider becoming a free-lancer? You’ll be paid for your work, and see your own byline in the paper.
Tim would love to hear from you. Email him at tim@empirestateweeklies.com. Let him know that this community is behind him and we still appreciate local news.
Do you know of any event coming up in Webster, or sponsored by a Webster organization, which you’d like publicized in my blog? Pretty much anything that comes across my email will find its way in sometime or another, so let me know about it!
You’re gonna want to get your ducks in a row for this fun family event coming up in next month, to benefit Webster Comfort Care Home.
Webster Comfort Care Home’s second annual Duck Derby will take place Saturday May 21 at Webster Park.
The idea is simple: participants purchase rubber duckies for $5 each, and each has a number on it. At the appointed time, the ducks are dumped into Mill Creek, where they leisurely float down towards the lake. The “owners” of the first three ducks to cross the finish line win cash prizes.
Since the ducks like to take their time, activities and refreshments are available while you wait. But you don’t have to be present to win, so you don’t have to hang around if you don’t want to.
At last year’s event, participants floated 526 ducks, raising almost $3,500 — pretty good for its first year. For this second annual derby, organizers hope to raise twice that, and would love to see more than 800 ducks floating down the creek. Proceeds go directly back to Webster Comfort Care to support their mission to provide provide end-of-life care to residents of Webster and the surrounding communities.
The race will begin at the Webster Park Beeches Pavilion at 10 a.m. on Saturday May 21. There’s plenty of parking. Ducks can be purchased online here, by calling 585-872-5290, emailing Director@webstercomfortcare.org, or by stopping by the Webster Comfort Care Home at the corner of Holt and Klem. Payment is accepted by cash, check or credit card, and PayPal online. Tickets are available now.
You may not have noticed, but there aren’t a whole lot of organizations out there hosting Easter egg hunts this year. But have no fear, parents, the Webster Business Improvement District (BID) has got your back.
A Webster BID Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for Saturday April 16, at 10 a.m. at Webster Firemen’s Field, West Main St. in the village.
Thousands of eggs donated by local businesses will be hidden all around Firemen’s Field, filled with candy, prizes, fun activities and merchant coupons. Three different search areas will be staked out for children ages 0 to 2, 3 to 5, and 6 to 10. And in each group, one egg will contain a special golden ticket, which can be redeemed for a large prize basket.
A huge thank you to the Webster Volunteer Fire Department for all their support for this event.
The Easter Egg Hunt will take place rain or shine … so let’s hope for shine. For more information, click here to see the Facebook event page. Then make sure to get this one on your calendar, get your Easter baskets out of the attic and get the kids ready.
The Greater Rochester Peep Show returned to the Webster Recreation Center Saturday, live and in-person for the first time in three years, since COVID made them postpone, then ultimately cancel the show in 2020.
And I gotta say, it’s outstanding.
About 120 families, businesses and community agencies created displays for this year’s show, colorful and creative dioramas depicting everything from sports events and TV shows to schoolrooms and Broadway plays. I especially liked the ones which were made almost entirely of Peeps, like Marge Simpson pictured here.
In addition to the displays, there’s a children’s room, plenty of snacks for purchase, raffles and vendors, all spread through five rooms at the Rec Center. Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets to be used to vote for your favorite displays. All proceeds benefit the Webster Community Chest.
When I was there Saturday afternoon, I was surprised by how many people were there admiring the displays. It seems like everyone’s excited to get back out and do things like this again, and jumped at the chance to bring the family out for some free entertainment.
I’ve posted a slideshow here of many of the displays, but there are SO MANY MORE you’re going to want to see, and there’s still plenty of time. The Peep Show continues Sunday April 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Webster Recreation Center on Chiyoda Drive (just off of Phillips). There’s plenty of free parking.
And, I’m told that Coldstone Creamery is going to be there Sunday to hand out FREE ice cream!
Just a quick post today to update you all on Amy Stringer’s efforts to raise money for Ukraine by creating and selling hand-made beeswax ornament at her Village of Webster shop, The North Bee.
Sunflowers, or sunyashniki, are the national flower of Ukraine. Amy has created three different designs, each being sold for $10 apiece. Funds raised will be donated to ROC Maidan, who will distribute them to where they’re needed to help refugees and soldiers and offer humanitarian aid.
A second local TV news station has taken notice of Amy’s efforts. WROC-TV Channel 8 stopped by the shop yesterday morning and posted this story later in the day.
Amy originally scheduled the sale to just run through March, but the community has been so supportive (she’s already raised $3,000), she’s decided to continue it. Beginning today, a portion of the proceeds from each ornament sold will be donated to ROC Maidan.
What do you do with a bunch of old tires that you don’t want to throw away? Paint ’em green and stack ’em up outside your business as a holiday tire tree!
That’s what Kevin Finn has done outside Finn’s Automotive on East Main St. I first noticed the “tree” back in December when it was decorated like a Christmas tree. In February, it was plastered with hearts for Valentine’s Day. In March it sported a St. Patrick’s Day theme.
Then just yesterday, just in time for Easter, the tire tree has sprouted bunny ears.
Next time you’re in the village, make sure to check out Finn’s whimsical tire tree; it’s sure to make you smile. (I can’t wait to see what Kevin has in store for later this spring and summer.)
Tucked in the basement of an unassuming Webster village home, there’s a recording studio. It’s a very professional operation which features two studio booths, a recording room, podcasting space and a classroom.
At-home recording studios are not that unusual. But this particular one has found a way to stand out from the crowd. Cassano Studio, owned and operated by Chad Cassano, specializes in teaching voice and acting workshops to an under-served population: children and adults with disabilities.
It’s a calling, Chad readily admits, that he never actually went looking for. Instead, it kind of found him.
Chad Cassano has been interested in acting from a young age. He performed with the Webster Theater Guild in middle school, and continued working on his craft through high school and college. After graduation, life led him in a different directions for a while, including getting married and having five children.
Several years ago, though, he found his way back to acting, and also started to learn about the very different skills and techniques involved in voice acting. Then, one day out of the blue, he got a phone call from some friends who hired him to teach an acting class.
After completing that class, Cassano’s friends suggested he put an ad in KidsOutandAbout.com. He did, and a mother reached out. Her son has autism, and she was looking for an acting studio that would work with children with disabilities. So far, every other one she’d contacted had turned her down.
“She was desperate,” Cassano remembered.
I was honest with her. I’m not a speech pathologist, I’m not a Hollywood actor. I’m just somebody who can maybe teach him a few techniques that I learned and maybe some concepts.
That’s exactly what happened. It was magic. Because of his autism, and because of his interest in this kind of thing, it just stuck. He was speaking better, his intonations were better, his inflection, his volume control. He was able to do things he’d never done before with his voice. And that started the whole thing.
From that single student about five years ago, Cassano’s client list now numbers 80. They range from 9 to 45 years old, and 95% of them present some kind of special need, including autism, Down syndrome and brain injury. He teaches them in small groups, individually and even remotely, conducting online classes with students as far away as New York City.
A typical class begins with vocal warm-ups, where Cassano leads his students through a variety of vocal slides, tongue twisters (“I saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen”) and “shout phrases,” especially emphasizing inflection and diction.
After warmups, each student gets a turn in the studio, where they record songs (guided by a karaoke-like teleprompter), dramatic readings or multiple-actor scripts. Each exercise, from the warmups through recording, is carefully adapted to the student’s ability level and objectives.
Chad leading his students in warmup exercisesMeghan McElduff in the studio recording a scriptChad guides his students from the engineering studio
“Some kids just want to have an activity where they can express themselves, singing or yelling,” Cassano said. “Others have specific goals in voice or acting.” Those goals can be as diverse — or focused — as the population he works with.
That was especially the case with 13-year old Lorenzo, who had selective mutism. “He has autism,” Cassano remembered. Wouldn’t say a word. He would write everything down, just the same as he would do with his parents and his clinicians.”
The goal? Just get Lorenzo to talk.
Cassano started with a rapid-fire, verbal/nonverbal word-for-word exchange with him. It took weeks, but finally he got Lorenzo to whisper the word “cat.” Eventually, he got Lorenzo to increase his volume to the point where he was fully speaking.
Cassano said, “That was the moment where I was like, ‘I don’t know what this is for, but clearly it has a purpose.'”
That calling to work with the special needs population had found him.
“I was not looking for working with kids with disabilities,” Cassano said. “I would have, but I just didn’t think about it. I was just going to teach acting classes, but once I found out that this had a therapeutic side to it, that this was helping kids be more confident and able to speak better than they’d ever spoken,” he knew he’d found his niche.
Cassano Studio became an acting workshop which concentrates on the voice for all people with all abilities.
“What I’m hoping will happen for each of my students is that they’ll find success in any of their acting endeavors, gain more confidence, and ultimately happiness in the way they communicate. … I realize not everybody is going to find a career in acting, but whatever they decide to do, I hope their voice brings them joy.”
I anticipate writing longer blogs about a few of these events in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, here’s a tease so you can get them on your calendars.
One of our town’s most creative and fun FREE family events — the Great Rochester Peep Show — returns Saturday and Sunday April 2 and 3 to the Webster Recreation Center on Chiyoda Drive (off of Phillips).
This fun, completely free, family-friendly event features at least four entire rooms filled with incredibly creative sculptures, dioramas, and various other works of art, all created with marshmallow Peeps candies. In addition to the displays, several entertainers and community groups will be performing.
Hours are 10 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, 10 to 4 on Sunday.
Community Arts Day returns the following weekend after a two-year COVID-induced hiatus.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Rd. This very family-friendly festival showcases Webster CSD students’ creative talents and involves the entire community in a day to celebrate the arts.
Dozens of activities are planned throughout the day, including art displays, carnival games, sweet treats sale, plant sale, crafts, community group exhibits and more. Musical groups and demonstrators (dancers, gymnastics, etc.) perform free all day, and you can even grab lunch and snacks.
This is one of my favorite events of the whole year.
Webster’s next American Red Cross blood drive is coming up in just a few weeks. Here are the details:
Tuesday April 5, St. Martin’s Lutheran Church (813 Bay Rd.), 1 to 6 p.m. (Click here to make an appointment) Wednesday April 6, American Legion (8181 Ridge Rd.), noon to 5 p.m. (Click here for an appointment)
Anyone who donates at one of these drives will receive an exclusive Red Cross t-shirt, while supplies last.
The need right now is critical, so please consider donating!
The Webster Public Library, is hosting a meet-and-greet with new library director Adam Traub on Wednesday April 27 from 3 to 5 p.m. Snacks will be served!
And since we’re talking about the library, next time you’re there, make sure to check out the Webster Museum’s current display. It features square-dancing fashions provided by the Copy Cats Western Square Dance Club, currently celebrating their 50th anniversary. The group was started by Xerox employees.
At the museum itself, at 18 Lapham Park in the village, a new exhibit looks at women’s nineteenth century garments, occupations, voting and working rights efforts, and the story of the “Great Women’s Uprising” of 1910.
The museum is open 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
This is exciting news.
The Webster Business Improvement District (BID) is sponsoring a FREE Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April 16 at the Webster Firemen’s Field on West Main St.
Our local merchants will be providing the eggs, filled with prizes and surprises. Children will be divided into three different age groupings for the hunt, and there will be an extra prize basket for the child in each group who finds the golden egg.
The hunt will begin at 10 a.m. More details to come!
This great event is just the first in a long line of special events the Webster BID is working on for this spring and summer, which include a Beer Walk, Bourbon Bash, Family Games Nights, the Trick or Treat Trail, Jazz Fest, Wine Walks and more. Watch for more details about these in an upcoming blog.
“Envision the Possibilities” will showcase approximately 250 quilts, plus special displays of quilts created for Breast Cancer Coalition, Quilts of Valor, Bivona Child Advocacy Center, Asbury Storehouse, and Meals on Wheels. Other activities include vendors, boutique table, and book and pattern sale. The guild will also be collecting non-perishable food items in support of the Webster Backpack Food program.
The show will be held April 23 and 24 at Holy Trinity Church, 146 Ridge Road. Tickets will be $5, available at the door.
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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