Here’s another great reason to head into the Village of Websterthis last week before Christmas — aside from all of the terrific finds for your last-minute gift needs:
* * * The 2021 Village Holiday Scavenger Hunt * * *
Great prizes from Kittelberger Florist and other village merchants await several lucky winners of this fun and easy scavenger hunt. All you have to do is visit each of the merchants on the list below, and write down the word printed on the Happy Snowman located at each business. Using the words, complete the holiday phrase below, and email your answer to info@websterbid.com.
Eight or nine years ago, when I was still working at Webster Thomas High School, a friend and colleague of mine, Kathy Dummer, shared some exciting news with me. She told me that her husband Len was hoping to take over the old Seitz’s grocery store/post office at the corner of Old Ridge and Bay roads in West Webster, and turn it into a brewpub.
She knew I’d be interested because I wrote a Webster blog. But she also asked me to keep the news on the down-low in case it didn’t happen.
To Webster’s great benefit, Knucklehead Craft Brewing not only came to be, but has continued to get better and better every year.
Knucklehead Craft Brewing, at 426 Ridge Rd., turns seven years old this month. The Dummer family has planned an appropriate celebration to mark the occasion, complete with music throughout the day, food specials, and a few extra special beer selections on tap.
Webster’s own craft brewery has grown up a lot since it opened in 2014. There have been a lot of little improvements along the way, like updating the lighting, freshening up the paint job and featuring regular live music. But it’s the big things that have really made the brewpub a regular stop for much of Webster: more parking, a huge kitchen upgrade, addition of a beautiful beer garden, and expanding the dining/drinking area into their huge back room.
Of course, their craft brews are pretty good, too.
Check it all out for yourself this coming Saturday, from 1 to 10 p.m. at Kucklehead Craft Brewing, 426 Ridge Rd., West Webster, at the corner of Bay. I understand there’s going to be a “secret” beer on tap….
One of the things I like best about community events like White Christmas is that I get to see a lot of old friends, and meet a lot of new people.
Like the Mastrodonato family, the new owners of Diamond Collision at 54 Donovan St., who had set up a table in front of Tom’s Garage on Main Street during the White Christmas Parade of Lights. They were serving up free hot chocolate for anyone who wanted a warm-up on what was a rather chilly evening.
I asked if they were taking donations in exchange for the treat, but was told that no, they just wanted to do something for the Webster community.
I recently exchanged a few emails with Carly Mastrodonato, one of the owners, to find out more about the new business. It became immediately clear that while paint and collision work is their main focus, their commitment to community comes in a close second.
Their community involvement began pretty much on day one, when they held a grand opening party with food, raffles and live music. They donated all the proceeds from that event to Miracle Field.
Since then, the Diamond Collision owners
carved pumpkins for the Webster Recreation Center’s Pumpkins on Parade in 2020 and 2021
participated in the Village of Webster’s Trick or Treat Trail
try to buy local as much as they can, like using McAllister Signs for a lot of their signage
and, of course, handed out hot chocolate and candy canes at the Parade of Lights
Carly explained,
It’s important to us to be a part of the community for two very important reasons. Number one, without the community we wouldn’t have a business. It’s the local community that allows us to run a successful business. They put their trust in us, so this is the least we can do. It was a small way to show thanks.
The second reason, we want to be recognized. We don’t want to just be some small collision shop on Donovan Street that no one has heard of. We want people to see Chuck and say “Hey, there is Chuck from Diamond Collision.” My father, like many others, has worked very hard his whole life and is just so happy to finally be a business owner and make this very important decision to be a part of the community as much as we can!
I think it’s important to understand that we truly enjoy this involvement. This is a part of who we are as Diamond Collision and as a family. It brings us joy to be able to give. Even if it is as small as a cup of hot chocolate. I was smiling from ear to ear the entire time at the Parade of Lights and had so many great conversations. That’s what it’s all about! These are the moments that last a lifetime.
On Friday Dec. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m., they’ll host Rochester artist Doug MacDonald and his Art for Sickos van at their shop in Webster. “We are very open and supportive of small businesses,” Carly wrote, “and we want to do everything we can to help and support.”
The Mastrodonato family only took over ownership of Diamond Collision in October, which makes their list of community accomplishments that much more impressive.
“We look forward to being a part of more events within the local community,” Carly added. “It brings us joy to meet people in the community that allow us to be Diamond Collision.”
May I be the first to say, welcome to the village.
Diamond Collision is at 54 Donovan St. You can check them out on their Facebook page, website, and on Instagram at @diamondcollision_webster.
Hey, Webster BID: Great job on the “Hops and Stops” Beer Walk Saturday!
Fifteen businesses signed up as stops for Saturday afternoon’s walk, which guided almost two hundred beer lovers from one end of the village to the other. My husband, several of my closest friends and I were among them, traveling as a pack and popping into one shop after the other for a beer tasting and/or snacks provided by the business owners.
We picked up our sampling glasses at Finn’s Automotive shortly after the event began at 3 p.m., and I really didn’t expect we’d need the entire three hours to complete the tour. But I also didn’t expect the generous beer “samples” offered at most of the stops (the Filling Station poured pretty much an entire pint) or the frequent opportunities we took to socialize with each other and friends we met along the way. We landed at our last stop, Barry’s Old School Irish, just before 6 p.m. It turned out to be the perfect amount of time to enjoy all the afternoon had to offer: friends, beer and food. We simply had a blast.
Of course, one of the best parts of the cleverly named “Hops and Stops” was that it highlighted so many of the Village of Webster’s small businesses. It was scheduled, not coincidentally, for Small Business Saturday, and for many of the participants, it served as an introduction to many businesses which they’d never before been in, or even knew about.
Thank you to all the businesses which participated, and to the BID for another great event highlighting our beautiful village.
Today is Small Business Saturday, and there are so many cool things happening with our village merchants, you’re going to want to block off most of your day to check them all out.
The most exciting is that a brand new business, Whimsies, has opened on East Main Street. Whimsies doesn’t have a sign outside yet, but you’ll find it right next door to Lala of Webster, at 32 East Main St. (in the former Chandeliers Boutique). Whimsies is actually kind of an extension of Lala’s; or as owner Lisa Schlonski describes it, a gift shop operating under the Lala umbrella.
Lisa is still unpacking and organizing her merchandise, but really wanted to open her doors by Small Business Saturday. When everything is in place, the new store will be stocked with some of the more whimsical and “snarky” items that you can find right now at Lala’s, and will also feature a wide selection of vintage and “penny” candy.
The new shop already looks great, even though it’s not where Lisa would like it to be quite yet. You’ll definitely want to check it out today, because everything in the store (and in Lala’s) is 20% off.
Checking out the new Whimsies is just one good reason to head into the village today. Not that anyone should NEED an excuse to support the Village of Webster’s small businesses, but in honor of Small Business Saturday, you’ll find that pretty much everyone has specials going on. Here’s a sampling, from some of my favorite village shops:
Crafty Christy’s Boutique is our village’s newest small business (aside from Whimsies). At 7 West Main St., it’s kind of hidden down in the back parking lot across from the gazebo, but is getting a lot of attention. Anyone who wanders down there to check it out today will find some extra special surprises.
Christina Barnum is offering shoppers buy one/get one free Christmas earrings, and the chance to sign up for three craft classes for the price of two. Christina is also also accepting clothing donations for HOPE House, and will give a free gift to anyone who makes a donation. (Click here to see the current HOPE House wish list).
The North Bee, at 27 North Ave., is actually celebrating its 3rd anniversary today. In honor of the anniversary, you can get buy one/get one free CBD products and check the Facebook page for a 30% coupon good in store for any one item.
Village HandWorks is another fairly new business. It opened in September at 19 East Main St., next door to the Village Quilt Shoppe. Owner Jenn Ratcliffe has so many percentage-off specials that I can’t really include them here, but suffice it to say, if you’re looking for gifts for someone in your life who loves to knit or weave or appreciates hand-crafted winter-wear, you’ll want to spend some time at Village HandWorks.
Jenn, by the way, is super-dedicated to supporting — and giving back to — our town and world community. Not only does she offer products from local artisans, but she also stocks items from companies like FAZL. Their mittens, hats and socks are crafted by women in India and 30% of the profits will benefit Indian orphanages.
PLUS, if you buy anything at Village HandWorks or Nest Things (right down Main Street), you can wrap it for free at Village HandWorks.
I also heard recently from the Village Quilt Shoppe, 21 East Main, where Vanetta and Monique are offering 30% off all full-priced merchandise, and a few very tempting gift certificate specials. And Jonathan at Yesterday’s Muse bookstore, 32 West Main, emailed to tell me all about his shop’s brand new website and coupon offerings. You can see them for yourself here.
Whew. That was a lot of information, and it was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the great small businesses we have here in town that deserve our support, today and every day.
I hope you noticed — for EVERY ONE one of those businesses I wrote about today, I was able to tell you the owners’ names. That’s because the folks who choose to open businesses here in Webster are not just merchants. They are Webster residents and our neighbors. They help make up the fabric of our community. They participate in our holiday events, support our sports teams and feature products from local artisans. They do things like give back a portion of their proceeds to Indian orphanages.
You won’t find those things in any big box store.
Please show your love to small businesses today. They’re great places to find unique gifts and stocking stuffers.
As for me, I don’t know for sure how much shopping I’m going to do today, but I did stop at the bank yesterday to prepare ….
You may remember a few weeks ago reading a blog about how Santa himself visited the Bella’s Bumbas workshop here in Webster to help build a Bumba for one very lucky child in Connecticut.
During his visit, Santa was assisted by several young elves, who showed him how to craft one of Bella’s Bumbas’ miniature wheelchairs from the wheels up.
I’m happy to report that the special Santa-built Bumba has been received by Tate, the young man for whom it was being built. Check out the photo below; it’s easy to see how delighted Tate is with his newfound mobility. What you can’t see is how Santa and all his elves signed it underneath the seat.
Click here to read the blog I wrote about Santa’s visit to the workshop.
Santa working on the BumbaTate with his Santa-built Bella’s Bumba
While Santa was there, he also signed another Bumba, specially built for young Josué in Mexico. Josué has also received his autographed Bumba.
Josué in his Santa-autographed chair
Bella’s Bumbas is run by Webster residents Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr, dedicated to building miniature wheelchairs for children with a wide variety of mobility issues. In the four years since Marty built the first Bumba for their niece Bella, they’ve shipped close to 2000 chairs to children in more than 50 countries, often adapting the chairs for each child’s individual needs, and charging the parents only for shipping.
Their efforts are changing young lives all over the world.
It’s getting cold out, but the holiday season in Webster is heating up, with a cool NEW event and some great improvements on an old favorite.
For starters, the village’s brand new “Hops and Stops” beer tasting event invites participants to not only enjoy some great craft brews, while also visiting many of our small businesses for some early Christmas shopping.
Hops and Stops will be Saturday Nov. 27 (not coincidentally Small Business Saturday). Glass pickup is at Finns Automotive, 44 East Main St, beginning at 2:45 p.m. Cost is $20 (tickets here). Please bring proper ID and you can’t pick up anyone else’s glass since they’ll also need to show an ID.
The beer walk itself runs from 3 to 6 p.m. There will be craft beer at some stops and food at others. These businesses will be participating:
Bernardi & Co. CPA
Webster Interiors
Woodland Silkscreen and Embroidery
OHHH, LORDEE! Everything Sauce
Village Vape or Smoke
The Modified Collective
Carl’s Pizza Kitchen
Crafty Christy’s Boutique
Dunkin’ Donuts
The Coach
BC’s Chicken Coop
The Cobblestone on Main
Barry’s Old School Irish
Lattimore Physical Therapy
Filling Station Pub & Grill
Kudos to the Webster BID for coming up with this great idea to get people out and shopping on Small Business Saturday!
Click here for more information and to get tickets.
White Christmas is Back!
Last year’s “reverse” Holiday Parade of Lights was fun, but I think everyone is excited to know that the REAL Parade of Lights will be returning the evening of Saturday Dec. 4. The parade is the highlight of a whole afternoon of holiday entertainment and activities planned during the Village of Webster’s White Christmas celebration.
This year’s event will feature something really fun: the gazebo in Veterans Park will be transformed into the North Pole for the day, complete with twinkling lights, elves, candy canes and much more. Santa will be there to greet the kids from 3 to 5 p.m. Kids can bring their letters and give them right to Santa or deposit them in his North Pole mailbox.
The Parade of Lights will begin at 6:30 p.m., winding its way from Phillips Rd. west down Main Street.
All of your White Christmas favorites will also be back this year, including carriage rides, hot cocoa, cookie decorating, storytime with Jason Poole from the Webster Public Library, caroling, and much more, including a “Toy Land,” for which everyone is encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate.
Put this one on your calendar, folks. (Maybe we’ll actually get some snow this year.)
Now, I’m no stranger to working out. I walk, run, do a little weightlifting, a little yoga. But Pilates? Had no clue what it was. So when I sat down for a chat the other day with Erin Ferrante, owner of the new To the Core Pilates studio, I thought I should let her know that right off the bat.
To her credit, she didn’t laugh, or even giggle. On the contrary, she assured me that’s not unusual; a lot of people around here don’t know much about Pilates.
I came to realize that that example of non-judgmental acceptance pretty much sums up Erin’s approach to her new business and the people who walk through her door: everyone is welcome, no matter what shape you’re in or where you are in your fitness goals.
Even if you know nothing about Pilates.
To the Core Pilates opened on Oct. 4 in Towne Center plaza (Target plaza) next door to Visionworks. It’s a dream come true for owner Erin Ferrante, who first fell in love with Pilates when she was living in Aspen, Colorado several years ago. When she came back home to Wayne County, she brought that passion for Pilates with her, along with a dream of opening her own studio. She even had her eye on a plaza she knew very well from her Wayne County youth.
She remembers, “I said, ‘Mom I just want to move home and open a Pilates studio in Webster Plaza. A couple years later, here I am.”
She started small, first offering classes in an under-used building at Thornbee Farm in Walworth, owned by her aunt and uncle. The venture was extremely successful. She soon realized she needed more room, and was ready to take the next step. She found an 1800-sq. foot studio space in Towne Center, and started introducing what she calls a “very west coast fitness regimen” to the greater Webster community.
“There’s not really Pilates around here,” she explained.
A lot of people don’t know what it is. I’ve found that’s been one of the biggest things. People know how to lift weights around here or do burn boot camp. Pilates is a type of exercise where we focus on slow, controlled toning exercise. We do things that are high intensity but it’s a very low-impact workout.
So basically, Pilates stresses low-impact flexibility, muscular strength, and endurance. Which is pretty much why everyone can do it, regardless of fitness level.
I’m trying to help people understand that they don’t have to jump around to get a good workout. … The high impact stuff is not good for your joints and muscles. … The awesome thing about Pilates is we use very low weights, very high reps. I want to teach people that good exercise, maybe three days a week, clean eating and a little bit of walking is going to get them to the goals they’re looking for.
“I want people to feel like this is really a welcoming community when they come in the door,” she added. “No matter what their fitness level is, we can help them.”
It’s an approach that’s already winning a lot of fans, like Maria Derks. Packing up from an intense Barefoot Boot Camp class, she agreed with Erin, calling the atmosphere at To the Core Pilates as “very intimate. (Erin) makes me feel special,” she said. “She wants to make us all feel welcome.”
To the Core Pilates is located at 1028 Ridge Rd. (Towne Center plaza), next door to Visionworks in the plaza’s northwest corner. Classes offered include Pilates, core, yoga and high-intensity Barefoot Boot Camp. Plus, this coming Wednesday Nov. 17, Erin will also be hosting a special Nourish: Body & Mind nutrition workshop led by Erica of Revive Your Tribe, designed especially for women.
It was pretty busy Saturday night at Barry’s Old School Irish in the Village of Webster. But that was to be expected, as the little Irish pub was celebrating its 10th annivesary.
Hundreds of well-wishers streamed in and out throughout the evening, coming for the friendly atmosphere, great live music, good food and perfectly poured pints. Friends met up with friends, and strangers became new friends. And all evening, people were sharing their favorite Barry’s memories, from the time the horse came in the pub to when there was a fireplace in the corner — next to a couch.
Here’s a slideshow of photos from that evening (in no particular order).
OK, how stinkin’ cute is this? Listening to Russ Conlon’s ballad.
“Can I have your attention for the toast?”
Bagpipers are a Barry’s party tradition
Guinness was there offering free pints with your choice of photo on top.
Sean and Sarah of Barry’s Crossing reunited for the occasion to provide live music.
Later in the evening, Russ Conlon treated Danny and Jess to a sweet and beautifully performed ballad.
Someone shot off a confetti cannon.
The annual “looking to the future” photo
The confetti cannon fortunately missed MOST of the pints on the bar
Sarah Mossey of Barry’s Crossing
Sean Rosenberry of Barry’s Crossing
The whole gang
Raising a toast to Barry’s Old School Irish
Barry’s Runners came out in force to celebrate at their favorite running spot. (Please join us some Tuesday night.)
Santa Claus made a very special pre-holiday visit to town Saturday, bringing his North Pole workshop skills to the Bella’s Bumbas workshop in Webster. But rather than working on toys, he tried his hand at cobbling together his very own Bumba chair.
Ably assisted by elves Teagan Orr, Kenzie Fedele and Bella Shorr herself — whose story launched Bella’s Bumbas — Santa learned how to build a chair from the wheels up.
Bella’s Bumbas is run by Webster residents Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr, dedicated to building miniature wheelchairs for children with a wide variety of mobility issues. In the four years since Marty built the first Bumba for their niece Bella, they’ve shipped close to 2000 chairs to children in more than 50 countries, often adapting the chairs for each child’s individual needs, and charging the parents only for shipping.
Marty and Rebecca arranged for the special visit from Santa, originally inviting six of their “Bumbaleers” to attend. At the last minute, several of them couldn’t make it, but Kenzie and Bella’s delight alone at seeing the jolly old elf was enough to fill the room. They got their own elf hats, and were treated to a reading of the Christmas classic The Night Before Christmas, courtesy Santa himself.
The special Santa-built chair — which was signed by everyone that day — will soon be packed up and sent to a very lucky little boy named Tate in Connecticut.
Here are some more photos from that special afternoon when Bella’s Bumbas’ workshop became Santa’s workshop.
Kenzie Fedele, Teagan Orr and Bella Shorr are all ears as Santa reads The Night Before Christmas.
Santa’s elf Teagan Orr shows Santa how to install a wheel
Bella keeps an eye on how things are progressing in the workshop
Santa, Teagan Orr, Marty Parzynski and Kenzie Fedele
Santa signs the finished chair
This specially signed chair will be sent to a lttle boy in CT named Tate
Santa presents his three elves with gifts after the chair is done.
This special chair, resting under the big check Bella’s Bumbas received in September, is destined for Josue in Mexico.
Marty Parzynski chats with Santa about Josue’s specially designed chair
Bella’s Bumbas, by the way, relies entirely on donations to do their amazing work.
They recently received a huge one from a combined team of construction workers who are building the new Amazon warehouse in Gates.
When Rebecca and Marty were invited to stop by the work site on Friday Sept. 24, they had no idea why. When they got there, they were directed to a huge parking lot where row after row of tables were set up. Before long, they found themselves front-and-center in a short ceremony in which they were presented a huge check for $13,600.
Turns out, the construction team had been collecting donations and holding raffles for several weeks to raise money for Bella’s Bumbas. The tables were set up for a thank-you BBQ luncheon for everyone who donated. It was just the beginning of a continuing stream of donations from the team which eventually added up to $15,000.
default
Rebecca explained,
Bella’s Bumbas, Ltd. was given an AMAZING donation from a combined group of construction workers building the new Amazon warehouse in Gates, a total of $15,000. Project ROC1 Team did raffles, a BBQ, and donations to bless Bella’s Bumbas. From that we have received several “residual” donations, thanks to S.M.A.R.T. local Union 46 and all their support. S.M.A.R.T. local Union 46, not only helps make parts for our little chairs, they also share our “mission of mobility.” That same morning (which coincidentally was also the third anniversary of our moving into our current shop location) we also received an amazing $3000 from Webster Presbyterian Church.
The donations Bella’s Bumbas received from the Project ROC1 Team and in the following days allowed them to ship about 55 Bumbas around the world, absolutely free, including to the Upstate Golisano’s Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Haiti, Honduras, Canada, Belize, Turkey and Guatemala.
“Today we are truly THANKING God first and all our amazing supporters over the last four years,” Rebecca wrote.
We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. It has been a rewarding, blessed, chaotic, hectic, and WONDERFUL 4 years (and many more to come). We have received the most precious donations from $5 to $10 monthly thru auto payments, to $15,000 from fundraisers groups have done for us. From organizations locally to individuals we have never met.
Donations are not the only way Bella’s Bumbas operates. Our amazing volunteers, some local, some as far away as other countries, each doing their own special part of our “Mission of Mobility.” We are often baffled as to how to truly express our thanks and gratitude to so many people for the almost 2000 “bumbaleers” (named by an amazing grandmother, Ann Reid ) in now 53 countries.
We know each one of our very special bumbaleers has touched so many lives with their smiles,and laughs, and true little miracles.
“Bella’s Bumbas ‘Mission of Mobility’ all started for one little girl, our Bella, born with Spina Bifida, and is now also a BLESSED network of families encouraged and uplifted by each other,” Rebecca concluded. “Thank you seems so small compared to what Bella’s Bumbas has become with so many blessings.”
“THANK YOU from all of us here at Bella’s Bumbas and our little bumbaleers.”
Check out these photos and video of some of those happy little bumbaleers:
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
webster on the web 