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Register now to display at Community Arts Day 2023

14 Feb

A few days ago when I was taking my morning walk, I couldn’t help but think that this unusually mild February weather we’re having this week feels a lot like April. So it’s fitting that on that same day I received my first email of the year from the Community Arts Day organizers.

I’m sure you already know about this great family event which takes place every April. It’s basically a show-off day for our district’s schools, showcasing the musical and artistic talents of our Webster School District K-12 students. It was created as a collaborative effort to raise money to encourage and enhance fine arts programs throughout the district. 

In addition to the art displays, it’s also a great opportunity for community groups to set up tables and spread the word about their organizations. That is what the email was all about. It read,

We invite you to join us for the Annual 2023 Community Arts Day sponsored by the Webster Central PTSA, Saturday, April 15, at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road, Webster. …Community groups that wish to exhibit are required to pay a participation fee of $30, which is payable at the time of registration. …Community groups/vendors can sell their goods with advanced approval from the Community Arts Day planning committee. A $55 vendor selling fee applies, which is payable at time of registration.

Clilck here to register. The deadline to register is April 1, with a $5 late fee applied after that date (if the registration is even accepted). All registrations and payments must be received by April 7 at 5 p.m.

It sounds like the committee has some exciting plans this year, including having Garth Fagan Dance as a headliner. Stay tuned for more information about Community Arts Day 2023. You can also follow the CAD website here or Facebook page here.

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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 2/14/2023)

Third graders meet the Webster Public Library

13 Jan

In a program that brings the Webster community and the Webster Public Library (WPL) together, our school district’s third graders are getting a jump-start on their love for reading by getting a close-up look at the library and all the services it offers.

All of Webster’s third grade students will be taking field trips to the Webster Public Library (WPL) this school year as part of a get-to-know-the-library program that will run through June. The idea came from discussions WPL Outreach Coordinator Jason Poole and Schlegel Elementary School librarian Jamie Palmer were having last year about school visits. At the time, due to the pandemic, schools were not allowing visitors, but students could go on field trips. Classes were already visiting the downtown library; giving them the chance to see their local library as well seemed like a natural next step.

Earlier this year, Schlegel Rd. Elementary students were the first to make the trip, in a trial run of the new program. It “went pretty well but was a little chaotic,” Poole said. He added,

After discussion with the youth department, we changed our approach to the current system, adapting and combining elements of existing in-house programming (staff area tours, storytimes, crafts, etc.) to create four stations that offer students a little taste of all WPL has to offer them. A charcuterie board of library experiences, if you will.

It’s one of the few programs that touches all areas of the library.

In December, Plank North Elementary third graders visited and experienced the newly-tweaked program. During their tour, the students made a craft in the teen area, explored the Children’s Room, and sat for storytime. They even got a close-up, behind-the-scenes look at places usually hidden from the public, including the back offices and the receiving end of the outdoor book drop.

But teaching students how to use the library really wouldn’t mean much if they couldn’t actually check out books. So, working closely with the library’s circulation department, Palmer and Poole came up with an ambitious plan to also make sure every one of the visiting third graders could sign up for a library card, if they didn’t have one already. Allowing them to do so without a parent or guardian present meant adjusting the library’s standard policy, but it was definitely well worth the effort, Poole said. Using their brand new library cards, each student could actually check out a book before they left the library. For a child who’s never been able to do that before, it’s a pretty exciting experience.

“Third graders are pretty much at the perfect developmental stage to really begin to appreciate the value of having their own library card,” Poole said.  

As an added bonus, each student also received a coupon, redeemable on their next library visit for a goodie bag with lots of little gifts including a card holder, an activity booklet, a WPL pin, and several other fun items.

So far, Schlegel and Plank North are the only two schools to have made the WPL trip, but the rest of the schools will be visiting in the next several months. Still, the Webster Public Library has already touched the lives of 146 students. In the process, 90 new library cards were issued, 26 cards were replaced, and four account problems were resolved. A whopping 80% of these third graders did not have access to the library before the trip, and now they do.

It’s a proud feeling to be trusted with the responsibility of having a library card, and a thrill to be able to walk into the library and leave with your favorite book.

What an awesome way to reinforce the joy of reading, and start these young people on their journey to lifelong learning.

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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 1/13/2023)

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Webster is getting a dog park

6 Jan

As you can see from the headline, our canine friends are finally going to have an outdoor dog park of their own.

A few weeks ago, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello announced that the county will be constructing a new dog park in Webster Park, which should be completed before the end of the summer.

The 1.5-acre park will be located in the large grassy area just south of Lake Rd., at the corner of Park Rd., which leads into the campground. It will include separate areas for large and smaller dogs, agility equipment and drinking stations.

According to the county’s press release, the project is being funded by a $250,000 grant secured by Assemblymember Jennifer Lunsford, part of the Go Outside Monroe Initiative, dedicated to modernizing the county’s parks system. The funds will also be used to repair and replace existing equipment on the nearby playground.

Chris Bilow, Commissioner of Webster Parks and Recreation, already knows that the park will be popular with town residents. He wrote,

I am excited that the county is making this possible for the Webster community. The request for dog park space is something we hear from residents quite regularly. As we worked with county staff on a potential location and operation it became clear that partnering with the county on the project and having the county operate their current system for dog parks made all sorts of sense.

Thank you to all of the people and agencies who are making this project a reality. It’s something we’ve needed here in Webster for a long time.

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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 1/6/2023)

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Webster’s windy Winter Wonderland in photos

4 Dec

Maybe — just maybe — one year soon, it will actually be snowing during the Village of Webster’s winter celebration.

Now, I’m not wishing for a blizzard, but a gentle flurry and a light dusting of snow on the sidewalks would certainly add to the festive holiday atmosphere that the Business Improvement District (BID) works so hard to present during this annual event. But no, this year we got high winds, strong enough to drive most of the planned activities indoors, and managed to cancel a few of them. (I guess we should be happy it wasn’t pouring rain.)

Still, this year the BID, partnering with the Webster Central PTSA, did their level best to create a fun and family-friendly holiday celebration, even introducing a new name — Webster’s Winter Wonderland — and ’round-the-world theme. There was great participation from village business owners, many of whom enthusiastically participated in creating front window displays or even setting up a table inside their shops to highlight different countries and their winter holidays.

I was like a kid myself, spinning a dreidel at one table, listening to a young lady play a Japanese koto and another man playing a djembe at the Kwanzaa display. I had a delicious slice of kielbasa at Brimont Bistro, and I learned some really neat stuff, like how in Japan, Santa delivers pizza. I was serenaded by the Chorus of the Genesee and Rochester Rhapsody. I also heard some beautiful live music at the Webster Museum and checked out all of the decorated mini-Christmas trees at their Festival of Trees.

I sense that a few things went wrong yesterday, mostly due to the weather, but it was a great first effort. I hope the BID keeps this theme for next year and even more businesses participate.

Maybe we’ll even get a little snow.

Click here to check out my gallery of photos from the day, including from the Parade of Lights. (Thanks to Facebook they’re not in perfect order, but enjoyable to look at anyway.)

One quick addition.

I’d like to share this email I got this morning from my friend Kathy Taddeo at the Webster Museum. It says a lot about the community here in the Village of Webster.

THE MUSEUM’S TERRIFIC NEIGHBORS

Many thanks to the Lapham residents and the Main Street retail and other business folks who generally park in the museum’s lot during the day. 

I had put out a sign asking that our lot be cleared from 1-5 on Saturday, and when I arrived shortly after 1, the lot was completely empty. Their kindness and courtesy allowed two shifts of volunteers and two groups of musicians to park in the lot.  The museum had a great turnout and that is at least partly due to the courtesy of our village neighbors.

Also, kudos to whoever decided to make this annual celebration a multicultural one, and to change the name of the event to Webster’s Winter Wonderland to reflect that change. 

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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 12/4/2022)

Happy Thanksgiving!

24 Nov

To my loyal readers, Happy Thanksgiving. I am so very thankful for all of you. I hope you are spending this day with friends and family.

Bonus Halloween houses

1 Nov

I’m not normally in the habit of posting more than one blog a day, but I wanted to share with you two additional submissions I got recently for my “bootiful” Halloween houses series.

The first is from one of my faithfull-est readers, Linda. She passed by this fog-enshrouded graveyard on Buttermilk Circle this morning.

This next video is of a display created by a ham radio enthusiast. He writes, “Skelly is working the ‘DX’ beyond the grave.”

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and 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 11/1/2022)

More “boo”tiful Halloween houses

28 Oct

Today I post the third and final installment of my Halloween Houses series. Enjoy these decorative bits and pieces from around the town!

I can’t remember where most of these photos came from, except for these first three, which Alicia S. sent to me. Her beautifully decorated home is at the corner of Wood Meadow and Deer Haven Drive. She wrote that her neighbors know it as the “Halloween House,” and every year they dress up, add fog and music, and try to debut new items every year.

They call their creation “Witches Hollow.”  

This one, the skeleton pole dancer, made me laugh.

These two are from the village:

Happy Halloween everyone. Let’s hope for good weather.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and 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 10/27/2022)

My Roomates Closet grand opening is this weekend

19 Oct

The ceiling tiles are up, the floor tiles are down, there’s fresh paint on the walls and the changing rooms will be installed Friday. Everything’s just about ready for Nicole Iorio to introduce her new shop, My Roommates Closet, to the Village of Webster.

My Roommates Closet is the village’s newest clothing store, located at 19 East Main St., in the former Village HandWorks location. Owner Nicole Iorio says she opened the shop to share her love of clothing and fashion with women of all ages, help them discover new and different styles to add to their closets and to find that “missing piece” they’ve been looking for.

She and her able assistants (Mom, Dad and her brothers) have been putting the finishing touches on the shop these last several weeks, and this week Nicole has started to move in her product line. Customers will find a mix of styles, from street wear to lounging-around clothes to going-out clothes.

She’ll officially welcome the community this Sunday Oct. 23, with a grand opening celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. There’ll be snacks, drinks and music, and a chance to get an advance look at the fashions. But mostly Nicole hopes people will stop by, come on in and “just hang around.”

You can find more about My Roommates Closet here on the website, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest. You can also check out the blog I wrote last month.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and 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 10/20/2022)

The Ukraine still needs our help

8 Sep

As always, the town’s Webster This Week newsletter, published online every week, was a wealth of information. I’m often grabbing mailbag notices from there or finding out about something important that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. (Kudos to Karen Buck for doing an outstanding job with the newsletter every week!)

This week’s newsletter was no different. It featured, across three pages, a reminder that the crisis in the Ukraine continues, and the people there still need our help desperately.

Specifically, RocMaidan, who has taken the lead in collecting and shipping supplies to the war-torn country, is looking for medical supplies, clothing, sleeping bags, diapers and wipes, small toys, water bottles, and more.

Rather than just regurgitate everything that was in those pages, I’ve posted them below. Please take a moment to click through to each of them and see where you might be able to help out.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and 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 9/7/2022)

Beautiful night, beautiful music for Webster Jazz Fest

21 Aug

What a terrific few days we just had in the Village of Webster.

The 2022 Webster Jazz Festival is in the books, and it will certainly go down as one of the best ever. Six different bands kicked off the festivities Friday night with Jazz in the Pubs, this year made even better by the mini street fair, complete with vendors, a professional sidewalk chalk artist, a photo booth and more.

But that was just a teaser for the main event, Jazz in the Streets on Saturday. The music began at 4 p.m. on the big West Main Street stage and continued well into the evening.

In the many years I’ve attended the Jazz Fest, I can’t recall ever seeing so many people. When I got into town at about 6:45, the street, sidewalks, even alleyways and driveways were already packed with tables and chairs and coolers. I didn’t think it could get any busier. But as the evening went on, people kept coming, and by the time Prime Time Funk hit their first downbeat at 9 p.m., people had filled in pretty much every nook and cranny along West Main.

The Village of Webster always looks its most charming for the Jazz Fest, too. Twinkly lights stretching back and forth across West Main made the entire scene look like a musical fairyland. Food and drink vendors set up along the street, combined with spectacular weather, made the whole evening a great chance to reconnect with friends and neighbors, or just enjoy an inexpensive evening out with the whole family.

Kudos to the Webster Business Improvement District for another wildly successful Jazz Fest. You make the Village of Webster proud.

Here are just a few photos from Saturday night. Click here to see a gallery with many more.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and 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 8/21/2022)

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