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Tuesday Webster Mailbag

15 Oct

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photos from the Homecoming Parade

14 Oct

What a spectacular morning it was yesterday for the second annual Homecoming Parade in the Village of Webster.  It’s worth saying again — what a great opportunity it was for the community to come out and celebrate BOTH schools’ accomplishments, to remind ourselves we are ONE community and not divided by what others have chosen as high school boundaries.

Three readers so far have answered my call for photos. Thank you to Jodie, Elizabeth Cameron and my friend Christine Reynolds for sending theirs along yesterday.  I’ve posted a few here and the rest on a Facebook gallery which you can access by clicking here or any of the photos.

I’d love to get even more photos to add to the gallery. Please send me your favorites at missyblog@gmail.com, and tell me what you thought about the parade this year.

Making a village scarecrow? Here are some more details

8 Oct

I got an email from Webster Village Mayor Peter Elder today, which provided some more details about the Scarecrow Contest which the village has opened up to the community this year. (See my previous blog.)

Mayor Elder wrote,

The Village is pleased to be organizing the Scarecrow Contest this year. Village businesses are encouraged to make one, but this year community groups are welcome to create scarecrows as well. Scarecrows should be created as soon as possible, but no later than the 19th. The sooner they are up, the more votes they can collect. When they are created, I will need to be contact to give guidance of where they will be placed (they can also be dropped off at Village Hall).

Awards will be given first through third prizes.

Sky’s the limit on creativity (no gross, profane or lewd scarecrows), but each one must have a clear, legible label of which organization is sponsoring it so that people can vote. Ballot boxes are located at Mark’s Pizzeria, Hatters, Village Hall, the Webster Museum.  Anyone with questions can just call me at 662-9906.

Once the scarecrows are placed around the village, community members will be encouraged to vote for their favorite. The winners will be announced during the Halloween in the Village event on Saturday October 27.

Get your group together and scare a village

8 Oct

One of last year’s scarecrow entries.

The Village of Webster will host its second Scarecrow Contest this fall, to coincide with the annual Halloween in the Village events scheduled for Saturday October 27.   Last year the contest was only open to businesses, but this year community groups are also invited to participate.

So that means Cub Scout and Girl Scout troops, church groups and service organizations can create their own scarecrows.  The details are a bit sketchy right now, but for sure your creation shouldn’t be gory or profane, and ideally it should tie to the theme of your organization. There’s no cost, and prizes will be awarded for the top three entries. Right now the best way to get more details is to email Mayor Elder at pelder@villageofwebster.com.

Then make sure to be in town on Saturday the 27th for the annual Halloween in the Village celebration when the winner of the Scarecrow Contest will be announced.  Click here to get a whole rundown of the day’s events.

Village Days, rain or shine

22 Sep

Courtesy weather.com

So the weather doesn’t look really promising this morning, but Village Days will take over Main Street today, rain or shine. With any luck, the worst of the rains will move off by mid-morning, and we’ll just have cloudy and cool weather this afternoon.

In any case, I will most certainly be there, snapping pictures of all the people and action, so stay tuned for one of my patented Facebook galleries.  (Maybe you’ll be in it?)

 

Village Days hits town this weekend

17 Sep

Village Days has returned.

Some young aviators ready their planes before last year’s Model Plane Flying Contest.

The event, which has in years past been scheduled in mid-August, took a skip-step this year and has landed on a brand new weekend, this Friday and Saturday September 21 and 22.  The village decided to move the festival to get away from what has traditionally been a VERY busy summer weekend for vendors.  Being up against five other festivals that weekend made attracting vendors to Webster a difficult proposition.  It was also always really, really hot.

So what used to be a celebration of summer is now a celebration to welcome autumn, with even more vendors and more entertainment than ever before.  They’re also combining Saturday’s sidewalk sale activities with the Main Street Farmer’s Market.

The fun starts Friday night with an Octoberfest theme, featuring a Super Food Court and a concert by The Krazy Firemen at the gazebo. On Saturday, Main Street will be closed for a street festival from 9:30-4, including lots of food, kids’ activities and live music. Here are some details:

Friday September 21:

Super Food Court from 5-10 pm, featuring German specialties from Nancy’s, Joe’s Push Cart, Hatter’s Pub, Coach Sports Bar and Brimont Catering.  The Krazy Firemen, “Rochester’s original Octoberfest band,”  plays in the gazebo from 6:30-9:30 pm.

Saturday September 22:

Street Festival from 9:30 – 4, featuring craft and food vendors, bounce house and slides for the kids, face painting and live music. Performance Hobbies will hold their annual Model Plane Flying Contest at 1 pm at the gazebo.  The Super Food Court will once again be in full swing, and live music at the gazebo begins at 4 pm.

Hope to see you there.

 

 

Tuesday in the village: Mobs and memories

11 Sep

R.J. Short did billboard duty, trying to attract cash mobbers.

I had the pleasure of attending two very worthwhile events in the village last night.

The first was the inaugural Webster Cash Mob, an event which was meant to encourage shoppers to descend en masse on one local business during one very short window of time, therein giving that small business owner an economic boost.  The target of this first cash mob was Yesterday’s Muse Bookstore on West Main Street.

Unfortunately, the number of people who actually “descended” on Yesterday’s Muse was far less than a mass. It was more like 15-20. I think the mob organizer, Renee Short, was a little disappointed by the turnout, but undeterred.  She was already planning a second mob for sometime in October.

When that one happens, I challenge this village to overwhelm the place.

My next stop was Veterans Park, where the village held its annual 9/11 memorial ceremony. While this year’s event paled somewhat to last year’s tenth-anniversary observance, it was still moving.

The 30-minute ceremony featured speeches by Mayor Peter Elder, Senator Michael Nozzolio and Assemblyman Mark Johns, and some beautiful music by the Chorus of the Genesee and village piper Jack Jacob Jarosinski.  It concluded with Taps, beautifully performed from the hilltop by a lone bugler.  Always makes me want to cry.

Webster is only one of a handful of Rochester-area towns still commemorating the events of 9/11/01.  I asked Mayor Elder about that, to which he responded, “If we don’t remember the heroes of 9/11, we’ll forget the sacrifices they made. We need to keep those memories alive.”

And how many more years does he expect Webster to continue the tradition?

“As long as we possibly can. It’s very important.”

Click here or on the photo to redirect to a small gallery of photos from the ceremony.

 

Webster remembers

11 Sep

The Village of Webster remembers the tragic events of 9/11/01 this evening with a memorial service at Veterans Memorial Park on North Avenue.

Last year’s ceremony was a very memorable event, which began with a solemn procession of first responders from the Webster Fire Department’s Enterline Station on South Ave to the park. It was followed by addresses from local officials, a presentation of the flag by the Cub Scouts, and some very moving music. I expect this year’s ceremony to be just as nice. Click here to see a Facebook gallery of photos from last year.

The ceremony begins at 7 pm at the gazebo, and the weather looks great.

 

Bay Bridge is closed — and other news of note

7 Sep

For the third time this summer, half of the Bay Bridge will be closed to traffic this weekend.

Beginning tonight (Friday) at 8 pm, all EASTBOUND lanes over the bridge will be closed, and will not reopen until Sunday around noon.

Detour signs will be posted, directing eastbound traffic south on 590, onto Empire Blvd. to Bay, then north on Bay Rd. back to Rt.104 east.  It will probably be a really good idea to avoid Empire Blvd. entirely this weekend and try to get around via Browncroft/Atlantic  or Blossom Road. Even these routes will probably be busy, so plan ahead.

Going westbound over the bridge won’t be much easier; that will also be reduced to two lanes during the same period.

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As I was driving through the village recently, I noticed with some sadness that Barker’s Dozen Gourmet Dog Treats has closed up its North Avenue shop. The little bakery only opened up a year ago April.  I always thought it was a clever idea and knew a lot of people who were big fans (including 499 of them who “like” the Facebook page).  But perhaps store owner Gabriella Martinez … ummm … bit off more than she could chew when she tried to move her home-based business to a storefront.

On her Facebook page, Gabriella does explain to her fans that, “We are just switching it back to an online storefront so I can focus more of my time on Pup Culture.”  This, apparently, is a digital magazine about dogs, “focused on furthering our human-dog relationship.”  Check out the Pup Culture website here.

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You may have seen a mention in my blog a little while ago that a local “cash mob” was in the works. In a cash mob, a large group of people gather at a local business at a specified time and spend money — generally around $10-$20 —  giving that business an economic jolt. What a great way to support small businesses.

Well, the details have been finalized. The very first Webster cash mob will take this coming Tuesday September 11, from 5-7 pm at Yesterday’s Muse Books on Main Street in the village.  To participate, just show up and buy some books! Afterwards, the mob will be meeting across the street at Hatter’s Pub (another local business worth supporting) for a post-mob celebration.

The Webster Cash Mob folks plan to pick a new local business each month to mob. So this is just the beginning. You can follow the group’s Facebook page to stay updated.

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You might also consider stopping by Veteran’s Park after the mob, where the Village will hold its annual 9/11 Memorial Service, beginning at 7 pm.  The gathering pays tribute to the thousands of fire fighters, policemen, EMT’s, and airline personnel, and private citizens who were killed in the line of duty on that awful day.

Last year’s ceremony was very moving and very meaningful. Definitely worth taking the time to attend.

 

 

Scenes around town

17 Aug

OK, I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but I was planning to post this blog more than a week ago before I left on vacation. But I was sitting on it while I awaited more information. Then when it finally arrived I totally wrote a whole new blog with it and forgot about this one.

I just came across it again. So consider this a bonus blog.

* * *

The following photo and caption were submitted by my friend Kelly Mutschler, who’s a little proud of what her daughter Maggie and her volleyball teammates are doing for the community.

Members of the Webster Schroeder Volleyball team spent time a few weeks ago volunteering with the American Cancer Society. The girls assembled kits for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, which will  be distributed to the attendees of the kickoff breakfasts in Rochester and Waterloo this month.  Jessica Shatzel, a fundraising coach for this event, said,

It was my pleasure to work with the Webster Schroeder Girls Volleyball team who came to volunteer at the American Cancer Society’s Lakes Office in Rochester. The girls were here from 9 am until 1 pm and in that short time were able to assemble about 800 team leader kits for our upcoming Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Kickoff Breakfast. This was no small task as folders needed to be stuffed, tee shirts folded and ribbons tied, but they kept a positive and hardworking attitude throughout, an excellent representation of both the school and the athletic department. I am so grateful for all of their help! Without volunteers like these girls, events like this would not be possible.

Front row: Ciara Lutz, Cailyn Hart, Deanna Callerame and Jane Vanvessem. Back row: Cassie Campbell, Maggie Mutschler and Courtney Miller.

These are the same ladies who are holding the mattress fundraiser tomorrow which I mentioned in my Thursday blog.  Click here for more information and for a $50 coupon.

This next photo is one I snapped a few weeks ago at Barry’s Old School Irish, where I was was having a gabfest with my friend and colleague Carol Klem. While our meeting was going on, at the next table over, several of the ladies from the Webster Museum’s Historic properties Committee were also meeting.  They were starting to plan out which local homes would be recognized this year for their historic significance.

Webster owes this committee a debt of gratitude for regularly reminding us that our town has a very rich and exciting history.

And speaking of Barry’s Old School Irish, the little pub/bakery on Webster’s Four Corners will host a second Fiddle Workshop tomorrow from 3-4 pm.

The free workshop will be led by Barry’s Crossing fiddle-meister Sean Rosenberry. It’s designed for advanced beginners and intermediate players, but fiddlers of all ages and skill levels are welcome, and participants are invited to bring other traditional Irish instruments as well.  Spectators are encouraged. Following the workshop, Sarah and Sean of Barry’s Crossing will perform a short fiddle set.

While family and friends watch, young fiddlers perform the tune they just learned at the first Fiddle Workshop in June.

For more information about the workshop, visit the Barry’s Crossing website and choose the “Shows” tab.

Barry’s Old School Irish is located at 2 West Main Street, smack dab in the middle of the Village of Webster. There is no charge for the workshop.

 

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