On Friday, April 22, the Town of Webster will officially rename North Ponds Park to the Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park, in honor of the former director of Webster Parks and Recreation.
Sexton was hired in 1962 as Webster’s first Recreation Director, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1996. He was also the first African American Recreation Director in New York State. He passed away in June 2021.
During his tenure, Sexton introduced the town’s first programs for senior citizens and launched the recreation department’s first summer youth camps. Many programs which began under his direction are still operating today. It is this legacy which led to the town’s decision to rename one of Webster’s best-known parks in his honor.
Current Webster Parks and Recreation Commissioner Chris Bilow said,
North Ponds Park is one of the most utilized parks in all of Webster. Whether it’s people walking, running, enjoying the water or attending one of the many events in the park, I am confident that Mr. Sexton envisioned this type of use when the park was being built. More importantly, Sexton loved North Ponds Park, a facility which he saw come together to be owned and managed by the Town of Webster. (from press release)
The official renaming ceremony will take place at North Ponds Park (soon to be known as the Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park) at 4 p.m. Friday, April 22. There will be brief remarks and a sign unveiling.
As soon as I saw the news that Community Arts Day is returning this coming weekend, I knew that life is finally getting back to normal. This year’s event is going to be especially sweet since it’s the first one we’ve had in three years.
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, which is marking its 45th 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 2019.)
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.
A whole schedule of events and map of exhibitors have already been posted to the Community Arts Day Facebook page. Check it out to keep tabs on the latest updates!
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!
A few days ago I received my Friends of Webster Trails digital newsletter, one of the perks I get as a member. And like always, it kept me captivated for an hour, reading all of the updates and newsy articles about our local trails, what the Friends are doing to maintain them, and their plans for future enhancements.
I read about the Friends’ plan to purchase a mower, but will then need a volunteer or two to run them (which would only be a commitment of three or four hours a month). I read about the very successful scavenger hunt the Friends organized in conjunction with the Webster Recreation Center at Gosnell Big Field which raised $600. I read news about all of the work the Friends have had to do to clean the trails after our recent windstorms, removing fallen trees, and sometimes even rerouting trails due to the damage.
I found out that there’s a trailhead now at the new State Rd. Nature Preserve, and there are plans to expand the John Ungar Nature Trail and add new trails at Four Mile Creek. And the newsletter provided lots of information about the future of open space in Webster and the Friends’ ReTree project.
I was especially pleased to see the report from Denise Bilsback, the membership chair. She wrote that there’s been a steady increase in memberships, and even a few outright donations, including more than $2,000 over the holiday season.
That news more than anything made me smile. The Friends of Webster Trails’ volunteers put in thousands of hours each summer planting, creating, maintaining and expanding our beautiful trail system. It’s a thankless job, and I don’t think they get nearly the attention they deserve. So I’m glad to hear that people are stepping up and showing their support.
Everybody who uses these trails should become a Friends of Webster Trails member and support their efforts. It only costs $10 per person, $15 for a family membership, for THE WHOLE YEAR.
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.)
One of our town’s most creative and fun FREE family events — the Great Rochester Peep Show — returns this weekend! For the last couple of years, the show was a shell of its former Peep self thanks to COVID, but it’s back big time for 2022.
If you’ve never heard about this really fun event, you’re going to want to keep reading, especially if you like eating those yellow (and now pink and purple and whatever other colors) marshmallow chicks and ducks.
I’ve never been a big fan of Peeps. I put them in the same category as those faux-orange circus peanuts. They squeak when you bite into them. But I LOVE the Peep Show. This is a two-day event at the Webster Recreation Center, where at least four entire rooms are filled with incredibly creative sculptures, dioramas, and various other works of art created with Peeps. It’s simply the cutest thing ever. (Click here for a small photo gallery from 2019.)
This year’s show is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday April 2 and 3 at the Webster Recreation Center on Chiyoda Drive (right off of Phillips). In addition to the Peeps, several entertainers and community groups will be performing.
This is a must-see family event, folks, and it’s all free. Click here to find out more about the Greater Rochester Peep Show.
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.”
Webster Public Library patrons have just a few more days to get to the library and check out the arrangement of mini quilts hung up in the artist’s corner.
The 60 “Webster Wee” quilts look like a colorful mural, bringing the library wall alive with a huge variety of bright colors, intricate designs and styles. Each little quilt is 10″ by 10″, and handmade my members of the Webster Quilt Guild.
Best part is, you can purchase any one of the Wee Quilts for just $10. They make great gifts for cat lovers, gardeners, holidays, birthdays, kids, wall hangings, door decorations at senior centers or living facilities, and for any fabric-arts lovers. There even are a few for sports fans. They make great hot pads, mug mats or plant mats.
The Wee Quilts will be on display until the end of March, so get to the library soon! If you see one (or more) you’d like to buy, send a text to Jen Ulrich at 585-975-9240 with your name and the number of the Wee Quilt you’d would like to purchase. She’ll get in touch with you.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to purchase supplies for the Guild’s many donation initiatives.
These Webster Wees (and more) will also be on display and for sale at the Webster Quilt Guild 2022 Quilt Show on April 23 and 24 at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Road, Webster. More details to come about the Quilt Show in a future blog.
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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