I know that yesterday’s blog about The Music Store closing hit some people hard. So perhaps this might soften the blow a bit:
Just across the street from The Music Store, Village HandWorks will finally open on Saturday Aug. 28 at 10 a.m.
This brand new shop, at 19 East Main St., will feature original hand-crafted goods, and supplies for weaving, knitting, sewing, and other handicrafts. Owner Jenn Ratcliffe will also be offering classes for anyone wanting to learn a new craft or practice their skills. A large comfy counch at the back of the shop will also welcome crafters who just want to sit and stitch and share their projects.
Even if you’re not a crafter yourself, how about poping in and saying hi to the Village’s newest small business owner, and welcome her to the Village family.
Village HandWorks is located at 19 East Main, right next door to the Village Quilt Shoppe.
While you’re out and about on Saturday, be sure to stop by the Webster Public Library for the Friends’ final Summer Pop Up Book Sale.
Weather permitting, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Friends will have tables in the library parking lot filled with all kinds of books for the entire family. This will be a Bring Your Own Bag Sale — fill your bag with gently used books for just $3, or two bags for $5. (Cash or check only please.) They REALLY need to get rid of these books to make room for more, so bring several bags!
BLOG UPDATE! Because the weather looks a little iffy on Saturday, the book sale has been moved inside the library. So do not worry if it’s a little rainy … the sale WILL GO ON!
The Friends of the Public Library would like to thank the community for their amazing support over this past summer. All funds raised from the sale will support library initiatives.
The Music Store is located at 18 East Main St., Webster
After 32 years anchoring the Village of Webster’s East Main Street business scene, The Music Store is closing.
Owner John Bucci announced the news on his Facebook page last weekend. Every day since, he’s been fielding comments and customers who are surprised and saddened by the news. But everyone can take some consolation from the fact that neither Covid nor slow sales has driven John’s decision. Instead, he said, “It’s time, just plain and simple.”
“It’s hard to do retail all these years,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it, thinking of an exit plan, which means I was halfway out the door anyway.”
“I’m going out on my terms.”
John doesn’t know yet what life has in store for him next, but he definitely wants to move on from the day-to-day grind of retail. One thing he’s especially looking forward to is being “excited about playing my instruments again.”
The enjoyment part gets burned out from the business part. I’m looking forward to wanting to pick up my instruments again. To go downstairs and an hour and a half goes by, practicing, playing for enjoyment, getting my chops back im looking forward to that inspiration again.
I’m surrounded by (music) every day, 12 hours a day, so to continue to go home and play for two hours is just an extension of the job. That’s not enjoyable.
He does know that he won’t be selling the business; it would be too difficult to find someone to buy into all the inventory and long hours. That means everything has to go, and he’s already started marking prices down. Students who need to rent an instrument for school will find some especially good deals.
“All those rental instruments have to go,” John said, and he has a lot of them. Parents will be able to pick one up for less than what they would have paid for a year-long rental.
Like the long-time customers who are stopping by to pay their respects, John has fond memories from his history in the village. Like when the village held its first White Christmas celebration many years ago.
“We had a huge snowstorm…I built a snowman out front, I used a guitar speaker for a hat. That seems like it happened last year.”
When pressed about how it feels to have been such an integral part of the Village business scene for so long, John was at a loss for words. On his Facebook page, however, customers and friends are having no problem expressing exactly what his store has meant for Webster:
“John is hands down one of the nicest and honest people I have ever dealt with. He and his store will be greatly missed.”
“John, you have put your heart and soul into the Music Store. You have touched so many people with your passion for music.”
“You met all of our kids’ musical needs from preschool through senior year.”
“The store has been a musical cornerstone of mine for the better part of 30 years.”
“John has been great to work with and I will treasure the guitars I bought there as well as his friendly support.”
But perhaps this comment sums it up best:
“This is one of the only cool places left in the area.”
Thank you for being such an integral part of the Village of Webster family for so long, John. We will miss you , but we all wish you the best in the next chapter of your life.
The Music Store is located at 18 E. Main St. in the Village of Webster. Stop by, say hi to John and get some great deals.
The St. Rita Fiesta is back! It’s a bit smaller and later in the summer than in previous years, but definitely still packed with a lot of free family fun and great entertainment.
The 66th annual Fiesta is scheduled for Saturday Aug. 28 from 3 to 8 p.m. on the church grounds, 1008 Maple Dr. in West Webster.
The event will feature a nice variety of carnival games with prizes, a 9-hole miniature golf course, four food trucks, and live music. You can take a chance on winning $5,000 ($25 a ticket, and only 600 are being sold!) or win one of more than 20 gorgeous gift baskets.
Basically, it’s going to be an outstanding afternoon filled with family fun. Plan on heading on over and letting those folks know that we’re happy to see the Fiesta again.
Several weeks ago I devoted an entire blog to the beautiful gardens crafted by Maria Blanco all around her home at the corner of Phillips and Ridge Rd.
It struck me recently that Maria’s gardens, while spectacular, are not the only ones I admire on my daily walks. One of my regular walking routes takes me into the village, up North Ave. to the bike path, to Phillips, back into the village, and through neighborhood streets home. And all along the way, Rose of Sharon bushes, bursts of flowers and flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans and whimsical signs cheer me and help quicken my step.
Yesterday, however, I slowed my step long enough to take photos of many of the gardens I see along the way. Perhaps yours is among them. If so, thank you for all your hard work and for brightening my mornings.
Danny and Jessica Barry — owners of Barry’s Old School Irish in the Village of Webster and two of my favorit-est people ever — have been working for months with a dedicated team of volunteers, pulling together a thousand little details in preparation for this second-annual event (if you don’t count last Covid year).
Organizing an Irish Festival was a dream of theirs since Danny and Jess opened their little pub 10 years ago. Just before their first festival in 2019, Jess told me (and I’m sure the sentiment hasn’t changed):
This has been a goal/dream of ours … having a fun-filled day celebrating our proud Irish heritage. A day where families can bond, kids can learn about Irish culture in an interactive setting, where friends can gather, where everyone can come away with new friends and make great memories together.
“Our most important goal,” she added, “is to take the warmth and love of our little Irish Pub on 2 West Main Street and bring it to our farm/our home for the day.”
Barry’s Old School Irish Festival 2021 is scheduled for Saturday Aug. 28 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., on the Barry family farm out in Hilton, 2668 Brick Schoolhouse Rd., which they call the “Barry Patch.” Highlights include arts and crafts vendors, food and beer trucks, and live music all day long.
True to its family-friendly nature, there will also be a great kids’ area, with farm animals, something which Jess is really looking forward to.
Click here for lots more details, but on Saturday you can expect:
entertainment from Kevin Reynolds, Himself, Dave North, Everheart, Celtic Cross, 1916 and a live Irish jam session
dancers from the Jamieson School of Irish Dance and the Young School of Irish Dance
food trucks and ice cream
an Irish beer truck, bottled beers and wine
kids’ activities
lawn games
Irish whiskey samples
giveaways and other specials
Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 at the gate (children 15 and under are free). Presale tickets can be purchased at the pub, 2 West Main Street in the Village of Webster. You can also purchase tickets online here. (Use the promo code “pints” for a special discount!)
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Webster Volunteer Fire Dept. and the future Rochester Irish Community Center.
Summer in the Village of Webster is really ending on a high note.
Tonight, Friday Aug. 20, the Gazebo Concert series continues with a performance by Grammy-nominated smooth jazz artist Jimmie Highsmith Jr. and his band.
The concert begins at 7 p.m., and audience members are encouraged to bring their chairs, blankets, and coolers for two hours of fine music. There’s no charge.
Saturday afternoon Aug. 21, the Village Wine Walks return. These are always very popular events, where participants stroll through the village, stopping at several businesses along the way and sampling a nice variety of wines. This year’s event should be even better attended as it begins in the afternoon for the first time. Partticipants can pick up their wine glasses and begin their mini-wine tour at Finn’s Automotive, 45 East Main Street, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Webster Special Police.
Looking forward to next week, Movies in the Park return on Tuesday Aug. 24, with a showing of Honey I Shrunk the Kids Gazebo Park. The movie will begin around 8:15.
All of these events are brought to you by the Webster BID. Visit their website for more details about all of these and sign up for the BID newsletter so you’ll stay informed about all upcoming events. (Like the Jazz Fest in September!)
The primary reason for today’s mailbag is to remind everyone about a great new music event that’s happening this weekend. It’s called the Webster Jam on the Bay and it’s sponsored by the Damascus Shriners, those fine folks who host the huge Cruise Nights every summer.
The ticketed event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday Aug. 20 and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday August 21, at the Damascus Shrine Center, 979 Bay Road in Webster.
In addition to the five bands, food and beverages will be available for purchase.
Advance-sale tickets for Friday night are only $10 ($15 at the gate). Tickets for Saturday cost $45 in advance ($50 at the gate). But you can also get a two-day pass for just $45. Proceeds raised will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children, an international hospital system devoted to transforming the lives of children through expert care and research.
Click here to get more information, see the whole schedule in detail, and order tickets.
This next event isn’t happening until Sept. 18, but it’s going to be so much fun for the entire family, I wanted to let you know about it ASAP.
I should actually be more specific. It’s going to be so much MUDDY, WET, SLIPPERY, LAUGHING, MESSY fun for the entire family.
It’s the first-ever Family Mud Run, obstacle course and fitness trail, sponsored by the Webster Recreation Center and Wegmans. The flyer with all the information is to the left, but basically, we’re talking a non-competitive, untimed, half-mile slog through water and mud, with some challenging obstacles. It’s only $5 per person, and there’ll be giveaways and snacks afterwards.
Can you imagine how delighted your kids will be if you tell them, “Hey guess what? Why don’t we all go down to the rec center, run through some mud puddles, and get super dirty…just for fun?!?!” Bonus points when they find out you’re going to do it with them.
You’ll want to register ahead of time, and choose a time slot between 10 a.m and noon. Register for program #301202 on the Parks and Rec website.
Make sure to get this one on your calendar. And of course, it doesn’t matter if it’s raining. ‘Cause you’re running through MUD anyway!
If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to knit or crochet, or improve your skills, check out the weekly Sit & Stitch gathering, Mondays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the library.
Bring your yarn and needles or hook, your knitting, crocheting, tattiong, needlepoint, lap quilting — whatever you’re working on — and the Sit & Stitch ladies will patiently answer all your questions, help you gain confidence and learn new skills.
All ages and skill levels are welcome. You don’t even have to register. Just show up! The library is located at the back of Webster Plaza, 980 Ridge Rd.
If you think you know the Webster Museum, read on, because you haven’t seen the new and IMPROVED Webster Museum.
This Saturday Aug. 21, the museum is opening its doors to the public again after a long hiatus thanks to the pandemic. And boy, is it looking spiffy, both inside and out.
The first things that will greet visitors on Saturday are two gorgeous gardens that flank the front door. Volunteers worked for weeks weeding the overgrown and unsightly gardens, prepping the beds, then choosing and planting a beautiful variety of shrubs, annuals and perennials in anticipation of this week’s grand opening.
The spiffiness continues inside, where display cases have been refurbished, walls have been painted, and exhibit spaces have been re-imagined. Many of the tried-and-true exhibits, especially those representing Webster’s basket-making and apple industries, have remained pretty much the same. But several other exhibits have been updated or changed out, and new ones are being planned highlighting Webster’s bakeries, dairies and gas stations.
Webster Museum president Tom Pellett reports there have also been other, less evident changes. “The museum is also “revamping our attack … to be more educational,” he said.
“We (older folks) are getting to be the only people who actually went into the old stores in the exhibits,” he explained. “There are a lot of people who arrived late, like in the 70s, that have no idea what some of the older areas were like here.” Plans include adding audio-visual components to help support that mission.
The museum kicked off its grand re-opening with a special members-only event last Sunday introducing the current exhibit, honoring the life and works of Webster artist Ward Mann. In a half-hour presentation, Ward’s son Craig — who flew up from North Carolina — and former art teacher Dick Kane detailed Mann’s early life, career as a Xerox engineer, and how he ultimately discovered his true passion: art.
Mann was a talented, versatile and well-known artist who lived and worked and painted in Webster from 1961-2005 and also had a studio in the artist colony at Rocky Neck, Massachusettes.
A team of 20 volunteers worked for months conducting research, coordinating with the Mann family, gathering the materials and compiling the exhibit. The result is an impressive presentation which includes 21 original Ward Mann canvases displayed throughout the museum, original sketchbooks, biographical information and a slideshow of many more pieces from Mann’s collection. The pieces on display represent all of Mann’s chosen media: sketches, watercolor, oil and pallet knife.
At the event, Pellett noted that it’s been 17 months since “the door slammed shut” back in March 2020. It was an unfortunate situation, but he added that being closed for so long “allowed us to do some things not normally done because of visitors.” Still, he added, “It’s so good to be back.”
Ironically, when the museum closed those many months ago, staffers were readying a brand new exhibit which would have introduced the community to a famous and highly respected local artist: Ward Mann.
“The public never saw it,” Pellett said. The downtime, however, clearly helped museum staff members build an even more in-depth and meaningful exhibit.
The Webster Museum will welcome the public back on Saturday, Aug. 21 from 2 to 4:30 p.m., then again on Saturday Aug. 28. Regular museum hours will resume in September, when the museum will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The Ward Mann exhibit will be here for just six weeks, so don’t miss it.
The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. Admission is free, but donations are always welcome.
Below are two of the paintings in the Ward Mann exhibit, and a slideshow of some of the other museum exhibits and gardens.
These two paintings are on display along with 19 other original works, memorabilia and hundreds of slide-show images of works not on display. Ward himself donated MINUTEMAN to the Webster Museum in 1977. Ward’s sons Craig and Kim donated ROCHESTER JUNCTION at the installation of the exhibit.
I make it a habit to stop at every lemonade stand I encounter when I’m walking or biking, or even driving. I like encouraging young entrepreneurs, and adding to the thrill they get from earning a few dollars. If you feel the same, then you’re going to enjoy hearing about this very special lemonade stand.
It was set up at the corner of South Ave. and Park Ave. in the Village of Webster, at the home of Doug and Patty Pucci.
It was no ordinary lemonade stand, however. Not only was it about the most official-looking stand you’ll ever see — complete with an American flag, pinwheel, umbrella for shade and an “open/closed” sign — it also raised almost $500 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Nixie-Blu and a thirsty customer
The proprietor was 6-year old Nixie-Blu Howes, who was in town this summer with her mother, visiting her grandparents. Like any kid, Nixie-Blu loves the idea of making money, even though she said, “I don’t know what I want to spend it on.” But it was also her idea to donate half of her lemonade stand proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in part because her aunt works there.
Just setting up shop in a highly visible location wasn’t enough, however. Nixie-Blu also made her own signs and posted them on trees throughout the neighborhood, pointing patrons to the stand.
Nixie-Blu first set up her lemonade concession when she was visiting in April. You may have noticed the stand and advertisements back then, and perhaps you even stopped by. This summer, however, she was really able to up her sales game when her grandpa Doug surprised her with the fancy new wooden stand.
The lemonade concession was open pretty much every day for the few weeks that Nixie-Blu and her mother were visiting. Business was steady; the stand attracted walkers and motorists nearly nonstop, paying what they wanted for their cup of lemonade. Nixie-Blu never set a price, instead asking her patrons to donate any amount they want to give. If they didn’t happen to have any money, she’d even give you some for free
Because kindness always begets kidness. And that’s the sweetest deal there is.
It’s so great to see life returning back to normal, bit by bit. One of the more recent signs of that is the return of Webster Village Band to the Harmony Park bandshell in a concert scheduled for Thursday Aug. 26.
The Webster Village Band is one of those hidden gems in our community. I mean, the performances are free, and they’re held in a park where you can stretch out a blanket or set up some chairs and enjoy the music while sipping some wine and juice boxes. And the music is superb.
Normally there are several concerts every summer, held on Thursday nights. But because of … well, you know … things have been on hold for a while. But next Thursday Aug. 26, beginning at 7 p.m. the band is back, with a beautiful performance that will remind us of how much we missed them. And did I mention it’s FREE?
In the event of rain, the concert will be held at Cherry Ridge Senior Center, 900 Cherry Ridge Blvd. in Webster (across from Webster Schroeder High School).
Here’s a little bit of Village Band history, if you’re interested:
In 1967, at the behest of Village Councilmember Gerry Barrett, the Webster Village Board agreed to create the Webster Village Band as a Village entity and asked Stan Maruszak to lead it. In the following years, Sue Siegmund began to assist Stan in Music Direction as the Associate Director and Marcia Naukam assisted in Band Administration.
When Stan passed away in late 2004, a group of band members worked together to continue the operation of the band and establish a band management relationship with the Village Board. Currently, the band has about 60 members and is led by conductor Tom Indiano and associate conductor Sue Siegmund. In 2017 the band celebrated its 50th anniversary.
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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