Lighting of the Lights in the village this evening

15 Dec

If you think of all the twinkly village decorations, and the White Christmas and Parade of Lights as a big Christmas gift to Webster, then tonight’s event is like a big bow on top.

Tonight is the annual Lighting of the Lights, from 4- 8 pm at Hanks Ice Cream and Taylor Rental on North Avenue.  The fun starts with a Chili for Charity Cook-off  from 4-6 pm. It’s not supposed to be bitterly cold, but  some nice hot chili will be very welcome nonetheless. Immediately after the cook-off, Santa and his elves will arrive.

Then, at 6:30 comes the spectacular Lighting of the Holiday Lights and fireworks. Plus, there will also be a raffle featuring dozens of prizes donated by local businesses.  Proceeds will benefit Webster Comfort Care and the Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association.

So make it a whole evening tonight. Bring the family down to the village, do a little shopping, sample a little chili, say hi to Santa, and enjoy the holiday, Webster-style.

 

Dear Santa: Please no mugs. Love, teacher.

13 Dec

It’s funny, but I can still remember how excited I got every year when it was time to buy a Christmas gift for my grade school teacher. I always took the task very seriously, and chose very carefully, knowing full well that my gift would be her favorite by far.  One year in particular stands out in my memory, because I had found the the most perfect gift ever: a plastic statue with the inscription “World’s Best Teacher.”

Of course, now that I am older and wiser, and three times a mother myself, I recognize how silly that gift was. I’m certain my teacher accepted it graciously and made me feel like it was, indeed, the best gift she had ever received … and then tossed it in the trash that night.

Because, let’s face it.  You can only have so many “#1 Teacher” nick-knacks, hand-made photo frames and “World’s Best Teacher” coffee mugs. (Frankly, most of the teachers I know would rather get a pint glass or wine glass, but that’s beside the point.)  And from a parent’s perspective, it’s kind of hard to figure out what a teacher would really want for Christmas, let alone convince a young child that a practical gift is a viable option.

Which is why I think the Teachers’ Christmas Wish List at Klem North Elementary is an inspired idea. The idea was hatched by the Klem North PTSA, and I found out about it from the Klem North Star blog.  Most of the items the teachers have included on their lists are things they need for their classrooms which they normally have to purchase themselves (you know how school budgets are these days). Many of the requests, therefore (like hand sanitizer and ziplock bags), might not be as much fun as a coffee mug, but will surely be a heck of a lot more useful.

Klem North families can check out the bulletin board in the cafeteria to see if their favorite teacher has posted a wish list, or you can click here to see the list online. But even if you’re not a Klem North family, you might want to look at the lists anyway, because they’re chock full of great gift ideas that teachers will really appreciate.

 

 

Willink singers will be on the radio Friday

12 Dec

The Willink Middle School “Simply Select” and “Stuck in the Middle” choruses, directed by Michael Roller and Tiffany Polino, will be the featured guest performers Friday morning on WBEE radio, 92.5 FM.

The choruses – comprised of about 55 students from grades 6 through 8 – will visit the WBEE studios Friday morning, where they’ll get a tour of the station and perform two holiday songs. Their performance will be aired live between 9:45 and 10 am, and recorded for later use during the holiday season.

Not only that…

While they’re in the studio, the kids will also perform and record their rendition of the National Anthem. They received a special invitation to do so after one of the station employees heard them perform it at an Amerks game last year, and thought it would be perfect for the station’s daily recognition of veterans and troops serving our country, which airs at noon. What an honor that is.

So tune in to WBEE 92.5 FM Friday between 9:45 and 10 am to hear the kids live, then listen for their performances to be aired regularly over the next few weeks. You can also listen live on your computer by visiting the WBEE website, but I had a hard time getting that to work.   (Hint: It seemed to work better on Internet Explorer than Mozilla, and I had to re-load it several times.)

On the lookout for nice Christmas light displays

11 Dec

Like most families, we have a whole pile of holiday traditions this time of year.  The barefoot snow walk which I posted a photo of a few weeks ago is one of them.  Decorating a tall, fat, fresh-cut tree every year with so many light strings, glass ornaments, childhood Christmas ornaments, garland and tinsel that it’s hard to see the branches; Christmas cookies; gingerbread houses.

But one tradition which fell by the wayside many years ago as the kids grew older was the annual drive through the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.  It’s not that the kids don’t still appreciate big Christmas light displays. When I was out a few nights ago with my son, for example, he made us take a detour past a particularly impressive house in Fairport.  It’s just that they don’t want to bother going out in search of them anymore.

Not me. I still like to troll the neighborhoods every year to see what’s new.  Thank goodness the obsession with those huge, tacky inflatables seems to have died down a bit, as homeowners rediscover the simple, sophisticated look of old-fashioned, colored bulbs.

So, kids or not, I’m going to take a drive out and about sometime later this week and snap some photos of Christmas lights. Do you know of any particularly nice displays I should check out?  Anything unusual or especially creative?  Let me know by commenting below, or send me at email at missyblog@gmail.com.

 

Last call for Oak Tree Award nominations

10 Dec

Do you know an awesome teacher? There’s still time to nominate outstanding educators for the 2013 Oak Tree Award.

The annual Oak Tree Award is sponsored by the Webster Teacher Association and Webster Central PTSA, and recognizes teacher excellence at both elementary and secondary levels. Any Webster Central School District resident or district employee (including teachers and administrators), student or parents may nominate teachers. Two winners are chosen every year.

Click here to see the nomination criteria and download a form.  But do it soon; nominations are due by this Friday, Dec. 14.

 

Santa at the Plaza

10 Dec

Santa was in town on Saturday, over at Towne Center Plaza. Apparently he made a visit to the Joe Obbie’s Farm Market, which I thought had folded its tents for the season. I wasn’t there, but my friend Any Weetman happened to be there with her daughters, and filed this report:

During the week I noted a small sign that said Santa would be in the gazebo at the Holt Rd Plaza on Saturday 11-3pm.  We needed to do some shopping on Saturday and figured we’d try to check it out.  As we pulled into the plaza, we noticed another sign about a farmer’s market and then saw tents set up near the gazebo.  As we neared JoAnne’s, our first stop, a horse drawn carriage passed us by with happy passengers waving and Santa himself!  It was a great start to our shopping trip.

Because Santa was not at his gazebo post at the moment, we shopped first.  When we came back to the parking lot, Santa was back near the gazebo.  We walked over and were greeted by lovely people offering us free cider and cookies and encouraged us to take a ride on the horse drawn carriage, also free.  Of course we saw Santa too.  We walked over to the gazebo with him and he sat upon his special chair.  My girls were not too sure about being close to Santa, but we had a nice chat and got a picture of him.

Finally, we walked over to the carriage and had a lovely ride around part of the plaza.  It was lovely to have a break from the shopping frenzy and enjoy time with my girls.

What a fun event that was, and such a nice surprise for anyone who needed to give their kids a break from shopping. Thanks again, Amy, for your fine reporting!

Amy Weetman with her daughters Kessa (2), and Sydney (8).

Thomas student follows his passion — despite his challenges

10 Dec

D&C photo by Jamie Germano

Today I was going to blog about something rather boring, but instead I’d like to draw your attention to a very nice article in the D&C this morning. It’s about former Webster Thomas High School student Mark Houppert. It’s on the front page of the sports section, or you can click here to read it.

Mark has been struggling with early-onset Parkinson’s disease since he was three years old, but that has not dampened his love of sports — basketball in particular. When I knew him at Thomas, he served as manager for the varsity basketball team. I was pleased to see this morning that as manager of the St. John Fisher basketball team, he is still following his passion.

Once again, you can read the whole story here, and also check out the nice sidebar about when Mark met his basketball hero, Kobe Bryant, back in 2010, courtesy of the Dream Factory.

email me at missyblog@gmail.com

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Aside

Village offices relocated — temporarily

10 Dec

If you need visit the Village Hall offices anytime in the next week, don’t be surprised if you find the front doors locked.

Apparently, when workers were recently yanking up some old carpeting for replacement, the tiles below it also started to come up. That would not normally be a problem, but the tiles contain asbestos.   So that meant testing the air quality (which is fine) and  collecting the proper permits from the state before hiring an asbestos abatement company to finish removing the tiles.

Naturally, all that will take some time. Village officials hope the offices will only be closed for a week, and when the doors open again, there will be some beautiful new carpet in place…and no asbestos tiles.

But in the meantime, you’ll find all your favorite Village Hall employees providing all the wonderful Village Hall services (including passports) in the Department of Public Works offices just around the back. Call them at 265-3770.

It’s CHRISTMAS TREE WEEKEND!

6 Dec

Ever since I’ve been a teenager, this has been one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. “This” being the weekend including — or closest to — the date of December 11.  That date has been near and dear to my heart for more than 40 years, because of one very special December 11 from my youth.

I think it was 1971, and at 13 years old, I was a cool-cat teenager, but still young enough to be very excited that Christmas was just around the corner.  It was an ordinary Saturday, nothing much going on, when out of the blue my mother came into the family room and asked a simple question, which I still remember clearly to this day:

“Do you want to go out and get our Christmas tree?”

I can still feel the pure joy I felt when I heard those words.  Strangely, I don’t remember actually getting the tree, putting it up or decorating it. I just remember that it felt like Christmas had finally, officially, begun.

I don’t think I’ve ever told my family that story, so they probably have no idea why I start getting itchy for a Christmas tree about this time of the month. But I’m sure I’m not the only one. With only three weekends to go before Christmas, the crowds will be thick at our local tree-sellers these next few days. Good thing we have several options very close by, most offering both pre-cut and cut-your own varieties:

* Bauman’s Farm Market, 1340 Five Mile Line Road (corner of Plank)
* Freckleton’s Tree Farm, 1651 Harris Road, Penfield
* Wilbert’s Christmas Tree Farm, 1321 Salt Road
* Kunz’s Tree Farm, 959 Five Mile Line Road (across from Lowes)
* Woody Acres, 1530 Harris Road, Penfield

And don’t forget about our faithful Boy Scouts. St. Rita Troop #163 is braving the cold again this year at their stand next to Bill Gray’s Restaurant on Hard Road (in the K-Mart/BJ’s plaza).  Their trees start at $40. They’re open 6:30-8:30 weekdays, 9-7 on Saturday and 10-5 Sunday.

Ironically, I won’t be joining you out there this weekend. I already have my tree. Do you remember the blog I wrote last week about the Festival of Trees at the Webster Museum and the raffle they were holding? At the end of that blog I encouraged everyone to go to the museum and enter the raffle, but added, “I’m going to win the Christmas tree. Just sayin’.”

I was only kidding. But I did. It’s a Bauman’s tree, and it’s beautiful, probably nicer than I could have picked out for myself.  So now go out this weekend and make yourself a memory.

Thursday Mailbag

5 Dec

The second of Webster’s three Fabulous Festive Fridays (I just made that up) is tomorrow, when the Village Band presents its annual Holiday Concert.  It’s the band’s annual holiday gift to the community, thanks for all the support they’ve received this year.

The concert begins at 2 pm at Webster Schroeder High School, 875 Ridge Road. There is no admission charge. Click here for more information and to see some photos from last year’s concert.

Looking ahead, next Friday the village continues to welcome the holiday season with the Lighting of the Lights from 4-8 pm, at Hank’s Ice Cream and Taylor Rental on North Avenue.  More details to come, but click here if you can’t wait.

* * *

The folks at Henderson Ford are partnering with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program, and challenging their staff, customers and the Webster community to help fill a 2013 Ford Escape with toys

New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off through December 10 at Henderson Ford, 810 Ridge Rd., Webster, or at any of the following participating locations:

A Different Point of View, 2920 Monroe Ave, Pittsford
Design Pool & Spa, 7244 Palmyra Rd., Fairport
Dixon Schwabl, 1595 Moseley Road, Victor
Edge Advertising Group, 6 North Main St. Suite 220, Fairport
JNCS, 1387 Fairport Rd Suite 900J, Fairport
Omero’s Clothes, call 585-392-2939 to schedule a drop off

* * *

On Sunday December 16, Music at Immanuel will present A Service of Lessons and Carols beginning at 7 pm.  The event is free and open to the public.

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church is located at 131 West Main Street in the Village of Webster, at the corner of Daniel Drive. Parking is available behind the church accessed from Daniel Drive. More information at http://www.immanuelwebster.org or through the church office 585-872-5180 ext. 12.

* * *

This note is from Plank North Elementary, which is hosting its Share the Season night tomorrow night.  The email I received about it yesterday said there are so many kids in the Plank North chorus now that they can’t all safely squeeze onto the stage for their annual performance.  So instead, they’re planning a family sing-along. “Ms. King will play piano,” the email said, “accompanied by a special guest mandolin player.”

It made me giggle. The “special guest mandolin player” is my son Sean, Plank North Class of 2001.

* * *

Finally, the school district has sent out notice about their Emergency Preparedness Early Release Drill, which they do every year to test the district’s plan for early dismissal of students. (I never have understood how letting students go 15 minutes early tests that plan, but hey.)  I seem to recall that in previous years they’ve done this on the day before Thanksgiving Break. This year, it’s happening on Friday December 21, officially kicking everyone out of school for Christmas Break.

All Webster schools will dismiss early that day.  Here are the times:

Schroeder and Thomas High Schools: 2:10
Spry Middle School: 2:15
Willink Middle School: 2:25
Klem North and Plank South: 3:05
Dewitt, State, Plank North, Schlegel and Klem South: 3:15

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