Lots accomplished at Friends of Webster Trails’ first workday

24 Apr

If you’ve lived in Webster for any length of time, chances are you’ve heard about, or perhaps even hiked, our town’s beautiful trails. The system’s almost two dozen trails already stretch from the farthest corner of northwest Webster, south to 104 and east to Phillips Rd., and more are being created every year.

We have the Friends of Webster Trails to thank for this outstanding trail system. These hard-working volunteers put in thousands of hours every summer and fall planning, creating and maintaining the trails, clearing brush and invasive plants, laying gravel, building bridges and boardwalks, and more.

Every month, many of the group’s volunteers gather for a workday, spending several hours doing what needs to be done to make sure the trails are ready for hiking. The first workday of the 2023 season happened last Saturday April 15, and attracted 25 hard-working volunteers. I got this report from FWT’s communications chair John Boettcher:

There were three projects in the mix. One involved ditching along the Hojack Trail at Hard Rd. to improve drainage. This was moderately successful and very difficult. The other two projects involved pickup of trash along the Hojack Trail from Sexton Park east to Philips Road and the Hickory Bark Trail near the Webster Library. We schedule this early in the season before the vegetation can hide the trash.

Several hundred pounds of plastic, paper, and cardboard along with tires and pallet debris were collected. In addition to the Hickory Bark Trail, the area around the library was cleaned of debris and energy level remained so high that the troops even took care of the Western border of Hickory Bark woods along Hard Road between the library parking lot and the expressway feeder. Lots done!

A huge thank-you to all of the volunteers who joined the effort that day to keep our local trails looking beautiful.

If you ever find yourself enjoying our wonderful trail system, consider joining the Friends of Webster Trails. Check out the Friends of Webster Trails website, then consider dropping $10 for a single membership or $15 for a family. Your donation will go a long way to helping these fine folks help US enjoy our town’s natural beauty for years to come. (Or better yet, sign up to join a workday!)

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(posted 4/24/2023)

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The Caring Community Concerts are back!

23 Apr

The Caring Community Concert series at the United Church of Christ (570 Klem Rd.) is back, and this summer’s lineup is a great one.

These concerts benefit local nonprofit organizations through free-will donations. The first one, scheduled for Wed. July 12, will feature Allegro, and proceeds will benefit the Webster Hope Food Pantry. (See the flier below for the whole schedule.)

There’s no admission, but each week the church collects a free-will offering benefiting that week’s chosen non-profit organization.

The UCC has been sponsoring these concerts for almost 20 years now, and through free-will offerings have raised tons of money for local non-profit organizations. People are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets and a picnic if they wish. There’s also a concession stand selling soda, hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork, and a weekly “special.”

The concerts all begin at 6:30 p.m., and food concessions begin at 6. The concerts are held on the United Church of Christ front lawn, at 570 Klem Rd. (In case of rain it’s moved indoors.) So put these concerts on your calendar now and plan to enjoy some great music for a good cause.

For more information about the concerts, click here.

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(posted 4/28/2023)

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I’m going to miss Carl’s Pizza

22 Apr

After five years serving great pizza and Italian cuisine from the heart of the Village of Webster, Carl’s Pizza Kitchen is closing up shop at the end of the month.

Like many others, I learned the sad news from an announcement owner Carl Prinzing put on Facebook, which read,

It is with a heavy heart that we announce our permanent closing at the end of business Sunday April 30th 2023. It has been our honor to serve this community for the past 5 years! Due to the rising food and labor costs, combined with the decrease in annual revenue and staff shortage, there just aren’t any alternatives. From our family to yours we thank you for your business and we will miss you all.

The current state of the economy has dealt a lethal blow to many small businesses, but I’m particularly sad to see Carl’s go. Of all the pizza places in town, I’ve always liked theirs the best.

Carl told me he has no plans to open a new restaurant, but he does want to keep working in the food business somehow. For the immediate future, though, he said he’s just looking forward to landing somewhere he can make a steady paycheck, and be able to go home at the end of the day.

Thank you Carl’s Pizza Kitchen for being a valued village business for so long, and best of luck in the future.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram (@missyblog)

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(posted 4/22/2023)

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Thanks to all who made today’s scavenger hunt a success

22 Apr

Just a quick blog today to say THANK YOU to all of the families who came to Finn Park this morning to participate in the Family Scavenger Hunt co-sponsored by the Webster Health & Education Network, the Webster Recreation Center and the Friends of Webster Trails.

Several dozen families took advantage of some beautiful weather to have a little fun exploring the Finn Park trails. Thanks to the recent rainy weather, there were several wet and muddy spots, but that didn’t deter the 58 young participants, ages 2 through 11, from taking the half-mile or mile-long hike. (I might have encouraged most of them to splash in the mud as they went along.) The kids could choose one of three increasingly difficult scavenger hunts, each asking them to search for different natural elements along the path, like birds, moss and flowers.

The kids all returned from their quest with smiles on their faces and a real sense of accomplishment. And probably the best part of all is that the scavenger hunt raised $280 to benefit the Friends of Webster Trails, which will be put to good use improving the already terrific trail system we have in Webster.

I was particularly impressed with one family, who came armed with litter pick-up tools, and took it upon themselves to fill half a garbage bag with trash from along the trail.

Also many thanks to Julie Schillaci at Webster Parks and Recreation, Anna Taylor from the Friends of Webster Trails, and Emily Pettit for all their help pulling this event together.

Arrows marked the scavenger hunt path.
Four-year old Lincoln Cline and his parents picked up trash along the way!
Anna Taylor, Friends of Webster Trails president, joined me at the registration tables.

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(posted 4/22/2023)

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Mini-art gallery pops up on West Main

21 Apr

You never know what neat new thing you’ll find when you walk through the Village of Webster. On Friday, the neat new thing I came across was a pop-up art gallery and sale in the former Heart to Heart Bridal storefront at the village’s four corners.

The gallery features the work of 91-year old Brighton artist Natalie Schwartz, whose large, colorful canvases fill the walls in the now-empty storefront. The show is being hosted by the owners of Mod4U, the little antique shop on North Ave., just around the corner from the sale.

The works of art themselves don’t often see the light of day; normally they’re all being stored in Natalie’s small living space at St. John’s senior living community. And that’s a shame, because they’re pretty awesome. Each one, it seems, reflects a different medium and subject matter, an eclectic mix that reflects Natalie’s diverse artistic tastes.

In a biography posted on the wall next to one of her paintings, Natalie wrote that she was “born … with a pencil in my hand.” Her love of all forms of artistic expression began when she was very young. As a child, she studied ballet and piano, took painting lessons at the Memorial Art Gallery, and as an adult discovered modern dance, which she continued even into her eighties.

For a while, she worked as a fashion illustrator for McCurdy and B. Forman Co., and eventually went back to RIT to complete a BFA and MFA in painting and printmaking.

Basically, Natalie Schwartz is a life-long learner whose enthusiasm for art is now on display for everyone to see.

For the next two days, anyway. The gallery will be open on Saturday and Sunday April 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, before all of the unsold paintings get squeezed back into Natalie’s apartment. So make sure to check out the gallery today.

Here’s some of what you’ll see (click on the photo for an expanded view).

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(posted 4/21/2023)

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Host families needed for teen-age diplomats

20 Apr

The 2022/2023 school year is still far from over, but at least one organization is already looking forward to September.

The Association for Teen-age Diplomats (ATAD) is looking for Webster families to host high school-aged exchange students for the next school year. Now is the time to sign up, because students need plenty of time to get their visas.

ATAD was created after World War II by a group of Kodak employees. They wanted to come up with some way to foster world peace and thought that if the world’s young people got to know each other, there would be less war. They started bringing exchange students to Rochester in the 1950s.

Most years, ATAD will host five to ten students hailing from France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Peru, Poland, Spain and Turkey. Six are expected this year, four from Spain and two others from Italy. You can click here to see mini bios for all the students.

Becoming a host family is easy, and really requires very little more than providing room, board and love. The visiting student doesn’t even need a private bedroom or any spending money.

You can find answers to many questions on the ATAD website, but here’s some helpful info:

  • students bring their own spending money and have their own insurance
  • families generally include the visiting student on family trips, and the students sometimes have their own money to pay for it
  • ATAD hosts a few social gatherings during the school year so host families can meet other families
  • each student has a program chair assigned to manage any problems — large or small — which come up. The ATAD volunteer network is ready to step in and help with any issues that arise.
  • host families do not have to have any other children
  • all visiting students know English well
  • families are not provided a stipend for hosting a student
  • students do not pay room and board

For more information, visit the ATAD website or email Suzanne Isgrigg, Vice President for Host Families, at froggymom@aol.com.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram (@missyblog)

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(posted 4/20/2023)

Finger Lakes Tour de Cure will return to Webster on June 10

19 Apr

The 2023 Tour de Cure: Finger Lakes, the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) premier cycling event, is returning to Webster on June 10.

This huge event draws cyclists from all over the area, riding courses ranging from 12 to 100 miles, which begin and end at one of the Xerox parking lots off of Chiyoda Drive (across from the Rec Center). It’s the ADA’s largest fundraising event of the year,

And you want to talk about a party atmosphere? The day of the ride, that lot is filled with tents and music and fire trucks and food trucks, thousands of bikes and people. Webster can be very proud to be hosting this, one of the biggest Tours in the whole country. And it’s extremely well organized.

Thanks in large part to the event’s signature sponsor, West Herr, Tour Day will feature two live bands, food trucks and a kids’ zone. So basically this is a fantastic event for the whole family.

The COVID pandemic punched a big hole in participation, but Rochester riders are coming back in force. Last year 800 adults and children participated, raising more than $600,000 to help end diabetes. Organizers are expecting about the same in 2023, welcoming riders from Syracuse and Buffalo as well as Rochester.

But they need our help. Organizers are looking for cyclists to participate. Routes are available for all ages and abilities. You can find out more and sign up here. Many volunteers are also needed to help the event run smoothly. Click here for more information about that.

For at least a couple of years, Rochester’s Tour de Cure was the biggest Tour in the country. Unfortunately, that distinction was recently taken from us by Napa Valley, but if we all pull together this year, we’ll get to #1 again.

Here’s a little more information about the diabetes epidemic:

More than 37 million Americans have diagnosed diabetes, including more than 1.7 million in NYS alone. An additional 456,000 people in New York have diabetes but don’t know it. More than 5 million people in New York who have prediabetes, with blood glucose levels higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

People with diabetes have medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those who do not have diabetes. Total direct medical expenses for diagnosed diabetes in New York were estimated at $15.1 billion in 2017, with an additional $6.1 billion spent on indirect costs from lost productivity due to diabetes.

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(posted 4/19/2023)

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Two family-friendly events this Saturday

18 Apr

The Webster Health & Education Network (WHEN) is sponsoring two events this Saturday April 22 which both benefit family health.

The first is the Spring Drug Take-Back Day, your opportunity to safely dispose of your unused medications.

Wegmans is hosting the drug take-back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their 900 Holt Road location, as well as many of their other stores. This event gives community members the opportunity to remove potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs from their homes. The service is free and anonymous. Only pills and patches will be accepted – no liquids, needles, or sharps.

No appointment is necessary. Look for a drop-off location in the parking lot. Registration is not required, but it will allow WHEN to email you a reminder in advance of the event. Click here to register.

I label this as a family-friendly event because of frightening statistics like these from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:

  • nearly one in four teens reports taking a prescription drug not prescribed to them by a doctor at least once in their lives
  • almost half of teens say it is easy to gety prescription drugs from a parent’s medicine cabinet
  • teens are abusing everything from pain medications to stimulants, sedatives and tranquilizers

We need to do what we can to keep dangerous medications out of our children’s hands.

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On a lighter note …

Also on Saturday April 22, join your kids and friends for a fun and healthy Family Scavenger Hunt.

This easy hike/scavenger hunt will take place at Liberty Lodge/Finn Park on Maple Drive from 10 a.m. to noon. Different hunts will be available for three three skill levels, ages 2 through 12. The event will take place rain or shine, so dress for the weather, and make sure to wear boots if it’s been wet. It would also be helpful if you could bring your own clipboard and pencil.

The Family Scavenger Hunt costs $5, and registrations are being taken through the Webster Recreation Center. PLEASE register ahead of time so we know how many kids to expect. Payment can be made when you arrive at the park. Click here to register.

Proceeds will benefit the Friends of Webster Trails.

The Webster Health and Education Network was established in 1995 and is a recognized leader in the advocacy and promotion of healthy, substance-free behaviors and lifestyles in the Webster community. WHEN has always worked closely with the Webster Central School District, town, and community resources to support drug education and awareness initiatives. 

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(posted 4/18/2023)

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Community block party will celebrate three new businesses

17 Apr

Three new (and new-ish) businesses of Webster’s North 43: The Shops on Main Street are hosting a first-ever “North 43 Block Party” and ribbon-cutting on Thursday April 20 beginning at 5:00 p.m.

M/Body, Lumos Sauna and curated. are next-door neighbors in North 43’s lower level, 44 East Main, adjacent to the Village Bakery. Lumos is brand new to the development, M/Body opened last November, and curated. will celebrate its first anniversary in June.  

The event will begin with a ribbon-cutting and remarks from business owners and local officials. The party proper will begin around 5:30 with the Classic Taps Mobile Bar, a Pub 235 food truck, a DJ, live music, food tastings, plenty of activities for kids and families, face painting and giveaways. All of the North 43 businesses will also offer special shopping hours and activities throughout the evening.

The block party will also be joined by North 43’s other businesses, the Village Bakery, jojo Bistro and Wine Bar, Lala of Webster, R Salon and Spa, and Roc Dance.

The event is free and open to the public. 

Here’s a little more information about each of the new businesses:

  • M/Body is an inclusive and energized fitness studio that unites wellness seekers, builds  spirit and helps achieve goals by offering the best and diverse fitness classes including  cycle, barre, boxing, yoga, Pilates, HIIT, strength training as well as personal training  and health coaching. Click here to read the blog I posted about M/Body.
  • Lumos is a family-owned and operated infrared sauna studio founded in 2019 by Rachel Bantelman-Evans with the support of her husband Jordan Evans. Lumos features full-spectrum infrared saunas with both chromotherapy and dedicated red light  therapy throughout its six locations across Central and Western New York.  
  • curated. is a home specialty store, where owner Justin Brown believes that home decor should seamlessly combine vintage with new; that wares should be stylish but always functional; and that design can be sophisticated without sacrificing comfort. The shop’s unique collection includes decor pieces, furniture, kitchen and dining wares, lighting, pillows, artwork and gifts. Click here for the blog I wrote.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram (@missyblog)

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(posted 4/17/2023)

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Another successful Community Arts Day in the books

15 Apr

The gorgeous spring weather Saturday didn’t keep many hundreds of adults and children from checking out this year’s Community Arts Day, held at Webster Schroeder High School.

The annual showcase of our students’ artistic talents filled the Schroeder hallways, chorus room and auditorium with cultural arts, fine art displays and musical entertainment. Each one of Webster’s elementary and secondary schools, including St. Rita, was represented by displays of artwork of all kinds from collages to sculptures, jewelry work to pen-and-ink drawings. The variety was remarkable and the talent on display downright amazing.

Demonstrations and performances were held throughout the day, including a very well-attended performance by this year’s extra-special guest, the Garth Fagan Dance School.

I was only able to spend about 90 minutes wandering the halls this year, so I missed a lot of the dancers and musicians. But I still managed to take almost a hundred photos of the artwork, kids’ activities, a few performances, and many of the community group displays. I’ve posted a sampling here, but click here to see a much larger gallery.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram (@missyblog)

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(posted 4/15/2023)

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