I’m very excited about the news that came across my email box a few days ago: the Village of Webster is thinking seriously about putting together a country music festival.
I think this is a great idea. I mean, the Webster Jazz Fest has been a tremendous success every year, so why not dip into another musical genre, and a very popular one at that?
The event is being organized by the fine business owners who comprise the Webster Business Improvement District (BID). Plans are in their very early stages, but BID chair Elena Bernardi was able to tell me that they’re picturing an event similar to the Jazz Fest, but on a smaller scale, perhaps featuring three or four bands. It would probably be scheduled for sometime late summer.
Right now the organizing committee is looking for interested business owners and community members who’d like to be part of the planning process. They need ideas and definitely could use some sponsors to help get the new festival up and running.
If you’d like to add your two cents and help plan this exciting new village festival, email the Webster BID at info@websterbid.com.
One of Webster’s most valued organizations, Webster Comfort Care Home, located at the corner of Holt Rd. and Klem Rd., is marking a significant anniversary this week: 20 years serving the comfort needs of those in their final weeks of life.
A lot of people have heard about Webster Comfort Care Home, but fewer realize the incredibly positive service the volunteers and staff members there offer the residents and their families. Providing round-the-clock care for a terminally ill family member can be very difficult and stressful, especially while grieving. The dedicated and compassionate staff members and volunteers at Webster Comfort Care Home work to completely remove that burden, upholding the dignity and ease the suffering of its residents while supporting their loved ones in a warm, home-like atmosphere.
It’s a service that most people don’t think about until they find themselves, or a family member, in need. Now, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Webster Comfort Care hopes that lots more community members will take the opportunity to get to know them better.
It was September of 2000 when a group of friends gathered around the kitchen table at the home of Dave and Kathy Whitlock. They’d come together to discuss the possibility of creating a comfort care home in Webster, a place which helps ease the transition of the final journey for residents, their families and loved ones, by providing symptom control, pain relief and quality of life.
Pulling off a project of that magnitude was an ambitious undertaking. It would require finding a house, creating a board of directors, hiring a director, recruiting volunteers, and navigating a mountain of paperwork.
By the end of the evening, however, driven by the rallying cry of “What do we have to lose?”, Webster Comfort Care Home was born, and this month the home is celebrating its 20th anniversary of serving the Webster community.
The idea to build a comfort care home in Webster originated with a similar facility, Pines of Peace in Ontario. Shortly after he retired, Dave Whitlock started volunteering at the Wayne County-based comfort care home. After a few months, the director pulled him aside, and told him that while she appreciated his commitment to volunteering, perhaps his time might be better spent starting another home in Webster. She explained that she often had to turn away Webster residents because of her need to prioritize Wayne County applications.
So Dave recruited his fellow Pines of Peace volunteers Kathy Fulton and Noelle Schabel, their husbands, and his own wife Kathy, and on that September evening in 2000, created the first Advisory Board and got the wheels moving.
After establishing the project as a 501(c)(3), the first order of business was to start fundraising. The organizers started knocking on doors, holding public meetings, reaching out to churches and community agencies for donations. No one turned them down, and before long they had raised about $35,000. Still, that was far short of the estimated $100,000 it would take to purchase a house and make the needed renovations.
That’s when Norm Gerber, a local home builder, stepped in. As former president of the Rochester Home Builders’ Association, he went to his group and asked each member to donate one day’s worth of labor to build a house. He also asked them all to contact their suppliers and get all of the materials donated. Even the building parcel at the corner of Klem and Holt roads was cheap; part of it was donated by builder John Schantz, and the rest by a member of the Klem family who asked only that they pay the back taxes.
On Sept. 18, 2002, ground was broken for the Webster Comfort Care Home. Less than five months later, on Feb. 3, 2003, the first resident was admitted.
From the very beginning, turning the dream of a Webster comfort care home into a reality was a true community effort.
A huge poster hanging on one of the office walls at the facility lists more than 200 community agencies, businesses and individuals who helped build the home. It includes builders, restaurants and bars; there’s a nursery, a nail salon and a pizzeria. Their contributions ranged from small monetary donations to manual labor and entire pallets of building materials. The United Methodist Church of Webster held a “house shower” for the new home just before the doors opened, providing much-needed kitchen, pantry and bedding supplies. Two other women worked together to make curtains, some of which are still hanging in the kitchen today.
What the community created was not so much a facility, but a home much like any other, with two resident rooms, a spare bedroom, a kitchen, dining room, living room and a big garage. A place where family members and their loved ones feel welcome, supported, and comfortable during those last difficult days and weeks.
And believe it or not, it’s a happy place.
Even though patients and their families come to Webster Comfort Care Home at a terribly difficult time in their lives, being able to hand off the burden of care to a compassionate team of doctors, nurses and volunteers is a huge relief.
“They realize how tired they were or how (the) lines were blurring,” WCC Director Julianne Groff said, adding,
It’s normal to become bitter or angry. We do a lot of validating here. It’s ok to cry, it’s ok to not cry. It’s ok to feel a little resentment, it’s ok to be angry that your loved one is sick. The volunteers here do amazing things with families, too. Just listening, comforting, validating, allowing people to be where they are.
The staff members are certainly known to cry, too, but it’s really not as distressing an environment as you might think.
Bill Fulton explained, “One of the things that you hear when you say you volunteer is “Oh, that’s got to be a depressing place. But everybody who’s ever volunteered will counter that by saying we laugh more than we cry.”
Julianne agreed.
There’s much more laughter here than there are tears. Because it’s not about dying as much as it is about living whatever time you have left. To try to make each day count however they want it to count. Whether they want to sleep all day and be left alone, if they want to come out and do a jigsaw puzzle, they want to watch Price is Right, or they just want someone to sit with them, whatever it is. Whatever they want that day to look like.
In the last 20 years, Webster Comfort Care Home has served 433 residents, and the facility continues to rely on community support to stay up and running. Funding comes entirely from donations, which cover overhead costs and keep their pantries stocked. Residents and their families are never asked for payment. There are lots of ways to help, including donating supplies or attending one of the annual fundraising events like the annual Duck Derby (coming up May 20), the Webster Masonic Lodge spaghetti dinner (May 5), or the United Church of Christ summer concert (July). And of course they can always use more volunteers. You can read more about these opportunities and see an entire wish list at webstercomfortcare.org.
Congratulations on your anniversary, Webster Comfort Care Home. I think I speak for the entire Webster community when I say we hope you enjoy many more.
* * *
More about Webster Comfort Care Home (from the website):
The Webster Comfort Care Home management team is a group of citizens who believe in the dignity and value of every person, and who care about our community. United in our desire to provide hospice-based care, our role is a privileged one. We believe in individualized care to accommodate the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of the home’s residents. We also wish to embrace each resident’s family and friends with love and support that would continue throughout the grieving process. Partnering with local hospice agencies, we provide complete and comprehensive around-the-clock care.
Read more about the facility and how you can help at webstercomfortcare.org, or by calling (585) 872-5290
The Village of Webster’s Fall in Love With Webster month-long community celebration has begun! All month, residents and visitors will enjoy merchant discounts and special events, all embracing the theme of love.
The goal is to promote a fun way to unify the village residents and business owners. But it’s also all about helping community members get to know our village a little better, find out more about our many fine businesses, and encourage everyone to get more involved in all of the activities found here.
Here’s what’s coming up this week. Check back next weekend to see what’s scheduled for week 3. And for a whole list of the month’s events, visit the Fall in Love With Webster Facebook page.
Kick off your Fall in Love With Webster experience this week by stopping by the Village Hall, 28 West Main, to reach into their “Random Acts of Kindness” jar and select a slip of paper suggesting a random act of kindness you can do this week. And while you’re there, check out information about the wide variety of services the Village Hall offers.
Come into Yesterday’s Muse bookshop anytime this month and choose a mystery book — wrapped in brown paper — for just $5. Each has a description on the front hinting at what the book is about. All you have to do is find your perfect match, unrap the book and enjoy your blind date! This was a hugely popular Fall in Love With Webster event last year.
A monthly club for you to use those scraps making small projects. The projects are from the book Little Handfulls of Scraps by Edita Sitar. The instructor is Debbie Lester.
Perplexed by paper piecing? Join this beginner class! You’ll learn foundation paper piecing with this low-pressure project, designed specifically for The Village Quilt Shop. The instructor will provide the foundations in the class kit, included with your class fee. You bring your sewing supplies, and we’ll have a positively pleasant time paper piecing. You’ll leave with a finished block that you can finish as a potholder on your own. The instructor is Jane Beamish.
Join singer/songwriter Marty Roberts, along with percussionist/conga player Donny, at Cobblestone on Main restaurant for a few hours of music from this dynamic duo. Cobblestone on Main is located at 109 West Main Street.
Do you have a project that you are stuck on, or one you’ve never started because the pattern is written in gibberish? Or, do you just need some help? Then Technical Thursday is for you. Michelle has the ability to decipher just about any pattern she’s come across. If the project that you need assistance with is not a pattern the shop sells please bring it in a week ahead of time to give Michelle time to review. Class size will be limited to four students to allow individual instruction. Instructor is Michelle Coon.
Serenity Life Creative Arts Therapy is “Falling in Love” with their new location AND excited to offer a class called Love Yourself Art Reflection. You’ll work with an art therapist to create a piece of art signifying self-love, at their new location, the Dean House at 93 West Main St.
More details about all these events and what’s coming up the rest of the month at the Fall in Love With Webster Facebook page. Make sure to “like” the page to get regular updates, because new events are being added every day.
After 13 years anchoring the northwest corner of the Village of Webster’s four-corners downtown business district, Heart to Heart Bride is preparing to move to a much larger building.
The beautiful bridal shop will be relocating into the former Rochester Linoleum storefront at 1170 Ridge Rd. With 13,000 square feet of floor space, the new location will be more than four times the size of her current shop, allowing for additional inventory (including mothers’ dresses), larger and reconfigured fitting rooms, a large private fitting room, and more.
Owner Sarah Ashworth says that she hopes to have all of the renovations completed and be ready to open by April 1. Stay tuned for more details about the move and opening date.
What’s going on at Empire Lanes?
If you’ve wondered about all the activity happening at Empire Lanes lately, I have your answer, courtesy Barry Howard, President of the Webster Chamber of Commerce. He wrote,
Bowlero Corporation operates Bowlmor Lanes, a chain of bowling centers. Bowlero acquired all the AMF bowling centers in 2013, essentially saving them (AMF) from bankruptcy. My latest information is that they are remodeling the Empire Blvd location and rebranding the AMF name to the Bowlmor name.
Ruff Day Resort is on the move
Ruff Day Resort, the dog boarding and daycare business at 1999 Empire Blvd. will be expanding this spring to a much larger facility on Gravel Rd.
Owner Amy Holtz wrote that the decision to expand was driven largely by the fact they’ve been at capacity for overnight stays, training and daycare. Their new location at 1085 Gravel Rd. will double the outdoor space they now have. They’ll also be adding turf which “will be fabulous during the mud season.”
Three new training rooms will accommodate larger classes and private lessons during the day, evenings and weekends. Luxury boarding suites will be available, plus lots of fun spaces for the smaller pups who want to play separate from the big dogs.
Amy hopes to be able to open the new location by May 1, provided all construction goes as planned. Stay tuned for more information as the move is finalized.
Serenity Life has expanded in the village
Serenity Life Creative Arts Therapy, which for a year and a half has operated out of a cozy little house at 98 North Ave., has just opened a second office, dedicated to providing services for young children.
The new offices are located in the historic cobblestone Dean House at 93 West Main St. in the Village of Webster. Since the beginning, Serenity Life has served patients of all ages, beginning even at 2 years old, with counseling and creative arts therapies. But in the time they’ve been open, owner Mattye McKibben says she and her staff members have noticed there’s a lot of need to support younger children — which they affectionately call their “littles” — but there are limited options.
So they’ve renovated the new location specifically to serve patients ages 10 and under, especially focusing on providing art and play therapy. Adults and teenagers will still be seen at the original North Ave. location.
The Village of Webster’s second annual Fall in Love With Webster month-long community celebration begins Wednesday, Feb. 1, featuring four weeks of merchant discounts and special events, all embracing the theme of love.
Almost three dozen business owners are participating, offering discounts or hosting special events all month, with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Village Hall has even gotten into the act, lighting up the gazebo at North Ave. and 104 with red twinkly lights.
The idea is to promote a fun way to unify village residents and business owners. But it’s also all about helping community members get to know our village a little better, find out more about our many fine businesses, and encourage everyone to get more involved in all of the activities found here.
Here’s what’s coming up this week. Check back this weekend to see what’s scheduled for week 2, and get ready to Fall in Love With Webster!
Kick off your Fall in Love With Webster experience this week by stopping by the Village Hall, 28 West Main, to reach into their “Random Acts of Kindness” jar and select a slip of paper suggesting a random act of kindness you can do this week. And while you’re there, check out information about the wide variety of services the Village Hall offers.
SEWcial Day is the perfect day to come hang out with your friends. Bring your sewing projects and use this time to get caught up without home distractions. Snacks will be available. Sign up is required due to limited space. Vanetta and Monique will be available for help and encouragement.
Knight Patrol is rocking The Coach Sports Bar on Saturday, February 4 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Performing all of your favorite 80’s high energy rock hits including Journey, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Bryan Adams, Van Halen, Bon Jovi and many more. Visit The Coach website or call 585-872-2910 for more information.
More details about all these events and what’s coming up the rest of the month at the Fall in Love With Webster Facebook page. Make sure to “like” the page to get regular updates, because new events are being added every day.
Despite the fact that we really haven’t had much in the way of winter, we’re definitely not anywhere near spring yet. But planning has already begun for a very busy spring and summer in the Village of Webster.
At their most recent meeting, members of the Webster Business Improvement District (BID) started sketching out the long list of special events our local merchants are planning this year. The BID is the organization, remember, that sponsors the very popular Trick or Treat Trail, Winter Wonderland, Friday Night Gazebo Concerts,Wine Walks and others. Those events are definitely returning this year, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Just about every month this summer, beginning in April, the BID has scheduled at least one entertaining, family-friendly event, and sometimes two or three or more.
Things kick off around Easter with the return of the very popular Easter Egg Hunt. More than 500 kids and their parents participated in last year’s first-ever event, which was successful in part because of the incredible support from local businesses. (Click here to read the blog I wrote about it.)
Later in the spring and summer, these events will also be returning (although dates have still not been finalized):
Friday night concerts at the gazebo
Two Wine Walks
Webster Jazz Fest
Two Family Games Nights
Beer Walk
Bourbon Bash
Trick or Treat Trail
Webster’s Winter Wonderland
There was even some talk about perhaps adding a scarecrow contest to the mix. And who knows what other events the BID might pull out of their sleeves in the coming week.
And make sure not to forget about the month-long Fall in Love With Webster event, which will kick off on Feb. 1. I’ll be providing lots more details about this soon, so stay tuned.
I absolutely love Mexican food. So I’m probably more excited than most that not one, but two Mexican eateries have recently opened in our area.
I haven’t had the chance yet to stop by Corona’s Mexican Restaurant on Ridge Rd., but a little while ago I did visit the new Don Pedro Cantina and talk to the owner, Mauricio Hernandez.
Don Pedro Cantina opened last November in BayTowne Plaza (which technically is in Penfield, to be accurate), in the former location of WhichCraft Brews. I know for a fact (’cause I heard it from my daughter, for one), a lot of people were saddened when WhichCraft closed. But from what I saw during my visit, those same people will probably like Don Pedro just as much, for a lot of reasons.
This is actually the second Don Pedro in Rochester. The first, now closed, was downtown on East Ave. That Don Pedro, however, was first and foremost a restaurant, whereas this new location is most definitely a sports bar. It’s a smaller, more intimate space than the 10,000-foot East Ave. restaurant, making it more amenable for friends to gather for a few beers and some wings and to watch the game. It boasts 11 large-screen TVs and a huge 40′ by 30′ screen at one end of the room. It’s the largest one I’ve seen pretty much anywhere.
Anyone who liked the food-truck-on-the-serving-floor concept that WhichCraft had will be pleased to know that Mauricio has embraced the idea and will continue to serve his Mexican-inspired menu from the food truck. However, instead of having to walk up to the truck and wait for your meal, a wait staff will take your order and bring the food to your table.
The menu offers a wide variety of Mexican specialties from tacos to burritos, quesadillas to fajitas. And for those who might not be a huge fan of Mexican, there are burgers, wings and nachos.
There are 16 beers on tap, and plenty more canned and bottled selections in the cooler. Plus, for anyone who misses WhichCraft’s craft brews, here’s some exciting news: very soon, Don Pedro will become the first Mexican brewery in Upstate NY and begin rolling out their own craft brews, so stay tuned for more news about that. Trivia fans will also be pleased to know that Mauricio is hoping to start hosting weekly trivia, like WhichCraft did, maybe some karaoke and regular live music.
Mauricio named the business after his father, Don Pedro, and is drawing from his memories of going to a sports bar with his father to personalize the experience.
“My father and I used to go and watch the games. At halftime … the owner would send out a lot of tacos and chips for free. I’m trying to do the same. I’m trying to get to where I can give something back. I think it’s always nice (for fans) when they come and you drop something for free. You feel like they’re taking care of you.”
That “giving something back” is a big part of Mauricio’s business plan. He’s committed to giving back to the community and helping other small businesses and organizations.
“I try to help as much as I can in the community. My thing is helping out anybody who’s local, who’s maybe not involved in the restaurant world.”
“For example let’s say someone has a local gym. … If they want to buy new machines for the gym, it’s coming out of their pocket because they’re not part of a chain. So we work with them to do a fundraiser … We cut them a nice check so they can invest it in their own business. … I can give back to them and we all can help each other.”
That also goes for sports teams, he added.
“I can be doing some fundraisers for them so they can get some money for whatever they need. … They can spread the word, come in and I’ll do the rest of it. Anybody that wants to make an event so they can make money, my doors are completely open. We work with anybody.”
“We try to give back a little to society from here.”
Welcome to the Webster/Penfield community, Don Pedro Cantina. Clearly you’re going to be a huge community supporter. (And serve incredible Mexican food, to boot.)
Leading today’s mailbag is the exciting news that Woof’s Canine Club and Indoor Dog Park will be hosting its grand opening celebration this Saturday Jan. 21 from 1 to 6 p.m.
Woofs Canine Club is located at 187 West Main Street, at the corner of Barrett Dr., in the former World Gym. Like all good dog parks, it’s BIG (5,000 sq. ft), has separate areas for large and small dogs, and lots of agility equipment. But it has the added benefit of actually being INSIDE, on artificial turf, out of the rain, snow and cold typical of our Upstate New York winters.
But unlike your average dog park, Woofs will also offer a social component for owners, including a cafe, pool table and dart board, and even a small workout area. Visit this blog I wrote back in November to learn more.
Pups and their people are welcome to visit anytime between 1 and 6 p.m. Leashes will be required for this one-time only open house walk-through, and canine vaccinations will be required to enter. Proof of vaccinations can be submitted to forms@woofscc.com. A full list of required vaccinations can be found at WoofsCC.com.
Regular hours of operation for off-leash playtime will begin Wednesday, January 25. Find out more at the Woofs Canine Club Facebook page and website.
Rochester Challenger Miracle Field hosts Valentine’s prom
Challenger Miracle Field‘s annual Valentine’s Day dance has been scheduled for Friday Feb. 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Webster Golf Club, 440 Salt Rd.
The Night to Shine Valentine’s Prom, open to Challenger participants, will include a DJ, dinner, dancing and a photo booth. Suggested donation at the door is $10. One chaperone per participant, please.
RSVP by Feb. 3 to secure a spot, and include the names of those who will be attending and any special diet requests. Email lindab@rochestermiraclefield.org.
Fall in Love With Webster returns
Do you remember last year’s Fall in Love With Webster event? The month-long community celebration, sponsored by the Webster Business Improvement District, featured daily discounts and special events at businesses all through the Village of Webster, all embracing the theme of love.
The goal was to promote a fun way to unify the village residents and business owners. But it was also all about helping community members get to know our village a little better, find out more about our many fine businesses, and encourage everyone to get more involved in all of the activities found here.
Basically, it encouraged people to … well, fall in love with Webster.
Last year’s Fall in Love with Webster event was so hugely popular, the BID will be doing it again, kicking off a month’s worth of special events and savings on Feb. 1. I’ll be posting weekly blogs here highlighting all of the fun things happening, but you can keep tabs on all the plans by “liking” the Fall in Love with Webster Facebook page, which will be regularly updated.
There are so many great causes and community agencies in our area that desperately need community support to continue doing the great things they do. For folks who really want to help out by making some kind of donation, sometimes it’s hard to sift through all the opportunities out there.
They’ve recently created what they’re calling a “Donation Station” right next to the circulation desk, with information about three local organizations, including a list of what they need, and a box for each where you can deposit your donations.
Currently, the Donation Station is collecting items for:
Bella’s Bumbas: packing material (bubble wrap, air pillows, packing paper) that Bella’s uses to ship their chairs to recipients around the world
Hope House: non-perishable foods, toiletry items, cleaning supplies, new underwear and socks for all ages, gently used clothing
The station is also collecting used cell phones, ink cartridges and eyeglasses.
If you’d like to ask the library to include your non-profit organization to be featured at their Donation Station, click here to fill out a form. Space will be considered on a case-by-case, first-come, first-served basis.
To learn more about the Webster Public Library’s new Donation Station, click here.
Even when there’s not much going on in the great wide Webster world for me to write about, I can always count on three of my most reliable sources — the Town of Webster, Webster Public Library and Webster Rec — to throw me some tidbits via their regular newsletters.
Daphne Geoca at the Webster Recreation Center sent along her monthly Webster 55+ newsletter, which is always packed with information about fitness programs, social opportunities, dining opportunities, entertainment and more, so many that I can’t list them all here. But they range from the Lunch Club, Senior Stretch and Balance Bootcamp to Decluttering Dynamics, Mindfulness and Bingo.
There were a few highlights, however, like the three-course Pasta Palooza dinner on Thursday Jan. 26 beginning at 4:30 (check out the flier for details); Pizza and a Movie on Friday Jan. 20 beginning at 12:30, featuring The Lake House, and a whole page full of Talks on Tuesdays including “The Science of Color” and a chance to meet Webster Supervisor Tom Flaherty. And don’t forget about the spaghetti dinner being hosted by the Masonic Temple this Friday Jan. 6, to benefit the Webster Association of Senior Program Supporters. (Check that flier, too.)
As always, there was a ton of great information in this week’s Webster This Week newsletter. Here are a few highlights:
You can sign up for a tour of the Town Highway Facility on Picture Parkway between Jan. 9 and March 3 to see the current facility conditions and learn about planned improvements. Visit the website here or call (585) 872-1443 to register for a half-hour tour.
Three nearby blood drives are coming up later this month. Click here to make an appointment:
Jan. 5, Xerox building 209 on Mitcheldean Drive from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 19, Immanuel Lutheran Church on West Main from 1 to 6 p.m.
Jan. 23, the American Legion on Ridge Rd. from 1 to 6 p.m.
The Red Cross is offering a great promoton this month, too. Anyone who donates in January will be entered into a contest for a chance to win a trip to this year’s Super Bowl. Click here for details.
The Women’s Club of Webster‘s January general meeting and luncheon takes place on Thursday Jan. 19 at Proietti’s Restaurant, 980 Ridge Rd. beginning at 11:15. Mark Dwyer from Foodlink will be speaking. Cost is $23. Register by Jan. 12 by sending a check to Carolyn Rittenhouse, 405 County Line Rd., Ontario 14519.
The Webster Public Library‘s January schedule is packed with all sorts of adult programs and family fun. Here are some highlights from their latest email:
You can pick up your very own Webster Public Library tote bag for just $10 on your next visit. They’re pretty good looking, especially if you like purple.
Learn about Argentina and Chile at a travelogue presentation on Tuesday Jan. 10 from 2 to 3 p.m. Your tour guide will be WPL Director Adam Traub himself. Registration is required.
Hear the story of Rochester’s 100-year old airport told by former Airport Director Rick Iekal. The program takes place Thursday Jan. 26 from 7 to 8 p.m. and registration is required.
Read with the Amerks on Monday Jan. 23 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., when an Amerks player will stop by the library for storytime, a brief hockey demonstration and an autograph session with the Moose. Every child who attends will get a free Amerks ticket. All ages are welcome and no registration is required.
Monday Jan. 30 is National Puzzle Exchange Day. This is a great opportunity to trade in your gently used puzzles for something new to you. It’s going on all day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
January’s make-and-take crafts include a marshmallow snowman for kids, snowflake paper lanterns for teens and a CD case desk calendar for adults. Materials are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The library will host a Preschool Open House on Monday, January 9 at 6:30 p.m. Representatives from preschools and nursery schools in the Webster area will be available to chat with parents and provide information about their programs. Registration is not required.
Visit the Webster Public Library website for even more crafty events, a preschool drive-in, World Read Aloud Day storytime, and more.
Congratulations to Webster Comfort Care for winning this year’s Festival of Trees competition at the Webster Museum. The beautifully decorated tree received more votes than any of the others scattered throughout the museum during the event. Thank you to everyone who voted and helped make the Webster Museum festive this year!
This press release actually came from the Webster CSD before Christmas. I LOVE this idea.
Throughout the school year, the lost and found items at each of the district’s schools pile up, despite the schools’ concerted efforts to return the items, including spreading them all out on tables at open houses. Some students in Cari Horn’s class at Willink Middle School had a great idea on how to put those items to good use.
The students and their teacher gathered the lost and found items from Willink and other schools. They washed, dried, folded, sorted and packed the items, and then donated them all to Webster NY Hope (formerly Hope House), a social ministry agency located on Ridge Rd. in Webster that provides clothing and other household items to Webster residents in need.
In all, the students were able to donate 36 copy paper boxes filled with lost and found items to Webster Hope. Plus, four bags and one box of items were handed over to a Willink retiree who brings the items to various places that service families in need.
The program was so successful this year that Horn is planning to repeat it.
“We had such a great time and are looking forward to doing it again in the spring.” she said.
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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