Tag Archives: Missy Rosenberry

Webster community mailbag

14 Sep

I’m going to begin today’s mailbag with lots of stuff from the Webster Public Library. I haven’t blogged about them much recently, but it’s NOT because there’s nothing going on over there. Actually, there are so many new programs happening at the library, I’m just going to kind of list them, and you can get even more detail from the flyers posted below.

  • Thursday Sept. 15, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.: Classical Guitar Salon. Bring your guitar and meet other guitarists of all ages to socialize, share and perform. Registration is requested.
  • Saturday, Sept. 17, from 2 to 3 p.m.: a parenting program from Parent to Parent called Understanding OPWDD Support Services (Office for People with Developmental Disabilities). Especially for parents of children with developmental disabilities.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 20, from 2 to 3 p.m.: Practical Tips for Aging in Place, a discussion offering practical tips, strategies and home modifications to allow you — or your loved ones — to age in place. Registration is required.
  • Thursday Oct. 6 through Saturday Oct. 9, the Webster Public Library Fall Book Sale returns, with an incredible variety of books at more incredible prices. More to come about this, but check out the flyer below for more information.

Here are some follow-up reminders about some things I’ve already blogged in more detail about. If you’re interested in any of them, click through to the original blog.

  • The Webster Recreation Center has two family-friendly events this week. The first is a concert at the Arboretum on Thursday Sept. 15 at 6 p.m., featuring the wonderful folk/pop duo Doctor’s Orders. Bring chairs, a blanket (it’s getting cooler in the evenings) and a cooler if you want. There’s no admission fee.
  • On Saturday Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon, the Rec will hold its second annual Mud Run, a fun one-mile, non-competitive run through mud and obstacles. I’m definitely going to be there this year. Cost is $5/person for lots of laughs.
  • The Red Hot and Blue Band will hold a benefit concert at the village gazebo on Sunday Sept. 18, beginning at 3 p.m. There’s no admission fee, but free will donations will be taken at the concert, with all proceeds to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
  • Get your German on at the Challenger Miracle Field Oktoberfest, Friday and Saturday Sept. 16 and 17, Webster Firemen’s Field. The two-day event runs from noon to 10 p.m. each day and will have lots of great German bands and German food. Admission is $9, free for children 12 and under.

And finally, don’t forget about two big garage sales happening this weekend.

The Webster Hope, Inc. Garage Sale is going on today through Saturday Sept. 17 at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Rd. Webster. And the annual Webster Museum Barn Sale runs Thursday, Sept. 15 through Saturday Sept. 17 on Phillips Rd. Click here to read about this incredible sale, which is the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/14/2022)

Bonus gazebo concert this weekend will benefit St. Jude

12 Sep

Anyone who loves good music and good causes will want to hear about this weekend’s concert at the gazebo.

I’m calling it a “bonus” concert because it’s not one of the regular Friday-night gazebo concerts sponsored by the Webster BID, but a brand new event developed by the very popular Red Hot and Blue Band, featuring Village of Webster resident Doug Pucci.

Red Hot and Blue will be performing at the village gazebo on North Ave. on Sunday afternoon Sept. 18 at 3 p.m., to benefit St. Jude Childrens’ Hospital.

Pucci told me the band decided to host a St. Jude benefit concert for a couple of reasons. For starters, his daughter-in-law worked as a nurse for St. Jude for several years, and during that time the band grew close to the organization. But mostly, it’s just a terrific cause that everyone can get behind, especially this month, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The band’s Facebook page explained,

Thanks to you donors like you, no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.

Admission is free; donations in any amount will be taken during the show. The band will also have t-shirts and stickers for sale, with all profits going straight to St. Jude. If you can’t make the show, you can also made donations directly by clicking here and then the “Find Tickets” button.

So grab your chairs, blankets and coolers, and enjoy some sweet, late-summer music by the Red Hot and Blue Band this Sunday. (Remember, the Bills aren’t playing until Monday. You’ll need something to do.)

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/12/2022)

The Rec Center brings you music and mud this week

11 Sep

The Webster Parks and Recreation Center has got a couple of fun and entertaining events coming up this week.

The first is the Rec Center’s next Music in the Park concert at the gazebo at the Arboretum, 1700 Schlegel Rd. This week’s concert will be presented by Doctor’s Orders, featuring my good friends Dave and Patty Wyble.

Doctor’s Orders is an acoustic folk and pop duo playing a variety of songs from the Beatles to John Prine, and pretty much everything in between. They’re a delightful duo which everyone will enjoy.

The concert will be held Thursday Sept. 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Arboretum. It’s free and open to the public. Bring a chair or a blanket, fill a cooler with dinner and drinks, and enjoy a pleasant evening of music.

Click here to find out more about Doctor’s Orders.


Then, don’t forget that this Saturday Sept. 17 is the second annual Webster Recreation Center Mud Run.

The Mud Run is a a non-competitive, untimed, one-mile run/walk along the Recreation Center’s obstacle course/fitness trail which loops around the back of the facility. Some of the run will be through water and mud, and there will be some challenging obstacles. What’s really neat about it is that kids and their adults can do it together. It’s only $5 per person, and the organizers promise that there’ll be swag, fun and food.

Click here to register. You can sign up for any 15-minute wave between 10 a.m. and noon. The Webster Recreation Center is located at 1350 Chiyoda Drive, off of Phillips Rd.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/11/2022)

A new business is moving into the village: My Roommates Closet

10 Sep

You know how sometimes you search the stores forever looking for that perfect outfit for your big night on the town, and you finally find it in your friend’s closet? That’s the thinking behind the Village of Webster’s newest shop, My Roommates Closet, opening in October at 19 East Main St.

The new clothing store, located in the former Village HandWorks storefront, is owned by 23-year old Nicole Iorio, a recent St. John Fisher graduate with a degree in business marketing. A self-described shopaholic, Nicole’s vision is to share her love of clothing and fashion with women of all ages, help them discover new and different styles to add to their closets and to find that “missing piece” they’ve been looking for.

Her plan is to offer a mixture of styles, from street wear to lounging-around clothes to going-out clothes, much like what you’d find in, well, your roommate’s closet. But more than anything else, Nicole wants the women who wear her clothes to feel confident and comfortable at all times.

At just 23 years old, this is Nicole’s first experience at opening a storefront, but not her first experience in running a successful business. She actually created My Roommates Closet a little over a year ago as an online store, which she’s also taken on the road to several flea markets. Even from the beginning of that venture, she knew she wanted to eventually combine her marketing degree with her love of fashion and open a brick-and-mortar shop. But no way did she expect it to happen so soon.

It was actually a haircut that put things into motion.

“I get my hair done right next door at Main Street Beauty Lounge,” Nicole remembered. “I was sitting there back in May, and I saw that 19 East Main St. opened up. I was thinking about moving my business into a store, but not this soon. I was going to wait a bit, but the place opened up and this area is so cute.”

“When I saw that location, I thought yeah, I think I want to do this.” So she got in touch with the landlord, took a look at the space, and just three months later had signed the lease.  

Nicole hopes to open her new shop sometime in October, but there’s still a lot to do. Newly-painted ceiling tiles have to be reinstalled, lights have to be swapped out, changing rooms built, walls painted and floors redone. She’s discovering that opening a new business is a complicated endeavor, involving a hundred little unforseen details from getting on Google to replacing outlet covers. And on top of all everything else, she’s taking a night class to complete her Master’s degree in Business Marketing.

Fortunately, she’s getting a lot of help and support from her family and friends. “I’m here for it,” she said. “I love it. I love the whole process, It’s very stressful, but I love it.”

My Roommates Closet is located at 19 East Main St. in the Village of Webster. It doesn’t look like much yet, but stay tuned for updates. In the meantime, you can check out the shop online. You’ll find My Roommates Closet here on the website, and also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/9/2022)

First week of school, retirement style

7 Sep

Anybody who knows me — even just a little bit — knows that I’m having a hard time retiring.

After leaving the school district in June 2021, I decided I would sub for one, maybe two days a week. That turned into three or four some weeks, pretty much all year long. It’s gotten so people don’t ask me how I’m keeping busy, but, “So how much are you going to work THIS year?”

So it should be no surprise that just two days into the new school year, I had to stop by to visit the two schools where I spent the last five years of my teaching assistant career, Plank North and Schlegel Rd. elementary schools. I told myself that I wanted to meet the new librarian at Plank North and the new library teaching assistant at Schlegel Rd.

But we all know the REAL reason I made those visits.

I really wanted to see all those smiling, happy little faces again, walking through the halls with that first-week-of-school bounce in their steps.

It was especialy touching to see many of those happy little faces wave excitedly and call out my name as they walked past. It really reminded me how much I loved being there.

But not putting my feet on the floor until 7:30 every morning? I gotta say … I love that more.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/7/2022)

Webster community mailbag

6 Sep

Get out your calendar, ’cause this mailbag is a packed one.

The annual Webster ROCKS Music Festival is back in town this weekend.

The festival is held to raise awareness for ALS in memory of Kacie Jones. Proceeds will benefit organizations that fight to change the standard of case and empower people with ALS. (Visit www.healingals.org or www.teamgleason.org for more information.)

The festival will be held on Saturday Sept. 10 at the Webster Firemen’s Field on Ridge Rd. There’ll be food trucks and plenty of liquid refreshment. Doors open at 2 p.m. and an incredible music line-up starts at 3 p.m., featuring State Line, Brass Taxi, Jumbo Shrimp, Judah and M80s. (Check the Facebook event page for more details about the schedule.)

Tickets are $20 in advance (available from the Coach Sports Bar, 19 W. Main in Webster) and at Eventbrite (but they charge fees, so stop by the Coach to save money). Cost is $25 the day of the festival. Admission is free for ages 12 and under.


The Village of Webster would like YOUR opinions on how the village can be improved.

The Webster Economic Development Alliance, in conjunction with the Webster Business Improvement District, is competing for a $4.5 million grant from the NY Forward community revitalization program. As part of the competition process, Webster must submit an application on how we intend to spend $4.5 million in our community.

So the coalition is asking for community input. They’ve put together a quick, 5-minute survey, hoping to gather thoughts about things like

• your vision for the downtown area
• where you’d like to see the money invested
• how projects should be prioritized

But if you’d like to present your ideas in person, stop in to the Main Street Revitalization Open House on Tuesday Sept. 13 in the Village Board Room, 29 South Ave. Representatives will be there from 6 to 8 p.m. to hear what you think!


Get your German on at the Challenger Miracle Field Oktoberfest, Friday and Saturday Sept. 16 and 17, also at Webster Firemen’s Field.

This two-day event will feature entertainment from the Auslanders, the Adlers Band, the Frankfurters, and yodeler Richard Brandt, who comes straight from Germany. Swan’s Market and Helmut’s Strudel of WNY will be serving up some authentic German food, along with Nancy’s Fried Dough and beer and wine from Cobblestone on Main.

The event will run from noon to 10 p.m. each day. Admission is $9, free for children 12 and under. Proceeds will benefit Challenger Miracle Field of Greater Rochester.


The next St. Martin Lutheran Church’s Drive Thru Chicken BBQ will be held Saturday, Sept. 17 beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the church, 813 Bay Road, Webster.

Dinners of a half chicken, salt potatoes, coleslaw, roll, and butter are available for $12.00 – cash or check only. The event is drive-through only, and there will be no advance sales.

Dinners will be served first come/first served. Cars will enter the parking lot, follow signs, and purchase dinners using exact payment. Cars will then proceed to the side entrance to pick up boxed dinners.

Proceeds will St. Martin’s Christmas Stocking Project reaching over 500 local youth in Monroe and Wayne counties.


Here’s a preview of a pile of Webster Rec programs that you and your family are going to love:

  • Saturday Sept. 17: Family Mud Run, from 10 a.m. to noon, a non-competitive run/walk through mud and obstacles, concluding with snacks and swag. Much fun guaranteed for all ages. Cost is $5 per person, which includes lunch. Registration is required. (Program #301202)
  • Saturday Oct. 29: The ever-popular Pumpkins on Parade returns from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Drop off a carved pumpkin and then come back to walk the trail of illuminated Jack-o-lanterns. Free cider and donuts at the end. No charge.
  • Friday Nov. 18: Pajama Party, from 6 to 8 p.m. Dress in your favorite jammies and come hang out for a night of games, music, dancing and more. Bring a blanket and a pillow and get ready for the weekend. No charge.
  • Saturday Dec. 10: An Evening with Santa, 6 to 8 p.m. Get your picture taken with Mr. Claus himself, enjoy a sweet treat and make a holiday craft. No charge.

More information to come about all of these family-friendly events.


Finally, this isn’t an event, but an FYI.

For a long time now, there’s been an pharmaceutical drop-box location at the Webster Police Department, a convenient place to dispose of unused or expired prescriptions, instead of flushing them down the drain.

The remote drop box was supported by CVS Pharmacies, but the conmpany has discontinued that support.

So as of Sept. 1, there’s no longer a drop box at the Police Department. However, the CVS store at 935 Ridge Rd. will have an in-store collection bin. So please, keep being good citizens and continue to dispose of your expired medications properly.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/6/2022)

Dancing With Denise’s “Happy Feet Dance Crew” spreads joy to nursing homes

30 Aug

Denise Baller of Dancing With Denise has found a charming way to introduce kids to the joy of dancing, while at the same time helping their community.

Denise calls the program “Happy Feet.” It originated several years ago when Denise’s mother, “Miss Tina,” was living at Atria assisted living facility in Penfield. Denise wanted to give the residents a fun and entertaining intergenerational activity, so one evening she invited some of her students to meet at the facility for a “date night” with the residents. The evening was a great success, and the Happy Feet Dance Crew was born.

Since that first outing, “Miss Denise” has taken her students out once a month to visit different local facilities and dance. At the end of the night, the children always share a sweet treat with the residents. In 2019, the Happy Feet Crew grew into an annual summer dance camp, with the students traveling to a different location every morning.

Some of the places the Dance Crew has visited include Webster Comfort Care, where they also spent some time weeding the gardens, and Creekstone Memory Care. They also took a tour of Heritage Christian Stables, where the children cleaned riding equipment, groomed the miniature horses and even cleaned the pasture.

Connecting with the community is Denise’s way of teaching her students how they, and their dancing, can spread love and joy, while learning valuable life lessons. She said,

It’s important to share with the children that life is not perfect and sometimes the jobs we undertake are not things that we love to do. But if you can push through and get to the other side, it makes your heart happy, you become a better person, and most importantly you spread love and joy to make others happy.

If you’d like to meet Denise, learn more about Dancing With Denise and try out a class, stop by her open house on Wednesday Aug. 31 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the studio, 1077 Gravel Rd. Click here for more information.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 8/30/2022)

News from the museum: huge sale and shipwreck program redux

29 Aug

Two big museum-sponsored events are coming up in the next several weeks you’ll want to know about.

The first is the museum’s annual Barn Sale, scheduled for Sept. 15-17 at — well, a barn — at 394 Phillips Rd. It’s a huge barn, but already there have been so many donations that organizers know they’ll definitely be spilling out onto the lawns surrounding the barn, plus the carriage house and two additional adjacent barns.

Among the thousands of items you’ll find are glassware, crafts, ceramics, lamps, dolls and jewelry, holiday wares, outdoor and garden care, books, music, electronics, paintings, toys and games, sports equipment, furniture, bikes and trikes, auto, tools and hardware and more all at very low price points.

The sale will run Thursday and Friday Sept. 15 and 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please bring your own shopping bags!!!! All proceeds will benefit the all-volunteer Webster Museum.

Donations are still being accepted, by the way. You can just drop them off at the barn anytime before Labor Day.


Next month, the museum and Webster Public Library will feature a fascinating program by shipwreck explorer Jim Kennard, hosted at the library.

Kennard will take everyone along his personal journey and his underwater explorations of Lake Ontario, sharing stories he’s gathered while researching and locating the most historically significant shipwrecks of our Great Lakes. These include the 1780 British warship HMS Ontario and the sloop Washington lost in 1803.

Kennard has also authored a book, Shipwrecks of Lake Ontario: A Journey of Discovery, which can be borrowed from the library. He’s been featured in local publications as well as National Geographic, national and local news stations, the Discovery Channel and most recently National Geographic’s “Drain the Oceans” series on the American Revolution.

Kennard will share stories gathered over those 50 years while researching and locating the most historically significant shipwrecks in our Great Lakes. These include the 1780 British warship HMS Ontario and the sloop Washington lost in 1803.

The program will be held Saturday Sept. 24 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Webster Public Library, 980 Ridge Rd.   Attendees must register for this event by calling the library at 585-872-7075 or by using the library’s program registration link here.

This program was originally scheduled for May at the Harmony House but had to be postponed.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 8/29/2022)

A perfect afternoon spent with friends on the trails

28 Aug

Every once in a while I’m reminded about how oustanding our local trail system is.

Sunday morning dawned so beautiful and cool, I thought it’d be a great day to go for a hike with my husband. And since it’s always more fun to hike with friends, I invited my friends Patty and Dave to join us. We met up at Whiting Rd. Nature Preserve.

For more than an hour, we explored several trails I’d never been on before, winding through grasslands and woodlands, across wooden bridges, up hills and down. We’d frequently stop to take a closer look at an unusual flower or plant, visit with a butterfly, or stare back at a deer who’d paused in the brush to stare at us. It was a delightful, peaceful afternoon filled with natural beauty and friendship.

Our experience was not unique. Thousands of people every year take advantage of our town’s beautiful trails. And there are plenty to choose from; almost four dozen distinct trails stretch from Rt. 104 north to the lake, and from Vosburg Rd. east to Salt Rd, each one well maintained and well marked with signs and trail maps.

We have the all-volunteer Friends of Webster Trails to thank for that. These volunteers put in thousands of hours every summer planning, creating and maintaining these trails. It’s really a thankless job, since only a small percentage of the people who use our trails actually sign up as members of the Friends.

If you’re not familiar with the trails, check out this map to see where they are. Then get out there with your family and friends and enjoy before the weather turns really nasty. And please consider becoming a member of the Friends of Webster Trails. (It really doesn’t cost much. Check out the membership page here.) Your donation will go a long way to helping these fine folks help US enjoy our town’s natural beauty for years to come.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 8/28/2022)

Webster community mailbag

25 Aug

Don’t forget that Friday night Aug. 26 is the next Family Games Night!

This month’s event is brought to you in part by the Webster PTSA, who’ll have a table there with some stuff to help your kids get ready for the upcoming school year.

There’s always tons of fun things to do for both kids and adults at these FREE, family-friendly events including sidewalk chalking, giant street games like Giant Jenga, Giant Connect Four and cornhole. You can even grab dinner from Carl’s Pizza Kitchen while you’re there, plus there’ll be live music.

The Family Games Night happens on West Main St. in the Village of Webster from 6 to 9 p.m.

* * * * * * *

UMC Webster, 169 East Main St., will be serving up a community pasta dinner on Saturday Aug. 27 in their Fellowship Center from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Children’s activities wil be provided.

There is no cost for the dinner, but donations will be accepted, and participants are being asked to bring a non-perishable food item for the church’s food pantry.

For more information, call 585-309-6510 or email pastorwendy@umcwebster.org.

The Webster Theatre Guild is holding auditions for thier upcoming production of Annie on Sunday Aug. 28 and Thursday Sept. 1.

Auditions will be held at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 1130 Webster Rd. (Rt. 250) in Webster, from 5 to 7 pm for children, 7 to 9 p.m. for adults both days. You only have to attend one day of the auditions. Callbacks will be on Saturday Sept. 3 at 9 a.m.

Show dates are Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22.

Click here for more information and to download your audition packet.

The Webster Hope, Inc. (formerly Hope Ministry) Garage Sale is back this year, scheduled for Wed. Sept. 14 through Sat. Sept. 17 at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Rd. Webster.

Donations will be accepted on Sunday Sept. 11 from 11 am. to 3 p.m. and Monday Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Murphy Hall at the church. Please no large donations. Items that cannot be accepted are listed here on the website.

Hours for the sale will be:

  • Wednesday Sept. 14, 6-8 p.m. (sneak peek night), admission $5 per person
  • Thursday Sept. 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Friday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Saturday Sept. 17, 10 a.m. to noon (everything HALF PRICE)

For a preview of some of the items that will be for sale, check out the Webster Hope Facebook page. Proceeds from the sale will benefit low-income households in Webster.

Also coming up in September, the Schutts Apple Mill Fall Kickoff event on Saturday Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This is a great family event with bounce houses, a petting zoo, a magic show, photo booth, live music, wagon rides, a cider demonstration, fried-cake eating contest and much more. It’s free to attend. Click here for more information.

Schutts Apple Mill is located at 1063 Plank Rd.

******

And make sure to put this one on your calendar.

The Village of Webster’s September 11 Memorial Ceremony will take place on Sunday Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, North Ave. (Rt. 250).

This is always a very moving ceremony, and a great chance to remember those who lost their lives on this terrible day.

* * *

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

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 8/25/2022)