Tag Archives: Penfield Community Center

Webster community mailbag

27 Oct

Halloween is just a few days away, which means that Christmas is just around the corner. The Webster Museum is getting ready.

The Museum recently announced that their Festival of Trees will return this year in person. Last year’s virtual, photographic festival was okay, but it just wasn’t the same as being able to stroll through the museum and see all of the creatively decorated contestants up close and personal.

Here are the details:

  • Families, individuals, Scout troops, classrooms, clubs, organizations, ALL are invited to decorate a miniature Christmas tree using a family-friendly theme.
  • The trees are provided by the museum.
  • Decorating takes place after Thanksgiving and voting begins during White Christmas in the Village on Dec. 4.
  • Trees will be registered to callers starting at noon on November 1. Please call Kathy at 313-3709 and leave a message with your name and phone number so your call can be returned. Call early as number of trees is limited. Please be prepared to supply: caller’s name, email and phone number; decorator’s name, email and phone number; any special needs (location, lights, etc.) You’ll receive a follow-up email about dates/times to decorate.

The Webster Central School District has announced that Interim Superintendent of Schools Brian Neenan has accepted the position as Webster CSD’s new superintendent of schools. The board of education will officially approve the appointment at its Tuesday, Nov. 2 meeting. 

Neenan served as interim superintendent of schools since April 30, 2021. Prior to that appointment, Neenan worked in a dual role as WCSD’s deputy superintendent (2015-2021) and assistant superintendent for instruction (2013-2021). He began his career in Webster as principal of Willink Middle School (2009-2013). Before coming to Webster, he served as an assistant principal at Victor CSD’s junior high school for four years.  


The Webster Recreation Center is hosting a Halloween-themed fitness event this Saturday morning, and everyone is invited regardless of fitness level or Rec Center membership.

The HIGH Fitness class will run from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., and participants are encouraged to wear costumes (although they’re not required). There will be drawings for prizes at the end of the class.

HIGH Fitness is a modern-day choreographed aerobics class that combines cardio peaks, toning tracks, and popular music. Athletic shoes are required and all fitness levels are welcome. The Webster Recreation Center is the only facility in Wester New York that currently offers HIGH Fitness.

No registration is required and Rec Center members and non-members are all welcome.  The Webster Recreation Center is located at 1350 Chiyoda Dr., off of Phillips Rd.


This news also from the Webster Museum about their current exhibit, which is being held in conjunction with the Webster Public Library.

Webster Museum’s Exhibit Committee has curated an exhibit called “Living off the Land.” Artifacts from the museum’s extensive collections, many of them donated by Webster residents, are on display both in the museum’s display case at the Webster Library and at the Webster Museum. The exhibit tells the story of folks who settled here and the items they brought, made or invented in order to make a life for themselves and their families.

The Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the village, is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 pm.

And as long as we’re talking about the library, I just got word about three great adult programs coming up soon.

  • Thursday Nov. 4, 7 to 8 p.m. — Discovering Your Roots: an introduction to genealogy and planning a geneaology vacation.
  • Wednesday Nov. 10, noon: Medicare 101, an introduction and update to the federally administered health insurance program
  • Wednesday Nov. 10, 7 to 8 p.m. — Dream Cakes Cookie Decorating: learn some decorating tips and tricks and amaze your friends and family

Pre-registration is required and there is a $10 charge for the cookie decorating class. Click on the images below for more information.

Finally, a few newsy notes from our neighbor to the south.

Annual Arts and Craft Fair at Penfield Community Center

The Daytime Education at Recreation (DEAR) program at Penfield Recreation will be hosting its second annual Arts and Craft Fair on Saturday Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Penfield Community Center, 1985 Baird Rd.

This event will showcase 53 vendors from around Monroe County selling their hand-crafted wares. Admission is free and is open to the public. Masks are required for this indoor event. Refreshments will be available.

This event is a fundraiser to support the DEAR program at Penfield Recreation, which provides free life-long learning opportunities to seniors in our community.

For more information call Penfield Recreation at (585) 340-8655, option 0.

Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf needs turkeys

Once again this year, the Penfield Ecumenical Food Shelf will be collecting frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Food Shelf staff are especially requesting turkeys from 8 to 14 lbs., which are the best sizes for their families in need.

Drop off for Thanksgiving will be Saturday morning Nov. 20 between 7:30 and 8:30am at the Food Shelf, 1618 Jackson Rd. Drop off for Christmas will be Saturday Dec. 18 from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., also at the Food Shelf. If other arrangements are needed for dropoff, email penfieldfoodshelf@gmail.com.

Turkeys will soon be on sale at local grocery stores, so this would be a great time to pick up an extra one and help those in our community who have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. The Food Shelf’s family numbers have increased quite a bit this year, as you can imagine; they’re planning on providing 225 families with dinner for each holiday.

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Blood drives will honor Jack Heiligman

15 Dec

posterTwo blood drives coming up next week in our area are being held in memory of 3-year old Jack Heiligman.

Jack, you may remember, lost his life in a tragic accident in 2016.  Since that awful day, Jack’s parents Anne and AJ have worked hard to keep their son’s happy spirit alive by spreading laughter, happiness and love to other families, and encouraging others to pay it forward.

They work through the JACK Foundation, an organization they created, dedicated to giving back to the community through acts of kindness. The foundation also raises money to build dinosaur-themed playgrounds. Their first playground, Jack’s Place, opened at Rothfuss Park in Penfield last August 2017.

This holiday season, one of the ways the JACK Foundation is giving back to the community and promoting acts of kindness is by hosting two blood drives in Jack’s memory. These will be held on Thursday, December 21 at Kent Park Arboretum in Webster and Friday, December 22 at the Penfield Community Center.

“The JACK Foundation has really helped keep Jack’s memory alive for our family and friends,” Anne said. “We miss our Jack every moment of every day, but being a part of caring and kind acts in Jack’s name has helped bring us peace and comfort. We hope we are making our Angel Jack proud.”

The two drives are especially significant at this time of year, near the holidays, when blood and platelet donations often decline due to everyone’s busy schedules. Here are the details:

Thursday, December 21, 2-7 p.m.
Kent Park Arboretum
1700 Schlegel Rd., Webster

Friday, December 22, 2-7 p.m.
Penfield Community Center
1985 Baird Rd., Penfield

As a thank you for showing your support for these special blood drives, all presenting donors will receive a Red Cross long-sleeved t-shirt, while supplies last.

Appointments are appreciated and will help you get in and out faster, but walk-ins are also welcome. To make an appointment, log onto redcrossblood.org or download the blood donor app. Please use sponsor code JACKFOUNDATIONWEBSTERPENFIELD.

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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.