One thing I’ve learned about Webster in the years I’ve lived here is that when someone needs help, this community rallies around them, big time.
OK, make that TWO things: Webster loves its music.
Both of those truths will be on full display on Saturday, Sept. 11 at a brand new music festival called Webster Rocks for ALSAwareness. The event is being held in part to benefit Kacie Jones, a former Coach Sports Bar employee who was diagnosed with ALS two years ago.
Kacie is a 30-year Rochester/Webster young man who has ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). He is in a fight for his life; a day-to-day battle to do even the simplest of tasks that most of us take for granted. On Saturday, Sept 11, we will come together for Kacie and others struggling to live with and fight ALS. Let’s help Kacie and his family raise awareness for ALS, provide alternative treatments, and bring about a possible cure for this disease.
Funds raised will also benefit Healing ALS, an organization dedicated to supporting awareness, research and care for those suffering from ALS.
The festival will be held on Saturday Sept. 11 beginning at 2 p.m. at the Webster Firemen’s Field on Ridge Rd. Food trucks will be on hand from 3 to 8 p.m., and alcohol sales will be provided by the Coach Sports Bar.
An incredible music line-up starts at 3 p.m., featuring Anthony Blood and Brody Schenk, State Line, Brass Taxi, Dial Up, and M80s. (Check the website for more details about the schedule.)
Tickets are $20 in advance (available from the Coach Sports Bar, 19 W. Main in Webster) and Eventbrite (but they charge fees, so stop by the Coach to save money). They’re still looking for volunteers, too, so ask about that when you’re picking up your tickets.
To read more about Kacie and his brave battle with this disease, check out this great story posted on WHEC-TV in March.
I know that yesterday’s blog about The Music Store closing hit some people hard. So perhaps this might soften the blow a bit:
Just across the street from The Music Store, Village HandWorks will finally open on Saturday Aug. 28 at 10 a.m.
This brand new shop, at 19 East Main St., will feature original hand-crafted goods, and supplies for weaving, knitting, sewing, and other handicrafts. Owner Jenn Ratcliffe will also be offering classes for anyone wanting to learn a new craft or practice their skills. A large comfy counch at the back of the shop will also welcome crafters who just want to sit and stitch and share their projects.
Even if you’re not a crafter yourself, how about poping in and saying hi to the Village’s newest small business owner, and welcome her to the Village family.
Village HandWorks is located at 19 East Main, right next door to the Village Quilt Shoppe.
While you’re out and about on Saturday, be sure to stop by the Webster Public Library for the Friends’ final Summer Pop Up Book Sale.
Weather permitting, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Friends will have tables in the library parking lot filled with all kinds of books for the entire family. This will be a Bring Your Own Bag Sale — fill your bag with gently used books for just $3, or two bags for $5. (Cash or check only please.) They REALLY need to get rid of these books to make room for more, so bring several bags!
BLOG UPDATE! Because the weather looks a little iffy on Saturday, the book sale has been moved inside the library. So do not worry if it’s a little rainy … the sale WILL GO ON!
The Friends of the Public Library would like to thank the community for their amazing support over this past summer. All funds raised from the sale will support library initiatives.
The Music Store is located at 18 East Main St., Webster
After 32 years anchoring the Village of Webster’s East Main Street business scene, The Music Store is closing.
Owner John Bucci announced the news on his Facebook page last weekend. Every day since, he’s been fielding comments and customers who are surprised and saddened by the news. But everyone can take some consolation from the fact that neither Covid nor slow sales has driven John’s decision. Instead, he said, “It’s time, just plain and simple.”
“It’s hard to do retail all these years,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it, thinking of an exit plan, which means I was halfway out the door anyway.”
“I’m going out on my terms.”
John doesn’t know yet what life has in store for him next, but he definitely wants to move on from the day-to-day grind of retail. One thing he’s especially looking forward to is being “excited about playing my instruments again.”
The enjoyment part gets burned out from the business part. I’m looking forward to wanting to pick up my instruments again. To go downstairs and an hour and a half goes by, practicing, playing for enjoyment, getting my chops back im looking forward to that inspiration again.
I’m surrounded by (music) every day, 12 hours a day, so to continue to go home and play for two hours is just an extension of the job. That’s not enjoyable.
He does know that he won’t be selling the business; it would be too difficult to find someone to buy into all the inventory and long hours. That means everything has to go, and he’s already started marking prices down. Students who need to rent an instrument for school will find some especially good deals.
“All those rental instruments have to go,” John said, and he has a lot of them. Parents will be able to pick one up for less than what they would have paid for a year-long rental.
Like the long-time customers who are stopping by to pay their respects, John has fond memories from his history in the village. Like when the village held its first White Christmas celebration many years ago.
“We had a huge snowstorm…I built a snowman out front, I used a guitar speaker for a hat. That seems like it happened last year.”
When pressed about how it feels to have been such an integral part of the Village business scene for so long, John was at a loss for words. On his Facebook page, however, customers and friends are having no problem expressing exactly what his store has meant for Webster:
“John is hands down one of the nicest and honest people I have ever dealt with. He and his store will be greatly missed.”
“John, you have put your heart and soul into the Music Store. You have touched so many people with your passion for music.”
“You met all of our kids’ musical needs from preschool through senior year.”
“The store has been a musical cornerstone of mine for the better part of 30 years.”
“John has been great to work with and I will treasure the guitars I bought there as well as his friendly support.”
But perhaps this comment sums it up best:
“This is one of the only cool places left in the area.”
Thank you for being such an integral part of the Village of Webster family for so long, John. We will miss you , but we all wish you the best in the next chapter of your life.
The Music Store is located at 18 E. Main St. in the Village of Webster. Stop by, say hi to John and get some great deals.
Several weeks ago I devoted an entire blog to the beautiful gardens crafted by Maria Blanco all around her home at the corner of Phillips and Ridge Rd.
It struck me recently that Maria’s gardens, while spectacular, are not the only ones I admire on my daily walks. One of my regular walking routes takes me into the village, up North Ave. to the bike path, to Phillips, back into the village, and through neighborhood streets home. And all along the way, Rose of Sharon bushes, bursts of flowers and flowering shrubs, annuals and perennials, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans and whimsical signs cheer me and help quicken my step.
Yesterday, however, I slowed my step long enough to take photos of many of the gardens I see along the way. Perhaps yours is among them. If so, thank you for all your hard work and for brightening my mornings.
Summer in the Village of Webster is really ending on a high note.
Tonight, Friday Aug. 20, the Gazebo Concert series continues with a performance by Grammy-nominated smooth jazz artist Jimmie Highsmith Jr. and his band.
The concert begins at 7 p.m., and audience members are encouraged to bring their chairs, blankets, and coolers for two hours of fine music. There’s no charge.
Saturday afternoon Aug. 21, the Village Wine Walks return. These are always very popular events, where participants stroll through the village, stopping at several businesses along the way and sampling a nice variety of wines. This year’s event should be even better attended as it begins in the afternoon for the first time. Partticipants can pick up their wine glasses and begin their mini-wine tour at Finn’s Automotive, 45 East Main Street, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Webster Special Police.
Looking forward to next week, Movies in the Park return on Tuesday Aug. 24, with a showing of Honey I Shrunk the Kids Gazebo Park. The movie will begin around 8:15.
All of these events are brought to you by the Webster BID. Visit their website for more details about all of these and sign up for the BID newsletter so you’ll stay informed about all upcoming events. (Like the Jazz Fest in September!)
If you think you know the Webster Museum, read on, because you haven’t seen the new and IMPROVED Webster Museum.
This Saturday Aug. 21, the museum is opening its doors to the public again after a long hiatus thanks to the pandemic. And boy, is it looking spiffy, both inside and out.
The first things that will greet visitors on Saturday are two gorgeous gardens that flank the front door. Volunteers worked for weeks weeding the overgrown and unsightly gardens, prepping the beds, then choosing and planting a beautiful variety of shrubs, annuals and perennials in anticipation of this week’s grand opening.
The spiffiness continues inside, where display cases have been refurbished, walls have been painted, and exhibit spaces have been re-imagined. Many of the tried-and-true exhibits, especially those representing Webster’s basket-making and apple industries, have remained pretty much the same. But several other exhibits have been updated or changed out, and new ones are being planned highlighting Webster’s bakeries, dairies and gas stations.
Webster Museum president Tom Pellett reports there have also been other, less evident changes. “The museum is also “revamping our attack … to be more educational,” he said.
“We (older folks) are getting to be the only people who actually went into the old stores in the exhibits,” he explained. “There are a lot of people who arrived late, like in the 70s, that have no idea what some of the older areas were like here.” Plans include adding audio-visual components to help support that mission.
The museum kicked off its grand re-opening with a special members-only event last Sunday introducing the current exhibit, honoring the life and works of Webster artist Ward Mann. In a half-hour presentation, Ward’s son Craig — who flew up from North Carolina — and former art teacher Dick Kane detailed Mann’s early life, career as a Xerox engineer, and how he ultimately discovered his true passion: art.
Mann was a talented, versatile and well-known artist who lived and worked and painted in Webster from 1961-2005 and also had a studio in the artist colony at Rocky Neck, Massachusettes.
A team of 20 volunteers worked for months conducting research, coordinating with the Mann family, gathering the materials and compiling the exhibit. The result is an impressive presentation which includes 21 original Ward Mann canvases displayed throughout the museum, original sketchbooks, biographical information and a slideshow of many more pieces from Mann’s collection. The pieces on display represent all of Mann’s chosen media: sketches, watercolor, oil and pallet knife.
At the event, Pellett noted that it’s been 17 months since “the door slammed shut” back in March 2020. It was an unfortunate situation, but he added that being closed for so long “allowed us to do some things not normally done because of visitors.” Still, he added, “It’s so good to be back.”
Ironically, when the museum closed those many months ago, staffers were readying a brand new exhibit which would have introduced the community to a famous and highly respected local artist: Ward Mann.
“The public never saw it,” Pellett said. The downtime, however, clearly helped museum staff members build an even more in-depth and meaningful exhibit.
The Webster Museum will welcome the public back on Saturday, Aug. 21 from 2 to 4:30 p.m., then again on Saturday Aug. 28. Regular museum hours will resume in September, when the museum will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The Ward Mann exhibit will be here for just six weeks, so don’t miss it.
The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. Admission is free, but donations are always welcome.
Below are two of the paintings in the Ward Mann exhibit, and a slideshow of some of the other museum exhibits and gardens.
These two paintings are on display along with 19 other original works, memorabilia and hundreds of slide-show images of works not on display. Ward himself donated MINUTEMAN to the Webster Museum in 1977. Ward’s sons Craig and Kim donated ROCHESTER JUNCTION at the installation of the exhibit.
Edna Struck Memorial Park is the charming little grassy median where Lapham Park makes a slight jog at the corner of Elm St, on the east side of the village. It’s named in honor of Mrs. Struck, who made it her passion to tend the plants on the island for years.
In February of 2019, someone was driving down Lapham Park much too fast and — instead of navigating the jog in the road — decided to drive right through the park, mowing down the trees and plants, and inflicting significant other damage.
For two years now, the village has been working to refurbish the median, including planting more trees and flowers and reinstalling the large stone and memorial plaque honoring Edna Struck. The repairs began in earnest last fall when workers leveled the plot and put down some new topsoil. Then the trees were planted, and finally this spring, flowers and a new boulder.
The work is finally nearing completion. About the only thing left to do is reinstall the memorial plaque, but that, too, should be happening soon.
So, the little pocket park is looking nice again. I think Edna herself would be pleased.
Here are a some positive village business updates to start off our morning.
The patio tables and chairs are finally in place the Cobblestone on Main restaurant, and they’re already very popular.
The patio was completed several weeks ago along the front of this fabulous new village restaurant, but it took a while for the area to be ready for service. The new tables and chairs are a beautiful addition, especially since the Cobblestone has been seeing steady business every since it opened in April, and can really use the extra seating.
Cobblestone on Main is located at 109 West Main St. Check out their Facebook page here and their website here.
It’s been a long time coming, but Village HandWorks finally has an opening date … sort of.
Village HandWorks is the Village of Webster’s newest shop, going in at 19 East Main St., right next door to the Village Quilt Shoppe. It will feature original hand-crafted goods, and offer a place for crafters to practice their skills, take a class or two, or just gather to sit, stitch and share their projects.
Originally scheduled to open last month, there were some unexpected delays, as there often is with a brand new business. But a few days ago I noticed that owner Jenn Ratcliffe posted a message in the front window indicating she’s planning to open in mid-August.
In the meantime, it’s fun to peek in the window and see the spinning wheel and loom she’s set up and will be using once the shop opens, so anyone who’s walking by can watch her work.
Stay tuned for updates.
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Here’s a brand new family event happening this Sunday at Veterans Memorial Park (Gazebo Park on North Ave.).
Village of Webster dance studio Roc Dance is partnering with Roc and Soul Fitness to present a Webster Village Family Activity Open House Sunday afternoon Aug. 8 from noon to 3 p.m.
The event will include kids’ dance and soccer classes and adult barre and yoga classes. All of the classes are free to attend, and if you participate in any one, you’ll receive some free goodies.
Click on the flyer above for more information and schedule details, or visit the Roc Dance Facebook page.
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There’s still time to register for the 2021 Miracle Field Hitting Derby and Year-End Picnic, beginning Saturday, August 7.
The month-long event is a fun and friendly competition held over four sessions, which will benefit Challenger Miracle Field. In addition to bragging rights on the field, participants can also earn cool prizes through several fundraising levels.
For more information and registration forms, click here.
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RL Thomas 1970 grads, mark your calendars now for your next class of 1970 reunion, scheduled for Friday and Saturday Sept. 17 and 18. Details are still coming together, so for updates or questions, email RLT1970Alumni@gmail.com. Or make sure you’ve joined the Class of 1970 Facebook group.
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There’s still plenty of August left, and the Village of Webster has packed in a lot of events.
For starters, the Wine Walks are back! Coming up Saturday Aug. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m., join your friends and neighbors, sample some wines and check out some businesses you’ve never visited before.
Glass pick-up will be at Finn’s Automotive 45 East Main St., where they’ll also give you a map of the participating shops. Cost is $15. Click here for more details.
The gazebo in Veterans Memorial Park on North Ave. will host concerts each of the next three Friday nights.
Tonight (Aug. 6) features Judah Sealy Smooth Jazz. Next week (Aug. 13) will be the “Acoustic Americana” sounds of Spooky & the Truth, and on the 20th, Jimmie Highsmith Jr. takes the stage with his unique blend of smooth urban jazz.
All concerts begin at 7 p.m. Bring your own chairs, blankets, and coolers. For more details, click here.
Finally, the next Tuesday night Movie in the Park will feature Sing on Aug. 10 in Veterans Memorial Park.
Here’s the summary:
In a world of anthropomorphic animals, koala Buster Moon owns a theater, having been interested in show business since his father took him to his first music show as a child. To raise money following some financial problems, Buster plans a singing competition with a prize of $1,000. But Buster’s assistant accidentally appends two extra zeroes, and the promotional fliers showing $100,000 are blown out of Buster’s office into the city streets.
Click here for more details about this showing and upcoming movies in the park.
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Here’s a late addition to my mailbag:
The Webster Marching Band will hold a Bottle and Can Drive on Saturday Aug. 7 at Willink Middle School. Please bring your returnables between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., and they’ll even take them out of your car for you.
Willink is located at 900 Publisher’s Parkway, adjacent to Thomas High School.
In the 13 years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve taken a LOT of photos.
I mean, they easily number into the tens of thousands. You know me; I can take 150 at one parade alone. Through the years, they’ve captured adults and children, chronicled events both happy and sad, helped announce new businesses and shined a spotlight on unsung heroes and hidden gems in the community. They are sometimes whimsical, sometimes very serious.
In a sense, the photos have become a historical record of Webster people, places and events.
One of the 24 photos I chose for the display
It’s probably partly for that reason that Laureen Anthony-Palmer at the Webster Public Library invited me to put together a display of my photos for the library’s Artist’s Wall. It took me a while to warm up to the idea, but eventually I decided it would be kind of fun, and I started digging into a dozen years’ worth of backed-up photo files and Facebook galleries.
Choosing just a small percentage of those photos, as you might imagine, was rather difficult. But it was indeed fun to look back through the years at all the events I’ve been to and people I’ve met. Eventually I selected 24 of my favorites for the display, wrote captions, mounted them and — with my husband’s help — hung them at the library a few days ago. They’re organized into three sections representing the main things I like to highlight in the blog: kids, community and events.
The photos will be on display through August, so I invite you to stop by any time during normal library hours and take a look. You might even see yourself or someone you know in one of them.
Friday night’s first-ever Family Game Night seemed to be a popular event. When I joined it about an hour into the evening’s festivities, a few hundred people were milling around or seated at the tables. Many were enjoying their beverages or having dinner, others were listening to the musician, or chatting with friends, or playing games and chalking the street with their children.
Basically, everyone who attended was having a good time doing SOMETHING, appreciating the excuse to get out of the house again and spend some time with friends and neighbors on a beautiful summer evening.
The best part of the evening, however, was the opportunity for kids to have some fun in a safe environment while their parents socialized. The organizers — the Webster Business Improvement District — had put out giant games for the kids to play with, like Jenga, Connect Four and Cornhole. There was also plenty of sidewalk chalk to be had, and by the time I got there, West Main Street was already filled with artwork.
It was all a very pleasant ending to the village’s Christas in July Week.
Here’s a gallery of photos from the evening:
The happy meeting which I mentioned in the headline referred to the chance I had to meet and share a pint with Colin Minster, the new editor of the Webster Herald.
Colin replaces Anna Hubbel, who has been with the paper for the last seven years. Colin brings with him experience as a writer and researcher for the Finger Lakes Times, but this is his first full-time editing position. He’s fairly new to Webster, but in the short time he’s been here, he seems to have fallen in love with the town, and is looking forward to telling everyone more about it.
“I like Webster a lot,” he said. “There are so many cool, fun things that Webster does. It’s such a cool town.”
So you can expect the Herald to continue to cover hard news stories, like the recent sewer consolidation discussions, but also lots of community news, like Colin’s reflections on the recent Waterfront Arts Festival. Both stories ran on the front page of last week’s edition. He also hopes to fire up a few columns of his own.
Colin currently lives in Penn Yan but is looking to buy a house in Webster.
Welcome to Webster, Colin. I think you’re really going to like it here.
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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