Tag Archives: Webster NY

Keeping cool at school

26 Sep

You know you work in a great school district when, on one of the hottest days of the year, one of the elementary school principals springs for freeze-pops for the entire school.

That’s what happened at Plank Road North Elementary School Tuesday. As the outside temperatures flirted with 90 degrees for the second day in a row, temperatures inside the un-air-conditioned school soared as well. Teachers and students alike were melting.

Principal Craig Bodensteiner to the rescue. In anticipation of the continuing heat wave, Bodensteiner hatched his plan Monday evening, and Tuesday morning headed to Wegmans and bought six cases of freeze-pops — almost all they had. He tucked them in the school’s walk-in freezer (he didn’t want to come out, he reported). Then, just before the end of the day, after they had all frozen solid, he and Assistant Principal Heather Balsamo made the rounds to every classroom and handed them out.

All 600 of them.

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Plank North principal Craig Bodensteiner handing out freeze-pops to some very warm and very grateful students. (S. Rosenberry)

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Halloween in Webster Village

25 Sep

TOT1

I was working on my next Our Towns column this evening, which is a round-up of several east-side Halloween and autumn-themed events taking place in October. I’ll be mentioning Webster’s Trick-or-Treat Trail in that column, so I was looking through all the photos I took last year to find a few good ones for the column.

I found myself procrastinating on the task at hand and just enjoying all of the photos I took. There were little kids and big kids, dressed as dinosaurs, witches, Pokemon characters and firefighters. There were lots of families whose parents AND children had all dressed as a theme. Even dogs, and infants being pushed in strollers or carried in front packs were in costume.

And everyone was smiling and having a wonderful time.

Webster’s Trick-or-Treat Trail is probably my favorite village event. This is an annual event organized by the Webster Business Improvement District, the group responsible for all of the special things that happen in the village every year. It’s very popular, drawing hundreds of adults and children to the village. There’s trick-or-treating, of course, but there’s also so much more. The Webster Volunteer Fire Department always has an open house, the Webster Museum always has some special thing going on, there’s a costume contest and free rides on the BID’s Festival Wagon.

Plus, it’s a lot warmer than during White Christmas in the Village.

Basically it’s the perfect family event. This year it takes place on Saturday October 28. The costume contest begins at 11 a.m., and trick-or-treating runs from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more details, visit the Webster BID website. And if you’d also like to revisit last year’s gallery of photos, click here.

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News from the Knuckleheads

23 Sep

knucklehead-logo

I haven’t written much of late about Len Dummer and George Cline of Knucklehead Craft Brewing, but rest assured, they’ve been busy, making friends and winning awards.

Len sent me an email a short time ago filling me in on some details, and I’m pleased to pass along the news.

For starters, at the annual Foodlink Festival of Food, held September 18 at the Public Market, Knucklehead received the award for Best Alcoholic Beverage. They were up against some stiff competition from other purveyors of beer, wines, ciders and spirits. This is the third year in a row that Knucklehead has brought home top honors in that category.

It’s also interesting to note that Joe Bean Coffee Roasters won as the best non-alcoholic beverage. Does anyone remember when Joe Bean was just that little coffee shop on East Main Street in the village? They’ve really gone on to make a name for themselves.

Knucklehead also competed in the New York State Craft Beer Competition, which took place in Rochester on July 29.

Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded to winning breweries in 20 beer categories covering 40 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the state.

Knucklehead won second place in the IPA category, once again against very respectable competition, and lots of it — that category alone had 88 entries. The winning brew is called Tainted Haze IPA and is a “juice-bomb” style IPA.

If you haven’t checked out Knucklehead yet, or haven’t been back in a while, next Saturday might be a great time to do so, when the brewpub hosts its Oktoberfest.

The event on Saturday, September 30 will feature lots of great German food including Bratwurst, German potato salad, red cabbage, and appetizers. Plus, of course, they’ll have their Oktoberfest on tap, which is described as “full body, (with) copper color, medium alcohol content and only noble hops.”

Oktoberfest will run from 3 to 11 p.m. at Knucklehead Craft Brewing, 426 Ridge Road in West Webster. Check out their Facebook page and website for more information.

 

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

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Town Hall operations moving for 6 months

11 Apr

town hall

Big things are happening at Town Hall, and if you ever have reason to go there, you’ll want to keep reading.

Town Hall will soon be undergoing some major renovations, including upgrading the police department facilities, building department and assessment areas; enlarging the restrooms and adding a lunchroom for employees; upgrading the building interior; enhancing security; and asbestos abatement.

Renovations will begin later this month, and the building will be closed for six months while they’re being completed.

That means that beginning Friday April 21, the Webster Town Hall building at 1000 Ridge Road will be closed for six months.

While the Town Hall building is closed, all town business will be conducted at 1002 Ridge Road, the Van Ingen Court Building behind Town Hall next to Ridge Park. Long-time residents will remember the building as the old library. You’ll be able to pay your taxes there, get a dog license, apply for a building permit, get assessing papers, and any other business you currently do at Town Hall.

The Webster Police Department, however, will remain open at Town Hall. Of course, if you need emergency assistance, call 9-1-1.

All renovations are expected to be completed by November 1.

For questions, call (585) 872-7068 or email supervisor@ci.webster.ny.us

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I need photos!

20 Mar
websterpark

A stunning view of Webster Park by Joe Altieri.

If you follow my Webster Blog Facebook page, you’ll see that I regularly change the photo at the top of the page. Usually the photo goes with my most recent blog post, but sometimes I just don’t have anything interesting to put up there.

So this is where you all come in.

I would love to have a collection of great photos representing our great town, which I could tap into when I need a cover shot. Your photos could be a stunning landscape, like the one above by Joe Altieri, or perhaps just a shot of your kids sitting watching a sunset at Sandbar Park.

I made this request a few years ago for exactly the same reason, and received some wonderful photos. But I have long since run out and need to re-stock.

Of course, when I use your photo, I’ll be sure to give you credit. So please go through your images, or get out there and start snapping. Then send your favorites to me at missyblog@gmail.com. Please be sure to include information about who is in the photo (if necessary) and where you took it.

Thank you!

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Forget the snow. Village announces spring and summer events

15 Mar

Capture

Despite what we might see piled high in our yards right now, spring is really right around the corner, which means that summer is not far behind.

That was confirmed for me a few days ago when I got my first event round-up email from Robyn Whittaker of the Webster BID, that local business organization that sponsors all of our favorite village events.

Here’s a quick look at what they have planned:

  • Saturday March 11: Village Idiots Relay for Life Team Pasta Dinner at the Fireman’s Exempt building from 4 to 7 p.m.
  • Saturday May 13: Gear Up!, a bicycle event supporting Rotary International and sponsored by Webster Rotary, Webster Chamber of Commerce, Webster Town and Friends of Webster Trails kicks off Mother’s Day weekend. Choose a 53 mile, 26.5 mile or the family-friendly 5-mile ride.
  • July 21 and 22: Webster Jazz Festival in the pubs and on Main Street.
  • June 30: Friday Night Concerts begin in the gazebo.
  • July 13: Movie nights in the park begin, this year once again featuring the Saturday Classic Movie Night.
  • September 9-10: The Garlic Festival returns to the Webster Parks and Recreation Department

Also watch for details about a Wine Walk, a wine and food pairing event a craft beer festival, a “bourbon blitz,” and of course the Trick or Treat Trail and White Christmas in the Village.

Put everything on your calendar, and see you there!

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A little windstorm couldn’t stop the Wizard of Oz

14 Mar
ambler

Wizard of Oz Artistic Director Bill Ambler had to do some fancy footwork to make sure the show went on last weekend. (Provided photo)

We’ve been reading a lot of stories on Facebook and whatnot about how neighbors have been helping neighbors during this worst-ever stretch of March weather we’ve been having. Generators are being loaned out, hot meals made and warm beds turned down for those without power for days.

But I heard a story Monday which you won’t see on Facebook, but I think needs to be told.

Thanks to last Wednesday’s windstorm, it looked like Spry Middle School’s sold-out performances of The Wizard of Oz were going to have to be postponed. Wednesday night’s dress rehearsal had to be moved to Thursday night when all after-school activities were cancelled. Then, of course, there was no school Thursday so it couldn’t be held then, either. Nor could the whole event be moved to the following weekend, since so many of the cast members had conflicts.

When school was closed again on Friday, Artistic Director Bill Ambler had a real problem. So he turned to WCSD Superintendent Carmen Gumina for help.

Carm let Bill and his cast members into Spry early in the day on Friday, and the kids ran through their dress rehearsal. The curtain went up as scheduled Friday night, and for two shows on Saturday, playing to packed houses.

And I’m told it was amazing.

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Barry’s Old School Irish one of best places in U.S. to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Yelp says so.

9 Mar
Rory and Maley

Rory and Maley Barry are all ready to go for this coming week’s St. Patrick’s Week festivities at their mommy and daddy’s pub.

All of us here in Webster already know that Barry’s Old School Irish is one of the best Irish pubs in the country. And now the whole country knows, too.

According to a new survey just released by Yelp.com, Barry’s Old School Irish is one of the top 50 pubs in the United States for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, coming in at #45.

Granted, the “survey” was conducted by just ranking the rating and number of reviews each pub received. Still, the fact that SO MANY people have ranked Barry’s favorably is a pretty good indication of the quality of our little pub, our very own, authentic little corner of the ol’ sod. (Click here to see the whole list, which was re-posted on travelandleisure.com.)

And if you’ve seen the lineup of activities Barry’s has planned for what we Irish (and Irish-at-heart) call the “high holy week,” you’ll understand why the pub is so popular. Basically, at Barry’s St. Patrick’s Day becomes St. Patrick’s WEEK.

It starts this Saturday morning, the city’s Parade Day. The pub will be open for a pre-parade breakfast and Irish coffee at 8 a.m. The Foxhunters will be back — as they are every Parade Day — with live Irish music from 2:30 to 7 p.m. Irish Dancers from the Jameson Irish Dance School will pop in at 5 p.m., Everheart takes the stage (actually a corner at Barry’s) to play from 7 to 11 p.m., our favorite Webster bagpiper will stroll through at 9 p.m., and at 9:30 p.m. there’s a Tullamore Irish Whiskey toast on the house.

Plus, there will be Guinness give-aways all day

And that’s just SATURDAY. Click here to see the full lineup of events for the whole week, including a whiskey tasting on Sunday, the weekly Barry’s Run/Walk on Tuesday (when we’ll paint the town green), an extra-special trivia night (of course) on Wednesday, a food and beer pairing on Thursday, and then… well, Friday needs no introduction. But one of the most exciting things about Friday is that there will be a heated tent on the patio. (Which means that’s going to be one of those 70-degree days, no doubt.)

If you haven’t yet been back to the pub since Danny and Jess completed their renovations, this would be a good time to check it out. There’s actually more room now, so there’s less chance you’ll have to go outside to walk around to the bathroom.

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2016 Reflections Contest winners advance to state level

7 Mar

HERO-Reflections

The PTSA Reflections contest is in full swing in anticipation of this year’s Community Arts Day celebration on April 8 at Webster Schroeder High School. Hopefully  there are a lot of students out there working diligently to prepare their creative entries, based on this year’s theme, “Within Reach.”   (Learn more about Community Arts Day and the Reflections competition by clicking here.) Entries are being accepted through March 15.

But coincidentally (or perhaps not), I just receive notification about some of LAST year’s Reflections winners, 13 of whom who have advanced to the state level for judging.

The press release goes on to say,

The theme for the 2016-17 Reflections program was “What is Your Story?” WCSD students had their artwork recognized as the Best of Show in their categories and age divisions at the district level. Their artwork progressed to the Genesee Valley Region PTSA level of the competition and was judged against entries from other schools in the region. Before Christmas GVRPTSA held a ceremony to announce the winners, whose artwork now moves on to the New York State level for judging.

Representing WCSD are: Taisia Badulescu, Katherine Kovacs, Olivia Rye, Riley Dieter, Anthony Randazzo, Amanda Longhenry, Sydney DeZutter, Annabelle Sero, Rachael Dioguardi, Jane Bradstreet, Kaitlyn Dushuk, Sean Devlin, and Emily Hansen. Their entries range from literature to visual arts and photography to music composition and film production. The students themselves range from prekindergarten to high school.

The Reflections Committee expects to hear the results of this stage of the competition sometime in April.

Congratulations to these students, and good luck! You make Webster proud.

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Making art with Peeps. You know you want to.

5 Mar

OK, I’ll put this right out there. I don’t like Peeps.

birdhouseYou know, I’m talking about those yellow marshmallow chicks and every other iteration of Peepdom that has since been introduced. I kind of put them in the same category as those faux-orange circus peanuts.

That being said, I’m REALLY looking forward to the second annual Greater Rochester Peep Show scheduled for April 8 and 9 at the Webster Recreation Center. (Not coincidentally, the week before Easter.) It’s a fundraiser for the Webster Community Chest, and while I didn’t go to it last year, I have seen pictures from the event and it is the CUTEST THING EVER.

Basically, show participants create dioramas and other works of art, incorporating Marshmallow Peeps candies. The results were creative and quite impressive. You can see a few photos here, but also visit the website to see a whole gallery.

But — and this is important — the show cannot happen without the artists.

Organizers have put out a call to families, clubs, Scout groups and local businesses to draw up some plans and come up with some spectacular Peeps creations to enter into the show. There’s no charge to enter and artwork will be returned if desired.

up-up-an-awayDisplays can be large or small, and every one of them will be exhibited at the show for the whole community to see and vote on. Prizes and ribbons will be awarded for those chosen by the public as the most popular. Check out the website for more information and inspiration, or email peepshow@frontier.com with questions.

The 2nd annual Greater Rochester Peep Show will be held on April 8 and 9 at the Webster Recreation Center, 1350 Chiyoda Drive. It will be great family fun, perfect for kids of all ages, and admission is free. Last year an estimated 2,000 people attended, and organizers hope to double that this year. That means they need a LOT of entrants.

Proceeds from the event will benefit several local nonprofit agencies including the Catholic Family Center, Dream Factory of Rochester, Heritage Christian Stables, Webster Museum, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society Upstate New York Chapter.

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peeps-at-work

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