‘Better
than ever’ Jazz Fest in Lewiston
Preview by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 22, 2008
 Just
a few months ago, it seemed as if the Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival
was in jeopardy. Facing a $116,000 gap in funding – the result of
losing the New York Power Authority as event sponsor – there was
concern that the annual Center Street concert series would not happen
in 2008.
That trepidation, however, quickly turned into motivation
for event planners.
When Attorney General Andrew Cuomo offered his opinion
that public institutions should not donate money to activities or
organizations unrelated to their mission or purpose, the Jazz Festival’s
board of directors saw the writing on the wall. When NYPA pulled
out, a plan was set in motion to recoup the lost funding.
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Artpark
to children, families: ‘Be Our Guest’
Review by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 16, 2008
Glenn Lawrence as Gaston and Carolann M.
Sanita as Belle. (photo by John Stuart)
In my family, we have something called “the children’s
table.” This is the side room where everyone under the age of 20
gets to eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas, while the adults feast
in the main dining room. None of the kids know what goes on in the
dining room, but it looks and sounds amazing.
At Artpark each summer, the “Tuesday in the Park”
and “Wednesdays on the Gorge” concert series sort of resemble my
family dining room. The adults congregate for consumption at the
central staging area, in this case with music and grown-up drinks,
while children are relegated to the Mainstage Theater.
As adults have enjoyed the smoke, lights and spinning
keyboards of acts such as Styx, Frampton and Bret Michaels, the
children have been subjected to Arthur the aardvark. Now, Arthur
is great and the kids love him, but it’s not the same thing. It’s
not an “event” like their parents get to go to.
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more
Local
barbecue hopefuls ready to compete
Story and photos by Susan Mikula Campbell
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 16, 2008
Linda Prosser, trustee for Eagles Aerie
1411, enjoyed her taste of meat, straight off the
grill of Roy “Honcho” Gregory, chairman of the Smokin’ Eagles Barbecue
Competition.
When it comes to barbecue, the South is king. That’s
where you’ll find the big barbecue competitions like the National
BBQ Festival’s Best of the Best in Douglas, Ga.
Today, however, barbecue competition visits Wheatfield
with the Smokin’ Eagles Barbecue Championship at The Summit mall.
Some local residents among the teams competing are
hoping to take that top prize of a ticket to the invitation-only
Best of the Best and show that Western New Yorkers also know their
way around a barbecue grill.
Grand Island resident Robin Simpson, 49, a dispatcher
for a local trucking company, would like that winning ticket, although
she admits, “I’m just an amateur. It’s more like a hobby thing.”
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Sanborn-Lewiston
Farm Museum Fest starts today
by Susan Mikula Campbell
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 16, 2008
Have you ever danced a reel at a barn dance, watched
a blacksmith at work or had a chance to see farm equipment from
days long past?
The Sanborn-Lewiston Farm Museum Festival this weekend
will be offering that and much more, starting at 9 a.m. both Saturday
and Sunday, Aug. 16 and 17.
This is the fourth year for the Farm Festival, but
the event will also serve as the official grand opening of the museum
at 2660 Saunders Settlement Road, where an old barn and a new barn
house artifacts from Niagara County’s farming past.
Linda Jackson, historical society board member and
curator of the museum, said this year’s Farm Festival will offer
many new activities.
Among them is a barn dance, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday,
followed by fireworks at about 9:45 p.m. The barn dance actually
will be under a huge tent on the museum grounds, since the barns
are full of displays. Paul Rosenburg of Albany will be bringing
his band, Homespun, for contra dancing, including Virginia reels
and square dancing.
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Kiwanis
advance ride tickets now available
by Terry Duffy
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 16, 2008
Hey, parents -- time to start planning the activity
schedule for the kids, come that first weekend in September.
Lewiston Kiwanis reports that Peach Festival advance
ride tickets are now available for the 40-plus North American Midway
Company rides, which will be setting up shop at Academy Park in
Lewiston for the 51st annual Peach Festival, Friday through Sunday,
Sept. 5-7. Chairman Nick Morreale points out the advance tickets,
on sale for $18 for a strip of 14 tickets, offer buyers a 50 percent
discount for all rides.
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History
from a nun’s point of view
Stella Niagara centennial play a hit
by Susan Mikula Campbell
Photo by Dave Young
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 16, 2008
Brother Stone (Tim Henderson) and Sister
Laurina Pelzer (Sue Campbell).
I didn’t start out to be a nun, especially not one
who wore the pre-Vatican II habit and veil.
For the next two weekends, however, I’ll be Sister
Laurina Pelzer, as the Lewiston Council on the Arts’ Marble Orchard
players help Stella Niagara in Lewiston celebrate its centennial
anniversary with “Marble Orchard: Star of Niagara.”
At 7 p.m. Saturdays, Aug. 16 and 23, and 2 p.m. Sundays,
Aug. 17 and 24, the quiet and peace of Stella Niagara’s tree-lined
cemetery in the back of the main campus will be broken. Some of
the nuns, priests and lay people buried there will “come back to
life” to tell of the Sisters of St. Francis who labored to create
today’s school, motherhouse, retreat center, retirement home and
peace center.
Our first performance was Monday evening for some
200 Sisters of St. Francis attending a convocation at Stella Niagara.
The sisters came from all over North America, as well as from Europe
and South America. Talk about being under pressure!
As soon as our audience was seated under the big tent
at the front of the cemetery, as has become usual this summer, the
rain started. Willing hands from the Stella Niagara community helped
put up the canopy over our small stage, and the show went on, although
cast members waiting for their cues under the nearby trees had their
faith tested by the occasional loud rumble of thunder.
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Tale
as old as time at Artpark
‘Beauty and the Beast’ opens Thursday
Preview by Joshua Maloni
Photos by John Stuart
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 9, 2008
It’s not a stretch to think most people’s familiarity
with Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” comes from the animated motion
picture. So, when Artpark President George Osborne announced in
May the venue’s intention to stage the live-action version of the
story, undoubtedly there were some who said, “They’re doing a cartoon?”
Well, yes, it is a cartoon. But, it’s not just any
collection of pen and ink. When “Beauty and the Beast” was released
theatrically in November 1991, it left critics taken aback.
Not since “Fantasia” had an animated film come off
so visually dazzling. More than that, it was not the traditional
Disney film. Unlike a “Sleeping Beauty” or “The Little Mermaid,”
“Beauty” had a sense of realism to it. It was romantic. It dealt
with issues of morality and sexism – namely, that women are objects
and looks are what matter. Moreover, it had an adult score that
featured songs crafted by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and performed
by Angela Lansbury, Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson.
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Kiwanis
Peach Festival plans moving along
Cheerleading, Taste-off and parade participants still sought
by Terry Duffy
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 9, 2008
Planning is starting to come together nicely for the
51st annual Niagara County (Lewiston Kiwanis) Peach Festival, Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5, 6 and 7, on the grounds of Academy
Park in the Village of Lewiston.
At this point, club officials are in the midst of
fine-tuning a number of areas, from upcoming Peach Queen contestant
getting acquainted sessions – including the Peach Queen dinner,
Wednesday, Aug. 13 -- to organizing actual festival events, including
the 17th annual Cheerleading Contest, the annual Peach Festival
Taste-off, both on Friday evening, Sept. 5, and the annual parade
on Center Street, Saturday morning, Sept. 6.
Leading off, Jeanette Collesano, who has been busy
working with this year’s Peach Queen contestants, reports the community
is invited to meet and greet the young women who will be vying for
this year’s title, at a formal affair this Wednesday at the Niagara
Falls Country Club, 505 Mountain View Drive, Lewiston, beginning
with 6:30 p.m. hors d’oeuvres, followed by a dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Friends, family and interested residents are invited to stop by.
A cash bar will be offered and reservations are required. For additional
information, contact Collesano at 754-7898.
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Airborne
Day proclaimed
Grand Island Dispatch, August 8, 2008
Above, Grand Island Town Supervisor
Peter McMahon, left, presents the
proclamation to Islander and 82nd Airborne veteran Joe Synakowski
of the VFW.
The Grand Island Town Board voted to proclaim Aug.
16, 2008, as National Airborne Day on Grand Island, recognizing
those members of the 82nd Airborne Division who have served the
U.S.
In setting the date, the board noted the contributions
of two Islanders and members of the 82nd Airborne who made the ultimate
sacrifice:
•Pfc. Charles N. DeGlopper, a member of 325th Glider
Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne division, who died in World War
II at La Fiere, France, on June 9, 1944. The Grand Island Veteran’s
of Foreign War post is named after DeGlopper, a Congressional Medal
of Honor recipient.
•Lt. Col. Terrance K. Crowe, an Airborne Trooper serving
with the 98th Division, who died in Tal Afar, Iraq, on June 7, 2005.
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State
says ‘Eat Local’
NYers challenged to eat only locally grown food for one day this
week
by Larry Austin and readMedia Newswire
Grand Island Dispatch, August 8, 2008
A shopper buys produce at Susie’s Produce
on Grand
Island Boulevard. (photo by Larry Austin)
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker
challenged all New Yorkers this week to “eat local” for at least
one day.
The week of Aug. 3-9 is National Farmers’ Market Week
and, during the peak of fresh summer produce, New Yorkers were challenged
by Hooker to only eat foods that are produced or grown here in the
Empire State.
“Here’s the challenge,” Hooker said. “Pick a day this
week and try to eat only locally grown or made products for breakfast,
lunch, dinner and any snacks in between. This simple task has tremendous
benefits for everyone in New York. Buying and eating local foods
supports our hard-working farmers, keeps farmland open and productive,
reduces food miles, which saves on gas and can reduce greenhouse
gas emissions. And last but not least, it tastes great as it is
picked at the peak of harvest and offers not only excellent flavor,
but maximum nutrition.”
Rick Eicheldinger of Susie’s Produce on Grand Island
Boulevard called Hooker’s challenge “a great idea.”
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Deputies
bust pot grower
Grand Island Dispatch, August 8, 2008
The Erie County Sheriff’s Department has arrested
one man in an ongoing investigation into marijuana sales on Grand
Island.
The department reported that its Special Weapons and
Tactics team executed a search warrant at an Alt Boulevard address
at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, and discovered a marijuana-growing
operation that included 44 marijuana plants.
One man, whom the department declined to identify
because of the ongoing investigation, was arrested and released
with an appearance ticket. He was charged with misdemeanor criminal
possession of marijuana in the fifth degree and was also charged
with violating Section 3382 of public health law in growing marijuana.
“I’ll say this. It was not his first grow. He had
an operation set up,” said Capt. Ronald L. Kenyon of the ECSD. “It
was certainly well-organized, it was well put together.”
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Barbecue
aces vie for Best of the Best ticket
Supervisors face off for town honors
by Susan Mikula Campbell
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, August 7, 2008
An international
battle will take place Friday, Aug. 15, and Saturday, Aug. 16, in
the parking lot of The Summit mall in Wheatfield. Weapons of choice
will be sauce mops and barbecue forks.
The cancellation of the last in a series of Canadian
Barbecue Association competitions has meant that some of those Canadian
barbecue teams are enrolling in the upcoming Smokin’ Eagles Barbecue
Championship, according to Roy “Honcho” Gregory, chairman of the
Wheatfield event.
When the smoke clears, one individual or team will
be able to pack up their barbecue aprons and head to the National
BBQ Festival’s Best of the Best Invitational from Oct. 31 to Nov.
1 in Douglas, Ga. Only 50 teams compete in this invitation-only
yearly event.
Another barbecue battle is shaping up for the local
event, sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 1411, but
this one doesn’t include the golden ticket south. Wheatfield Town
Supervisor Tim Demler and Town of Niagara Supervisor Steve Richards
have formed their own barbecue teams to compete for bragging rights
and the Supervisor’s Cup.
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Art Festival
takes over Center Street this weekend
200 artists, Chalk Walk, Soul Salmon and food
court at 42nd annual event
Preview by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, August 8, 2008
 The
expression “Something for everyone” has become cliché to
the point of losing all meaning. If those words still had weight,
then one could easily say the 42nd annual Lewiston Art Festival
has, well you know.
Who else but the Lewiston Council on the Arts could
bring together the finest in oil colors, chain saw sculptures, Gypsy
jazz and barbecue ribs? On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 9-10, the Village
of Lewiston will host all of the above, along with 200 artists across
Center Street, two giant “Soul Salmon” on South Fifth Street, a
food court and a PT Cruiser car show at Academy Park.
The Art Festival has “improved, expanded and become
more interesting. And we’re drawing more people,” Lewiston Mayor
Richard Soluri said. He noted the quality of artists in attendance,
combined with the village’s beauty, makes for a winning weekend.
The highlight of the festival is the Western New York
Chalk Walk Competition. Each year, the educational contest pits
teenagers from several area high schools against one another in
a popular chalk-off. The result is large, colorful murals depicting
a culturally or historically significant scene.
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