June 2010 Archives

In Memphis.  Bass Pro and Memphis officials, who have been in negotiations since late 2005, have set a November 2011 opening date for the store.  The Springfield, Mo.-based retailer plans to turn the unused Pyramid into a $100 million regional center with retail shops, restaurants, offices and a Mississippi River exhibit.  The Memphis and Bass Pro courtship has lasted nearly as long as the tap dance happening at the Canal Side project along Buffalo's

Next weekend the streets of Downtown Buffalo will be filled with people, tents, trailers and the scent of good food as nearly 400,000 enjoy the flavor of our region at the annual Taste of Buffalo. It may surprise some of you to know that this homegrown event is now the largest two-day food festival in the country and many of those 400,000 visitors won't be from Erie County at all, but rather folks traveling from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and other parts of the country.

This year, over

Team BEN (www.buffaloexpatnetwork.com) is extremely excited to announce the participation of Dan Holland, founder and CEO of the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh (YPA), in their next Buffalo Revisit(ed) Weekend Mixer on Friday, July 23rd. In his talk, "Old Buildings for Young People", Dan will share about his experience in engaging younger audiences in the preservation discussion in Pittsburgh, to see what may be relevant for Buffalo.

By Dan Holland, Founder and CEO of Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh

Fourth of July is one of those holidays where half of the city leaves town for a long weekend away. But half of us stay here, and fortunately for us there are plenty of sweeping parkways and lush parks where we can spread our picnic blankets and soak up some sun. City living also provides us with three different occasions on which we can easily catch a magnificent fireworks display.

One of the city's long-standing Independence Day celebrations is a bi-national event called the Friendship Festival which takes place from July 1st - 5th both here and in Fort Erie, Ontario (hence

"Cleveland's leadership has no apparent theory of change. Overwhelmingly, the strategy is now driven by individual projects. These projects, pushed by the real estate interests that dominate the board of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, confuse real estate development with economic development. This leads to the 'Big Thing Theory' of economic development: Prosperity results from building one more big thing."  - Ed Morrison, "Cleveland: Reconstructing the Comeback"

So often we have posted on the passionate artists of Buffalo - their spirit and their ability to express their thoughts and passions through a medium that becomes a part of who they are. Simon Griffis was one of those people who embodied his work. He was the eternal optimist who never appeared to grow old - in fact, each time I saw him I would think to myself, "Now here is a guy who knows how to live." His artistic work and his persona were one. His career and his passion for art were one. Simon brought so much life and hope to those in the community... whether the community in question was the

From reader Chris Van Patten:

Hey everyone! My name is Chris Van Patten, and I'm the founding artistic director of Continuum Theatre Company. We're a new theatre company formed by UB students with the goal of presenting contemporary plays and musicals in Buffalo.
In April, Continuum presented a cabaret of songs from up-and-coming and unknown musical theatre composers at Merge called "Quarter-Life Crisis". It was a success (Colin Dabkowski called it "tres impressive"), and we want to present it again in a larger venue relatively near

By Kelly Lovering:

Sweet and simple. There is no other motive for the organically healthy duo of Kathryn Mazierski, owner of Pur Skin and Deanna Erway, owner of Organic Hair. Their collaborative business is hosting an opening celebration in conjunction with neighboring Lotions & Potions shop owner Sue Morreale.

Stop by the storefront on 798 Elmwood Ave., this Wednesday, June 30 at 5PM to welcome Mazierski and Erway to the neighborhood. There will be wine, hor d'oeuvres

The YWCA of Western New York is changing things up this summer. In response to a demand for more summer programming and activities for girls, especially during the summer months, they are offering their first, and hopefully annual, summer camp for girls, which will run for six weeks beginning July 12th.

"All of our teen programs have [traditionally] come to an end at the end of the school year. Coupled with that and what we continually hear from the community-- that services for girls are lacking-- we wanted to focus on doing something for the girls," said Deborah Lynn Williams, CEO

By Scott Washburn:

Buffalo's local music scene has a long and very rich history spanning many genres from jazz to metal. There is a new band to add to the list of great Buffalo talents and they are Dotsun Moon. With a sound that's somewhat of a throwback to 90's shoe-gaze, trip hop but without sounding the least bit dated, fans of Portishead, Morcheeba and Massive Attack will more than likely enjoy Dotsun Moon's musical sensibilities. They've been playing at various clubs around the city

By Tom Tarapacki:

In 1958 the University of Buffalo Bulls football team was invited to play in a post-season bowl game for the first time in the school's history. However, when UB was informed that the Bulls' two African-American players could not participate, the team decided turn down the invitation. That team's story is the subject of an upcoming documentary that was recently previewed by the Mid Day Club.

Local filmmaker Peter Johnson presented parts of "Together We Stand: The Story of the 1958 UB Bulls" for the Mid

It almost goes without saying that any meal at The Hatch is made all the more pleasant by taking a stroll around the Marina's gardens and gazing wistfully out over the water at the lighthouse. Or, if you head in the opposite direction, a brisk walk down to Emerald Beach and a climb up the observation

I stumbled on this fantastic link via David Torke of Fix Buffalo.  The link is to a  photo essay accompanied by a lecture delivered March 28, 2009 to the Society for Photographic Education by Jeff Brouws.  Brouws is a photographer with a keen eye for the beauty and horror of our American landscape. 

Buffalo is a city full of great architecture.  I've taken thousands of pictures in recent years of downtown and the waterfront, striking vistas, industrial ruins, stately mansions, beautiful churches, working class neighborhoods and everything in between.  Most of us are familiar with our architectural landmarks, but do we really pay attention to the detail found on the buildings we oftentimes take for granted?  It's the mosaic of the good, the bad and the ugly that make up Buffalo's cityscape.

Yesterday's Answer:  St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church

It all started with a walkabout in Allentown to discuss the need for public art. A few days later an artist was busy painting boarded up windows. Next came the wheat pastes. These two projects led to a third work of art fabricated by Doug Sargent, who saw that there was a need for creative eye candy "... in the most unexpected places." This particular recycled sculpture was made for the Garden Walk, though Doug was not sure where

The first Buffalo Lazy Randonneur ride of the season was The Tweed Ride. Yesterday was The Gingham Ride. It's a seasonal thing for this group - get dressed up in your finest and hit the bike trails in Buffalo. At the end of the day, after the rides have wrapped up, there is always time for a picnic or to head to a bike-friendly pub like Essex.

I missed The Gingham Ride unfortunately. It was only while chucking a disc in

Queen City Press will celebrate the recent release of its latest book, Bygone Buffalo, with an accompanying photography exhibit Tuesday, June 29th. Bygone Buffalo is a super gift for ex-pats and residents alike, a slim volume of images edited by Michael Mulley with an introduction by none other than the venerable Mark Goldman.

Filled with early 20th century images of Buffalo, the book contains photos of long lost architectural treasures.

Unity Church, an organization that seeks to provide fellowship for people of assorted backgrounds through its inclusive mission and vision will host a visit from the monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery tomorrow.

The monks will perform a healing ceremony for attendees at 7:00pm. The ceremony is intended to empower attendees and leave them with a mantra to be used for further healing and peace on a daily basis. Guests are permitted to submit the names of family or friends for whom they wish to dedicate prayers.

Drepung Loseling tours in

By Catherine Schweitzer:

Do you want to know more about the National Preservation Conference to be held in Buffalo by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in October 2011? Are you simply curious or would you like to contribute something? The NTHP will join with Preservation Buffalo Niagara to initiate the local planning on July 7, 2010 at 5:00 at the Albright Knox Art Gallery.
 
This public meeting is open to anyone interested in learning about the conference and how to become a volunteer. The NTHP depends on interested volunteers and the advice and participation