When I first met Mike Weekes, I realized that I had just met someone who was out to accomplish something in Buffalo, whether that was pure networking, helping to brand Buffalo or possibly pulling off a surprising undertaking of enormous magnitude. "You want to do what?" I asked him. "I want to build a museum dedicated to Buffalo sports," he answered. That was about six months ago, and ever since that time, Mike has been on a mission to promote his dream. When Mike moved back to Buffalo in November, after being away for many years, he decided that he was going to dedicate his time to make the city

It was during the middle of an interview at Five Points Bakery when the business was suddenly overrun by garden bloggers this past weekend. Five Points just happens to be connected to Urban Roots Garden Cooperative - one of the stops along the comprehensive urban garden tour given by Jim Charlier, Elizabeth Licata and a host of other local gardening promoters. The tour coincided with the National Garden Festival, and despite a full day of rain on Friday (great for taking garden photos actually), participants ran amuck raving about Buffalo's tremendous floral bounty.

Visits on the tour

By Brian Hayden:

 The landscapers have left North Parade Avenue, the gardens are complete, and the newly planted sod is just settling into the ground.

 But the fun isn't over yet!

 The voting phase of the National Buffalo Garden Festival's Front Yard Garden Competition, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, began Sunday and will continue through Sunday, July 18. The public has a chance to help decide which of the 19 front lawns

The Buffalo Common Council will hold a public hearing tomorrow to discuss public investment and involvement in the revitalization of the inner harbor at the Canal Side site.  Following appeals from the Canal Side Community Alliance for the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) to meet with community groups to discuss a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) for the Canal Side project and a report released last month by the Public Accountability Initiative questioning the actual effects Bass Pro has on luring other businesses and job creation, the Common Council has decided to bring

We've just launched the latest version of BuffaloRising.com.  As you can see, we've modified the design of the site but we've also introduced a number of new important features we want to point out.

First, the most popular stories are now highlighted along the top of the front page just below the header navigation.  We think this new position for Buffalo Rising's most popular stories helps readers quickly and easily determine which stories are generating the most pageviews and comments. 

Second, we have reintroduced comment ratings. This new system allows

Once a summer I am lucky enough to be invited to the Mid-Day Club of Buffalo. Sometimes it's to attend an event, while other times I have been invited to have coffee or lunch. Recently I was invited to have lunch with Jeremy Hudson, President of the club. When I arrived to the 21st floor of the Liberty Building I was expecting to shake hands with someone a bit older than the person who greeted me. Jeremy Hudson, VP at Hudson Advisor Services, is the youngest member in the history of the club to serve as president. The decision was made by design,

Has anyone else seen Justin Craddock working his magic in Buffalo? The guy is really good. And get this: He went to City Hall and paid $10 for a busking license. I thought that was pretty cool considering he's the first street performer that I ever came across that actually took the time to be legit. I asked Justin if he ever gets hassled by the 'men in blue' when out interacting with the public. "No," he answered. "The only time I get hassled is at an event like Thursday at the Square - even with a busking license. So I set up in places like Allentown and Elmwood where there might not be the crowds,

Each year the Zombie Walk (and pub crawl) gets a little bit bigger and a lot creepier. The walk started off as a just that - a walk. This year there was more of a concentrated effort to make sure that the event would make a lasting impression on participants (both voluntary and involuntary). I was particularly impressed with the arrival of John Peckham from Ride in Peace (Funeral & Formal Auto Society). He brought with him a small fleet of shiny black hearses, complete with couch-coffins. John's addition to the event brought the entire

Today is the last day to catch the Grease Pole Festival at the Pucho Olivencia Center. If you're one of those people who is always looking to attend an event that is not exactly mainstream, this is worth checking out. Of course the grand finale - the grease pole competition - is what festival-goers really look forward to, but there is plenty to see and do up until that point. In a city where residents pride themselves on the number of festivals and the gigantic efforts that go into

I was happy to act as a judge at this year's Taste of Buffalo, along with a herd of local news anchors, politicians and fellow foodies. They set us off to work as soon as the festival was open, each of us were given the responsibility of sampling the offerings of a handful of restaurants. Each restaurant has numerous judges taste their entire menu in order to gain a fair perspective. How the Taste then turns all of our ratings into a list of winners, I am unsure, but I was happy that the best thing I tasted all day made the list.

The winning

Soccer will be on the minds of a lot of Buffalonians tomorrow, especially those who have been supporting our own FC Buffalo team. In preparation for soccer-madness tomorrow, Sean Lafferty, the club's assistant director of partnerships, has set the cleats in motion with a kick-off party at Papa Jake's that will lead to FC Buffalo's final game of the season. From Sean:

"We have an all-day soccer affair starting at Papa Jake's at 1pm with

Soulive Review: Eric Crittenden
Photos: Joe Casio

Although the second concert trio in the Tower Jam Concert Series could have easily been a wash due to inclement weather, music fans rallied early on while Mother Nature changed her tune as the evening progressed. By the time Soulive hit the stage, the crowd had solidified and all eyes were on the masterful musicians as they played to the energized crowd. From

Priscilla Project is one of my favorite difference-makers in the city.  Mentoring pregnant refugee women is a very effective, low cost way to improve our neighborhoods not only in the short-term, but over generations.

The following is a testimonial from another mentor:

"In June 2009, I was at home with my one-month-old baby, experiencing the ups and downs of new motherhood. Around the same time,  Poe Meh, was leaving Ban Mai Nai Soi, a refugee camp on the Burma/ Thailand border, and heading to America. Neither of us knew

A judge has ruled in the dispute over the City's sale of the closed School #36 on Days Park.  Justice Patrick NeMoyer has sided with Sam Savarino and blocked the City Council-approved sale of the property to the Elmwood Village Charter School.  The decision on the Article 78 proceeding was handed down on Wednesday.

Both the Elmwood Village Charter School and upstart West Buffalo Charter School coveted the school property. Savarino is working with the West Buffalo Charter School to secure a permanent home for the K-4 school.   On March 16, 2010, the Buffalo City Council

Just the other day I was thinking about Buffalo's Guerrilla Gardeners - the group has certainly kept an ultra-low profile. As I was thinking about how it might be time to re-form the group (tough to do when I don't know who they are), I received an email from a member of a pseudo Guerrilla Gardener crack squad (no, not that type of crack) that was interested in recruiting volunteers for a planting at the Inner Harbor this Sunday.

Although the group is not officially considered 'guerrilla' in nature,

We are just hours away from the Taste of Buffalo opening. Over 50 restaurants have been busy all week, preparing themselves for a two-day onslaught of voracious eaters.

What's different about the Taste this year, from all the other years that you may or may not have attended? The Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their 100th anniversary by erecting a kid-friendly exhibit for this season only. Adventure Base 100 allows guests to enjoy a multi-sensory experience that will offer the sights, smells and sounds of Scouting via the campus IMAX-like

Soulive is playing today, rain or shine (big tent on the way), at the Tower Jam concert series - the concert starts at 4:30pm with a set from Free Henry! then Jony James will take it from there. Soulive should go on stage at about 6:15pm. The grillers will be serving food starting at noon and the beer tent will open for the concert. Mayor Brown will be at the show to announce that today is officially

As our BRO summer vacation tour continues I thought I would do a little city bashing to make Buffalo feel a bit better about itself. For my next two posts I am going to look at the seamy underside of two very different cities and compare them to Buffalo.  The first city in my sights, as you can see from the title, is Chicago Illinois.  yep that's right Chicago sucks.
 
Of course Chicago does not suck (too much).  It is a fantastic city with amazing neighborhoods, a Great Lake, and a great architectural tradition.  It is vibrant, fabulously wealthy, and chock full

By: Tom Tarapacki

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Chase everyone--whether you're running or not--is encouraged to wear a Chase t-shirt from years past. There are some great specimens from previous races, many featuring what has come to symbolize the race: a pink flamingo.

The race is being held on Friday, July 16 at 7:00 p.m. sharp. It's a 4-mile course that starts and ends Bidwell near Elmwood. It costs $20 for an early entry and $25 on the day of the race. Proceeds will benefit the Police Athletic League of Buffalo. The race day events kick-off at

It really really doesn't get any freer than this. This Saturday, July 10th from 10am to 4pm, at the corner of Vermont and Normal, the second annual BRRFM will set up shop. The interesting thing about this market, as the name implies, is that there is no cost involved with a 'purchase'. See something you like? It's yours. What's the catch? There's no catch other than organizers ask that you bring some things along with you (like books, CDs, clothing, tools, etc.) that you have no need for anymore. You can even bring a song or a dance as an offering if you don't have anything else to give. Even services