Lafayette Church will host a concert of The Handbell Choir of Wiedensahl, Germany on Tuesday, March 19 at 7pm. 
The Handbell Choir of Wiedensahl is one of the biggest and most active of the only 25 bellchoirs in Germany. The ringers perform on 66 handbells and 61 handchimes, both made by Schulmerich Bells of Pennsylvania. The home of the choir is a small village in North Germany near Hanover. 
Since 1987 the ringers have performed on numerous German handbell festivals and concerts that took them to all parts of the country. The choir has

Where are you from originally?  
Mobile, Alabama What is your medium? 
acrylics / plaster-of-paris How has Buffalo influenced your work? 
many historical buildings and great waterfront provides inspiration Where do you draw your inspiration from? 
almost everything, that's why my subjects are so diversified Name an artist (or more)

A new convenient store has sprung up at the corner of Washington and Swan in Downtown Buffalo. While many convenient stores are not worth writing home about, Ellicott Square Trading Company has a number of offerings that are noteworthy. That, and the fact that the place is perfectly situated for downtown office workers and loft dwellers alike. This is the exact type of place that I always thought would have occupied the Bernstone's Cigar Store building in the perfect world (oh well). While we didn't get it in a stand alone

When BRO reader and occasional writer, Torontonian Lorne Opler, first sent me the link to an Atlantic Cities article, broadcasting an Arcade conversion from a mall to micro-apartments, I immediately thought that the mall in question was Buffalo's Market Arcade. The funny part is that Lorne sent me the article as an idea that could be replicated at The Main Place Mall. 
I'm not sure if micro-apartments would ever work at the Main Place Mall... but I can't get the visual correlation between The Market Arcade (see

By GirlFriday:
Who doesn't like thinking back to those innocent days of summer, sipping on an ice cold loganberry or doing your best to pick the tastiest flavor out of myriad selections of Crystal Beach suckers prominently displayed on those spinning, wooden stands?  The recollection of tastes and memories still manage to exist for many of us to this day.  
If this rings true to you, well, then I've got some great news; this past weekend, Crystal Beach introduced for the first time, sparkling loganberry.  Now

By Derek King:
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Aldous Huxley
You would think that Buffalo understands what is possible with preservation. You would think that with the successes of Shea's Theatre, Hotel Lafayette, and Larkin Square, people would finally recognize that preservation is not the antithesis of progress. You would think that with so

Where are you from originally? 
Sterling, New York- 45 minutes east of Rochester, on Lake Ontario.
What is your medium? 
Previously, oil painting. Currently: Sharpie.
How has Buffalo influenced your work? 
If I hadn't moved to Buffalo, I never would have gotten back into fine art. Fellow ELAB members convinced me to create again, and also the preservation movement inspired me

By GirlFriday:
It's that time of year again.  To many, it's the unofficial welcoming of spring, an unabashed celebration in the streets, a true toast to local heritage and ancestral roots... I could keep going on an on, but it's better to just experience it for yourself if you never have. And if you are already familiar with the Saint Patrick's Day parade in the old First Ward, well then this will be one for the record books my friends!
According to a press release sent out just yesterday, Saturday's "Old Neighborhood" St. Patrick's

By Ruud Pompert:
Every other day, except when Buffalo winter weather is at its worst and a freezing Lake Erie or Lake Ontario wind is thrashing faces with tiny paper cuts, I go for a three mile walk/run through our neighborhood. After starting my orange watch and the Ska and Reggae mix on my I-Pod, I high tempo walk in my bright red Ajax Amsterdam wind jacket for four and a half minutes, followed by a two and a half minute not so high tempo jog and repeat that five times. In thirty-five minutes I break a solid sweat, pump my heart

It's going to be an exciting summer in Larkinville, as "Crit Racing" is coming full speed ahead to the district. Buffalo Criterium Racing Series has been growing in momentum over that last few years, with roots in the nearby Cobblestone District. Now the eight race series, sanctioned by USA Cycling, will set up shop on a course that is more conducive to both riders and spectators. 
Imagine watching 30 or more laps at speeds up to 40 MPH, from the amazing

Another North Buffalo church is going residential.  Six apartments are proposed for the Plymouth United Church of Christ church at the southwest corner of Lincoln Parkway and Amherst Street.  Next Wednesday, Dan Saunders will be seeking setback variances from the City Zoning Board to allow the project to proceed. 

The 9,288 sq.ft. church consists of a large sanctuary, two meeting rooms, and offices.  A dining hall with full kitchen and three classrooms are currently located in the basement.

One of Western New York's most historic and architecturally beautiful buildings is currently being demolished. As soon as a stay of demolition was lifted by the court last Friday demolition equipment ripped violently into the delicate and intricately detailed copper roof dormers of the Bethlehem Steel North Administration Building, moving soon after on to the delicate terracotta masonry trim work. Within just a few hours much of the distinctive historic detailing was stripped away and destroyed, leaving gaping holes and a building  no longer recognizable.  The event triggered a flurry

Eye Care and Vision Associates, located the corner of Elmwood and Delavan, in nearing its completion of its transformation from a masonry building to one featuring a brick veneer facade (see more). For years this building was as bland as could be, without so much as a window. Then about a decade ago a window and a small awning were added on the Elmwood side - a big improvement, but nothing to write home about. 
Today we're looking at something that might not win any architectural

One of Elmwood's longstanding eyesores is finally being disassembled to make way for a new Panera Bread to open. Between the mega sign pole, the blank parking lot and the garish blue bubble awning, Blockbuster's absence is a welcome change in scenery. In coming months, Panera Bread will be adding some landscaping to the street-side of the parking lot, removing the giant blue sign pole and will begin work on the interior of the building. 
The exterior of the building already looks better than it did when Blockbuster was open. The window configuration looks like it will

We've all seen a ton of beautiful imagery from the Pan Am Exposition over the years. From postcards to prints, there are some inspirational images that live on from the expo. In this day and age, with so many ways to research and resource historic imagery, you would think that it would be relatively impossible to find previously unknown paper documents from something as highly publicized as the sensational Pan Am Expo. At the same time, the power of the internet allows us to scour countless sites, with limitless eyes. 
In 2001 local teacher Lisa Zolnowski was surfing online

By Matthew Ricchiazzi: We hear a lot about education reform these days, but "reform" is much too mild an approach to take. Chronic underperformance, deficient management systems, a culture of tolerating incompetence, and a widespread lack of accountability as an institutionalized operating norm make nothing short of a full scale restructuring necessary. Step One: Empower students by making them customers By funding schools in the form of a voucher, students and parents are empowered with choices

Over 100 veteran and first-time Tour de Cure riders gathered March 7 to officially kick-off registration, fundraising and training season for the 22nd Annual American Diabetes Association cycling event.

This year's Tour de Cure will take place June 8, 2013 with more than 1,000 riders of all abilities expected to participate.  In 2012, 970 riders raised $370,271.  The fund-raising goal for this year's Tour is $394,000 and 1,100 riders.

"Every year we get one step closer to finding a cure for diabetes and we couldn't do it without all of our dedicated riders, many of which

For the first time, The Pan Am Grill and Brewery within The Hotel @ The Lafayette will be hosting a Post Parade Party on Sunday following the Saint Patrick's Day Parade. The party is an invitation for all of the parade participants to gather after their trek down Delaware Avenue. With lots of room to spread out, live music by one of Buffalo's best Irish bands, platters of corned beef and cabbage, Jameson Irish Whiskey drinks, plenty of Pan Am beer selections brewed right inside the hotel, along with a host of Irish personalities, the Post Parade Party is guaranteed to be a jolly good time. 
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Where are you from originally?     I grew up on the north side of Buffalo. It was a great place to grow up, especially for an artist. I was surrounded by cool stuff for artistic inspiration. 
What is your medium?    I paint in both oils and acrylics, and I do lots of pen and ink work. 
How has Buffalo influenced your work?     I had a junkyard and train tracks right behind my house as kid.

Four years ago a few students and faculty at Canisius College began discussing the fact that music programs were being downsized or eliminated in Buffalo public schools due to budget cuts. This includes all forms of music education both instrumental and vocal. It's ironic that in an age when every television network is competing with a version of a musical talent show that this area of education is on the chopping block.  Music teaches students to be patient and diligent, it pushes them to practice and strive to be better. No child should be denied such education. 
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