Author: matt biddle

The 7th annual Music is Art Festival will take place on Saturday, September 12th at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. It’s an all-day celebration of creativity, featuring over 30 bands, 40 displaying artists, dancers, live art, DJs and more. The festival will also include a kid’s village, not-for-profit organizations, a beer and wine tent and food vendors. “The Albright Knox is a beautiful venue,” said Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robbie Takac. “It’s one of the most prestigious cultural centers in Buffalo, and we’re thrilled to be having a festival there again this year.” In 2004, Takac founded Music is Art, a not-for-profit organization, with…

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After the Garden Walk on this Saturday, July 25th, you can keep enjoying the wonders of nature by heading over to the 14th Street Tree Farm, located 307 14th Street between Vermont and Rhode Island. PUSH Buffalo and Re-Tree Western New York are hosting a celebration for the tree farm’s continued success from 4PM to 7PM. On Saturday, staff members from PUSH and Re-Tree will be on hand to grill up some food and serve the drinks. This is a family-friendly event, so both groups encourage you to bring the whole family along!Since the October storm of 2006 devastated the greenery…

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Have you ever had trouble finding that perfect dress for a special occasion? That dress that fits perfectly and suits all of your needs? There is a solution! Let me introduce you to DressByDesign, an online-based business whose storefront is located at 43 Allen Street. The company allows a woman to completely design her own dress to her own liking on their Web site – from the fabric and style of the dress to the hem length and type of neck line. The store even offers custom sizing to expertly fit your needs. Marilyn Kilroy started DressByDesign in 2005 with her…

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As you might already know, Buffalo’s Infringement Festival kicks off this week, celebrating Buffalo’s diverse and rich art scene. As part of this 11-day festival, the 464 Gallery, located at 464 Amherst Street, will host a show opening this Friday, July 24th. This new show will highlight the work of the members of MindWeb, an organization that fosters the growth of local artists, musicians and writers. Marcus Wise is both the owner of the 464 Gallery and the creator of MindWeb. he created MindWeb two years ago as a small online community for local artists. Since then it has expanded to…

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Buffalo First — a local organization dedicated to bringing more local business and a green economy to Western New York — is hosting an event on Tuesday, July 21st, to introduce small business owners to the waterfront and its potential for development. The event will begin at 5:30PM at the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, located at 76 Pearl Street. Amy Kedron, executive director of Buffalo First, said: “Local business is literally the spine of our community. They are the beating hearts of our neighborhoods; it’s where culture unfolds.” Independent businesses also drive economic development and maintain sustainable practices much more…

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The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is about to get a major financial boost from the federal government. The National Endowment for the Arts will award the BPO a $50,000 grant thanks to $2.6 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The act awards federal grants to 64 orchestras nationwide in an effort to maintain full and part-time administrative and artistic positions at risk due to the current economic downturn. At the BPO, the $50,000 grant will support the salaries of 31 part-time musicians for the 2009-2010 season, which is approximately one-third of the musicians the group will hire. Jennifer…

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Anyone who watches The Travel Channel knows that if it’s a Monday night at 10PM, it’s time for Anthony Bourdain’s Emmy-nominated series, No Reservations, which returned for its fifth season last night. Bourdain kicked the season off with a visit to Chile and will travel to Australia this upcoming Monday night. The following week, however, a place much closer to home takes the spotlight — our very own Buffalo, NY. Along with Baltimore and Detroit, Buffalo will bask in the limelight as a stop on Bourdain’s “Rust Belt” episode of the series. Earlier this year, Bourdain visited Ulrich’s Tavern on Ellicott…

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For the second consecutive year, the University at Buffalo and Canisius College were both honored by the Chronicle of Higher Education as part of its “Great Colleges to Work For” survey. Buffalo State College was also honored this year for the first time. The survey recognizes schools for the quality of its workplace based on survey responses from administrators, faculty and staff members.This year more than 300 colleges and universities participated in the study, which is almost triple the response from last year, the first year the study was conducted. As such, more than 41,000 college employees were surveyed to…

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For the last 26 years, Western New Yorkers have invited Jacquie Walker into their homes as a member of the News 4 team. Throughout that time, Walker has delivered hard-hitting, award-winning reports on everything from the Oklahoma City bombing tragedy to the Bills’ four attempts at Super Bowl glory. Currently, she co-anchors WIVB’s top-rated 5PM, 6PM and 11PM news broadcasts with Don Postles. She also remains a firm advocate for community involvement, working with organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and emceeing various charity events, such as a recent walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I decided to…

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People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH), a non-profit group working to improve housing conditions on Buffalo’s West Side, will host a public meeting with members of the Federal Reserve today to discuss proposed changes and improvements to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Community Reinvestment Act. With the help of their national partner, National People’s Action, PUSH will hold this public forum on Thursday, July 16th at 6PM in the Trinity Episcopal Church, located at 371 Delaware Avenue. At the meeting, formal testimony will be given by experts on the housing situation in Buffalo’s neighborhoods, including accounts from those personally affected…

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