Nearly every night, the local news reminds us of the atmosphere of violence that exists in and around our schools. Students. Impressionable students. At risk students. Is anyone making a difference? The answer is yes. This month we will highlight Rev. Gene and Terrie Ann Coplin of Project L.E.E. (Learning and Earning Experiences). The mission of Project L.E.E., Inc. is to make students aware that personal attitudes and decision-making largely determine success or failure in life. But the story behind the story is Gene Coplin himself; a man filled with passion for what he does. In his own words, Project…
Author: rdominguez
Every year, Polish Catholic families all around Buffalo prepare a special Easter basket (referred to as Swieconka). The baskets are prepared before Holy Saturday, on which day they’re taken to local churches (such as Corpus Christi) for a special blessing. Many Polish families in Buffalo travel to the Broadway Market to procure the good for the baskets, which is part of the explanation for why the Market is so busy at this time of year. While individual families vary the Swieconka basket content somewhat, some of the traditional elements include the following: -Butter, often in the shape of a lamb,…
Sanarak Paper and Popcorn Supplies is located in North Buffalo on Hinman Avenue between Elmwood Avenue and Military Road. It’s the kind of storefront you might drive by without giving a second glance; the name might lead you to think its stock includes both double-tabbed manila file folders (c’mon, how can I talk about paper without a reference to The Office?) and Jiffy Pop, but if you stop by the next time you’re in the neighborhood, you’ll find something quite different inside. Sanarak is a locally owned company that does a brisk wholesale business in bulk candy, popcorn and other…
In preparation for BR’s November print edition, I met with Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker of the Community Foundation at her office in the Theatre District. A woman who has committed her life to the betterment of the Western New York community, she provides a well informed, and realistic view of our assets and needs. She covered more in our conversation than appears in the print edition, including background on how the Community Foundation works (where the money comes from, how it is cared for, and how it is decided upon where it goes), and an applause for Buffalo Rising. Enjoy this…
For some, trying a new restaurant is a bit daunting, especially if you don’t go out for nice, sit-down meals very often. It’s easy to be torn. Why would you want to risk wasting a rare evening out and the contents of your wallet on a poor meal or shabby service? But then again, you’ve had the same meal at the same restaurant the last three times you were out, and everyone’s been talking about this great new restaurant, so why not try something different? Though I don’t personally identify with this conundrum, I recognize that it is an issue…
Carottes Vichy is a classic French dish, both simple and delicious. The minor efforts required easily enhance the beauty of the carrot’s natural flavor. This dish is named after Vichy, a spa town in France famous for its hot mineral springs. The carrot, which is now commonplace, was then considered somewhat exotic, and the preparation of this dish called for Vichy’s mineral water. Today it is simple to replicate the flavors by using soda water. The result is a tasty, lightly glazed carrot. A popular American take on this dish uses 7Up or other lemon-lime flavored soda in place of…
Dorothea Braemer’s “Ten Short Videos About My Childhood Home” will be screened at Hallwalls this Saturday, November 3 at 8:00 pm. We had a post on Braemer recently, which you can check out here. The shorts screened this week explore her relationship with her mother and other family members, along with the loss of her childhood home as her mother moves into an assisted care home. To rev you up for Election Day, a number of other shorts will be screened Saturday, including exploring democracy, “ballot confusion,” and freedoms. Thursday, November 1 at Hallwalls, check out a retrospective of avant…
The Buffalo Alliance for Education celebrated school partnerships last week with their annual Commitment to Education Awards ceremony. School partnerships are adding resources to the Buffalo City School District in innumerable ways. Both Mayor Byron Brown and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. James Williams participated in the ceremony, headed up by the organization’s president, Cindy Sterner. The event also provided the opportunity for the school district to shine, with performances by the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts Jazz Ensemble and Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Jay Dref, a junior at Performing Arts to open the ceremony, sang the National Anthem beautifully…
A few years ago, a friend and I took a “Business of Art” two day seminar offered by the New York Foundation for the Arts. It was pretty great, we met in New York University classrooms, and we met a lot of cool people. We learned to set goals, how to market our work, take slides, approach galleries, and more. It was good to meet artists from across the state, and learn methods to making it real. Well, now NYFA is offering a six month seminar, NYFA MARK, for visual artists, meeting once per month here in Buffalo at Hallwalls…
Constant movement is the most apparent character trait of Buffalo ReUse Executive Director, Michael Gainer. Even with a broken pinky, having a conversation with him is a bit like trailing a two year old. The continuous evolution that comes with this energy is probably what has made him capable of accomplishing as much as he has since he established Buffalo ReUse only one year ago. In that year Buffalo ReUse has successfully gotten their message out to the Western New York community – that the deconstruction of structures that must be taken down, and reuse of the salvaged building materials,…