Author: sabshink

Allentown is a neighborhood that constantly reinvents itself, yet at the same time it never appears to drastically change. Thankfully the changes that we have seen in recent years, are ones signaling progress. Whether the progress takes the shape of Kleinhans’ reflecting pool and the circle, or nearby restoration of houses on Porter and in the Fargo neighborhood, Allentown is looking up these days. We’ve seen what the Karpeles Manuscript Museums have done for the district, and Days Park (a lost Olmsted Park) when it recovered its fountain… even the planted gardens and the Small Built Works projects. The excitement…

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This past Saturday, photographers of all sorts came out to the Erie Canal Basin, Marina, and Naval Yard to participate in Scott Kelby’s Third Annual World Wide Photo Walk. Led by Annie Levay, the group met in the ruins found alongside the Commercial Slip’s stunning waterfall. The gathering was not only an opportunity for photographers to compete in a worldwide contest, but to also stretch one’s photo taking skills and legs. Once Annie gathered all the walkers together, she explained all the special features of the area that would be accessible to the walkers. The star being the ruins themselves,…

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The 14th annual Drums Along the Waterfront (DATW) will fill the skies over Western New York with thundering drum beats and beautiful brass rhythms on Sunday, August 8th at 5:30 p.m. at Ralph Wilson Stadium. This year’s show has the makings of being the best DATW in its history and is being billed by many within the drum corps international community as one of the best drum corps competitions in North America this year. In addition, for the first time the internationally renowned US Marine Drum and Bugle Corp will travel to WNY and make a special appearance in this…

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By Kimberly Worling:There’s a new ball in Delaware Park. In addition to baseball, golf, soccer, basketball, cycling, running and more, Buffalo can now add The World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA©) Kickball to its list. It’s the same red rubber ball and game from grade school, except the players are older, at least 21 as mandated by WAKA rules, rules that govern age and the play of a 5-inning game. In addition to age, WAKA mandates there must be at least 8 (and up to 11) players on the field and there must be at least 4 males and 4 females…

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This summer I have seen two incredible sights on the Buffalo River that capture the industrial image of the waters as well as the dawn of a new age for athletics. It was Joseph Verrastro who first captured a photograph of rowers of the river. That was back in early July – I had not yet seen any signs of rowers other than the temporary Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Association’s Quonset hut erected at Dead Man’s Creek (seen here). Joseph’s photo was the first glimpse of the crewmembers on the water, which dramatically shows the powerful scale between the rowers and…

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It’s not often that a restaurant does a complete flip – from specializing in serving dinner (for years) and then suddenly switching to lunch and brunch*. In Fiddleheads’ case, I am happy to see the change up. Not that I didn’t like their dinners… I just happen to find myself gravitating more to their lunch offerings. It all started this past Sunday when we stopped in for brunch – their breakfast pizzette turned me into an instant fan of their decision. So much so that I went back yesterday to sample the restaurant’s candied onion, fig and blue cheese pizzette.…

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By: Ann Marie AwadI’m going to let you in on something: no one in this band is named Edward Sharpe. Not one member of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes has either the surname Sharpe or the first name Edward. Edward Sharpe is actually a fictional character created by lead man Alex Ebert, of Ima Robot. Sharpe was “sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind…but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.”The band’s first tour in 2009 across the country in a big white school bus only adds to the mystery of the Zeros…

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It was back in 2007 when I first wrote about the misleading signage on the Peace Bridge. By misleading, I mean that it leads people coming into the states everywhere but the city of Buffalo. The signs tell to you how to take the 190 North to The Falls and 190 South to 90. Do we, as a city, gain much by having the Peace Bridge on our doorstep? To make matters worse, now there are orange traffic barrels leading travelers away from Porter Avenue actually making it difficult to get into the city! I asked about the barrier and…

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By Adam Czelusta:In any city you might expect to encounter a number of people struggling to read or having trouble finding places to learn English, and that doesn’t exclude Buffalo. The definition of literacy according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) is using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve goals, and to develop knowledge and potential. Thirty percent of the residents in Buffalo are functionally illiterate and that includes people born here and an increasing number of refugees – some of the refugees were doctors or teachers in their home country that can’t get…

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If you frequent Cathedral Park, then you know that there is a wide variety of food options to choose from during the work week at lunch time. You have Globe Market for the healthier food options Grillers for the dogs, burgers, etc. Soon, downtowners will have another option in the form of a fairly sophisticated juice bar called Liquid Energy. Located in the same building as Globe Market, Liquid Energy is going to be a sit down and take-out juice bar, cafe and health food breakfast and lunch spot where customers will be able to find everything from shots of…

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