Daniel Crofts's blog

How often does this happen? Batavia got a visit from two acclaimed authors last week -- two days in a row!

The first was Garth Stein, author of the 2010 Tale for Three Counties committee pick, "The Art of Racing in the Rain." At the committee's invitation, Stein came to speak to readers and sign autographs at the Richmond Memorial Library on Thursday night.

This latest work is Stein's third novel and it's about a Seattle family as told by none other than -- Enzo, the family dog.

Stein's book had the honor of a 38-week streak on the New York Times bestseller list, won several awards and honors, and has been translated into 31 languages. Stein recently signed a film deal with Universal Studios and hopes to see the book made into a movie in the near future.

The second author was award-winning children's writer Robert D. San Souci, who came to speak to the children and sign autographs at John Kennedy Elementary School Friday afternoon.

San Souci's works include "The Talking Eggs," "Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella," the "Dare to be Scared" series and "The Legend of Scarface." He also wrote the story for the 1998 Disney film "Mulan." His visit to JK was arranged by Donna Katter, program assistant for Genesee Valley BOCES' School Library System.

Whether you were in the almost-over-crowded reading room at RML or sitting in the school cafeteria as hand after hand after hand shot up from the crowd of fifth-graders during the Q&A session, you would have gotten a good idea of just how much people still appreciate their writers.

Both authors read portions of their books and shared funny anecdotes from their lives and careers, including the setbacks they have faced while trying to get their work published.

Stein, for example, talked about having gone from one agent to another before he finally found someone who wanted to take a chance on a book narrated by a dog.

San Souci -- who realized he was destined to become a writer in second grade -- said that he wrote persistently for many years, facing a long string of what he called "thanks, but no thanks" letters from publishers.

Both men were kind enough to share some of their thoughts, insights and comments with The Batavian after signing autographs -- at RML and the JK Media Center, respectively.

The place was Batavia High School's auditorium; the time, 8:15 a.m.; the date, Wednesday, March 3. The place filled up with the slowly increasing bustle of a high school assembly as students poured in from their home-rooms.

Outside the auditorium was a large banner with the words "I Accept Rachel's Challenge" written on the top. It was blank, except for just a few student signatures.

Fast forward about an hour -- the morning assembly was over; many of the students were moved to tears, and the speaker got a standing ovation...much to the amazement of BHS Principal Christopher Dailey.

"I don't remember anyone ever getting a standing ovation except the basketball coach right before he headed off to the state finals," Dailey said.

As for the banner...

Who knew that walking around in circles could actually be a good use of time?

Since Wednesday, Batavia's First Presbyterian Church has had a labyrinth -- a pattern consisting of multiple paths leading to a center -- for people to walk as an exercise in prayer and meditation. The following video includes interviews with pastor Roula Alkhouri and two of the brave souls who chose to give the labyrinth a try.

The remaining dates and times available for walking the labyrinth are as follows:

9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23
9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24

Anyone interested should contact First Presbyterian by phone (585) 343-0505 or e-mail the pastor at roula@rochester.com.

Everybody likes a little friendly competition, right? And if it's for a good cause, all the better!

These guys definitely feel that way:

Half of them are pictured above...

...and here's the other half!

High schoolers from all over Genesee County are getting involved in "Change for Change" (C4C), a fundraising project for United Way of Genesee County. Student government reps from Batavia High School, the NYS State School for the Blind, Oakfield-Alabama High School and Pavillion Central School gathered in the BHS auditorium Yesterday to kick-start the project. 

Delighted seniors and creative kids teamed up Friday at the senior center in Batavia to decorate small, terra cotta flowerpots. The little works of art were taken to Washington Towers to dry and will be delivered to seniors there at a later date.

The homeschooled children had fun painting all kinds of designs -- polka dots, colorful stripes, clouds, squiggles, checkerboard squares and more. They used fabric strings to adorn some of the pots with flowers.

The program bringing young and old together was coordinated by RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) in partnership with the Genesee County Youth Bureau.

More pictures after the jump:

For 45 years, the Batavia Players have had to do without a place to call their own. Now, at last, they will have their own theater in the historic Batavia Industrial Center on Harvester Avenue.

According to board member Michelle Stamp, BP president Patrick Burk "put a lot of legwork into finding a physical space for us."

"It always helps the actors when they have a space to call their own," she adds.

"This is a really exciting thing for us to be doing," said Matt Mayne, BP board member and actor. "Hopefully, it will help to draw more attention to the building, which is definitely historic."

The location of the new theater is BIC's new Artisan Center, which the Mancuso Business Development Group wanted to establish in order to increase their own business activity.

The Artisan Center not only helps foster a relationship between business and the arts locally, but also affords artists of various stripes the chance to support each other.

"We will be doing things to encourage other artists," Burk said. "There will be areas in the Artisan Center in which they can work. And we'll also have people who come in regularly for BP events and shows, and we'll allow people to display their artwork for people to see."

Burk, Stamp and Mayne all believe that the coming change will prove beneficial to actors and their performances as well. One of the greatest challenges they have dealt with in the past was that of finding, in Mayne's words, "readily available space."

"Before, we would be in situations where we weren't sure what venue we'd be performing in," Stamp said. "Now we'll have our own space we can become accustomed to, we'll know what we have to work with, and we'll have all the materials at hand."

"Our types of performances will change," Burk said, "because we'll experience greater flexibility in terms of what we can do and when. We've had shows that we've wanted to do for quite some time that we'll now be able to fit into this venue."

The new theater's black-box format, which will have audience members seated to the right and left of the stage as well as in front, also offers fresh creative challenges and opportunities.

"This type of set up requires actors to do a little bit more, because people will be watching them from three sides instead of just one," Mayne said.

All BP performances -- beginning with the Spring 2010 show -- will be held in the Artisan Center except for the Summer Youth Theatre performances, which tend to require greater stage space. Please contact the Batavia Players for more information.

Did you know that people come to Batavia to make landscapes out of glass?

Well, sort of...

A student of Amanda Taylor's four-day "Painting Images and Landscapes in Glass" course gets her creative groove on at the Oatka School of Glass on Harvester Avenue...

...while (left to right) Tessa, Sheba and Shiloh look on.

This is only one of many classes offered by Le Roy native Lance Taylor and his Canadian-born wife, Amanda. They both run the OATKA School of Glass and Glass Studio out of their work-and-home space in the Harvester Center. In these classes -- open to all ages -- they teach people how to paint using glass powder and "frits" (ground-up glass) as well as various other ways of turning glass materials into works of art (including bowls, cups and glass mosaics).

Fr. Gus Calvo has been all over the place. He was born in Cuba, lived in Spain and Puerto Rico after his parents fled Cuba's Communist dictatorship, and finally settled with his family in Long Island as a child. He has done missionary work in countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras, Nigeria, Peru and Sudan. And now his journey has led him to the Anglican Community Church in Batavia!

Fr. Gus was assigned to the 101 Richmond Ave. church after having served at St. John's Episcopal Church in Stockport. He is no stranger to the area, having lived in Buffalo for two years in the early 1990s and having spent time in Brockport, where he met his wife, Noel.

At the opening of his first sermon this morning, Fr. Gus told the congregation how happy he was to be a part of their community and how much he looked forward to the "good things that God has in store for us."

Fr. Gus said that his overall mission and hope for his pastorate and for the ACC reflects today's gospel reading, Luke 4:14-21.

"Our mission as Christians," Fr. Gus said, "is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, to bring hope to people, to really live out our call as people of faith and to discern our identity as children of God."

His lively, enthusiastic and highly personal first sermon made a clear impression on the parishioners, one of whom called him "a welcome addition to our community."

Fr. Gus attributes his worship and life styles - including how he relates to others - to what he calls a "sacramental" view of the world.

"My faith helps me to see God's presence in the world and in other people," he said. "To me people are not just beings who exist for no reason -- they matter. And my goal is to reflect the inward grace of God to them in my life."

Anyone interested in the mission and activities of the ACC may visit their website by clicking on the ad featured on the left-hand margin of The Batavian's home page.

The Batavia City Church's "City Gals" - featuring women and girls of all ages - display the cards they made for area veterans on Monday as part of an ongoing project.

Valentine's Day is still weeks away, but the City Gals made 80 cards on Monday for the men and women at the New York State Veteran's Home and the VA Hospital. Each attendee decorated cards with hearts, flowers and other designs while writing messages of love and encouragement. The cards will be sent to both facilities on Valentine's Day.

The idea for this project came from City Church member and volunteer Sue Gagne, who is also a member of the Genesee Veteran's Support Network. After talking to GVSN chairman Jim Neider, who wanted to see a community project of this kind undertaken for the residents of area Veterans' Homes, Gagne felt that the City Church's Women's Ministry (which is coordinating the City Gals project) would be "the perfect venue."

"Our church likes to get involved in the community," Gagne said. "This is the first time we've done [a Valentine's Day project for Veterans], so I look forward to seeing where it goes."

Gagne also said that the ladies are looking to schedule another "work party" (in her own words) in the coming weeks in order to meet the quota they set for themselves.

"We sure could use some help," she adds.

Women and girls of all ages are welcome to come in and help, regardless of whether or not they are members of the City Church.

In honor of the service-based philosophy of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Genesee County AmeriCorps and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) held the "Be a Star - GO Volunteer Fair" on Monday at the Batavia Senior Center.

"AmeriCorps headquarters encourages us to do something on Martin Luther King Day in the spirit of Dr. King," said Kathy Frank, AmeriCorps program director for Genesee County.

Many businesses and organizations from Genesee and Orleans counties participated.

Notable examples included:

Genesee County AmeriCorps Frank provided information about the opportunities Genesee County AmeriCorps has for anyone age 17 and older. This organization is well known for matching applicants with local organizations based on the individual interests and organizational needs. Participants earn a stipend and are eligible for an education award that will help pay for college tuition or, in the case of college graduates, student loans. Frank said that legislation was passed in October allowing participants age 55 and older to use that education award to help pay for their children's or grandchildren's college. Anyone interested in learning more should contact Frank through the Genesee County Youth Bureau.

The Ministry of Concern's "Just Friends" Program Bill Hawthorne, who works for the Just Friends program through AmeriCorps Vista, offers information for people ages 18 and older who are interested in volunteering their time to building friendships with children and teens.

"We took over the Big Buddy program in August when the director retired," Hawthorne said. "We have people from all walks of life who devote time to making a difference in kids' lives."

Only eight hours a month are required for each volunteer, and activities can include simple things like playing catch, going for walks, cooking or even just talking. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Bill at vista@ministryofconcern.org.

CASA for Children Volunteer Linda Buzzell (left) and board member Ed Liesing represent CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Children, part of a national volunteer association that seeks to help children who are victims of abuse and/or neglect. For more information, contact Tara Pariso at tpariso@co.genesee.ny.us.

Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!) Joe Langen, who works at Go Art! through AmeriCorps, provides information about volunteer opportunities for people of all ages in a variety of capacities (assitance at events, office work, ambassadorship, etc). Visit www.goart.org for more information.

The following video was taken at Batavia High School on Friday, Jan. 8, before and after the Encore Theatre Arts performance of Disney's "High School Musical." There is another performance tonight at 7:30 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the BHS auditorium.

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvrrisCIuSs

Batavia High School students Casey Herman, left, and Maryssa Peirick practice the flute for "Musical Interludes for Trey." BHS' holiday concert was held to benefit Trey Filbert, a ninth-grader battling brain cancer.

If you were to ask any members of the BHS community about Trey Filbert, they would all probably tell you the same kind of things. Here are some comments, just to give you an idea:

"There's not a mean bone in his body," Freshman Nick Mungillo said.

"Trey's a dedicated athlete and a very sensitive and caring person," said Buddy Brasky, Trey's basketball coach. "He's a hard worker, is dependable and truly cares about each member of his team."

"His peers regard him as a kind, generous, fun young man," Principal Christopher Dailey said.

"Many of my students know him," Band Director Jane Haggett said. "They all talk about his positive attitude. He smiles a lot, is very happy, and has a gift for taking a serious situation and minimizing it."

Naturally, the BHS community responded as soon as the news arrived that Trey had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

"Multiple people came forward to help his family," Dailey said.

The largest-scale effort to help Trey and his family took place in the auditorium on Monday. The school's holiday concert was dedicated to Trey and helped raise money for his medical bills and treatment. Donations were collected at the doors, and a basket of goods donated by the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation was raffled off.

The Disney Channel's immensely popular "High School Musical" franchise comes to the local stage!

The cast of Encore! Theatre Arts' production of "High School Musical" at the Richmond Memorial Library - left to right: Alex Grayson (Chad), Brian Bogdan (Troy), Samara Brown (Gabriella), Justin Ryan (Ryan), Cara Ferraro (Kelsi), Kiera Davis (Taylor) and Tara Kaczorowski (Sharpay).

Performances aren't until January, but fans young and old got a sneak peak Tuesday night at the Richmond Memorial Library. The show's seven main cast members came running into the library's Gallery Room -- each fully in character -- to perform some of the play's songs, including "We're All in This Together."

Children and their families who attended could buy advance tickets to the show, and anyone who did so was rewarded with free HSM gift items.

"The kids love [HSM]," said Sandra Gillard, RML children's librarian and coordinator of the event, "so this seemed like a great cooperative venture."

The library has done similar preview programs with other groups in the past (see, for example, article on RML's "Cinderella" program at http://preview.tinyurl.com/ye5kecg), and Encore! Theatre Arts, being a fairly new organization, was interested in a similar collaborative effort.

ETA was founded in June by Eric Traugott, who is also producer and musical director for HSM.

"I wanted to make sure that there continued to be quality theater in Batavia and Rochester," Traugott said. "We have a lot of great groups already, but I still wanted to fill in the gaps and make sure there's always something available."

ETA has put on many performances in Batavia and in Rochester since its inception, but arguably none are comparable to HSM in popularity. The kids who came on Tuesday knew all of the words to the songs, and one young girl even commented that her basketball coach uses HSM lyrics to motivate his team.

Traugott and Director Lynda Hodgins hope people will be happy to see this nationwide phenomenon in the hands of local talent.

Performances of HSM will take place at Batavia High School from Jan. 7-10. For information on times, tickets sales and other details, please visit www.encoretheatrearts.com.

As a follow-up to The Batavian’s Dec. 13 article on Santa’s weekend in Batavia, the Man in the Red Suit has agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions.

Q: Santa, it seems like you’re all over the place during the holiday season. How do you do it?

A: Well you know, it’s not always me. I have a lot of helpers who carry my "persona" to different places and spread my Christmas cheer.

Q: What does Santa like to eat?

A: I love pizza. Mrs. Claus makes great pizza with homemade sauce.

Q: What does Santa like to do when he has free time?

A: Well I’ll tell you, Santa likes to rest for a couple weeks after Christmas! For fun, I enjoy spending time with Mrs. Claus and watching movies.

Q: What are some of your favorite movies?

A: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."

Q: It must be pretty tough flying all around the world. How do you keep your reindeer fit?

A: Wel, we give them hay, obviously; in the North Pole we have a greenhouse where we grow hay, oats and other kinds of reindeer food. Plus, there’s the food that kids leave for them on Christmas Eve. They get their fill on Christmas Eve, let me tell you.

Q: Obviously, things are pretty busy now at the North Pole. With Christmas coming up quickly, I’m sure the elves are working hard. When you’re away on trips like this, how do you keep in touch with the folks back home to make sure everything is going okay?

A: Cell phones. This modern generation makes it much easier for me to travel and still stay in touch with my elves. I call them on the cell phone, and then they call me back if anything comes up.

The Batavian thanks Santa for sharing these details about his professional and public life, and wishes him, Mrs. Claus, and all the folks at the North Pole a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Where's Santa Claus?

Here he is!

(You can't tell, but he is smiling underneath the beard.)

Wait a minute...here he is again!

Bella March (upper left) and siblings Violet (lower left) and Norman, sitting with Santa. Photo courtesy of Kelly March.

You'll always catch fleeting glimpses of the Man in the Red Suit at Christmastime. Our own Howard Owens spotted him on Main Street last week. You're likely to catch him at the mall at least once, and you might even see him on the front lawns of festively decorated houses (although for some reason he never seems to feel like talking in those instances).

If you live in Batavia, you could have found him this weekend where his two favorite things were present: families and food.

Santa's weekend in Batavia kicked off with the "Supper with Santa" at St. Joseph's School, an annual event sponsored and funded by St. Joe's home school association, SOS (Supporters of St. Joseph's) and catered by Paulie's Pizzeria. On Saturday morning he was at John Kennedy Elementary School's "Pancake Breakfast with Santa," which was put on by the John Kennedy Parent Group (JKPG).

Good Saint Nick had no shortage of admirers at either event. Children waited in long lines to tell him their Christmas wishes. Most people would probably become overwhelmed trying to keep track of each child's Christmas list, but it was no problem for Santa. His ability to remember non-written Christmas lists comes from his talent for seeing and appreciating each child's unique personality.

"All it takes," Santa said, "is to see their faces and hear their voices."

Santa at St. Joe's with, left to right, Nicky Ventola and Moira and Clara Werner. Photo courtesy of Nora O'Neill.

The kids got an up-close look at Santa's personality, too.

"He's very fun," St. Joe's first-grader Amanda Bergman said. "Fun to be with."

Knowing such an important visitor was coming, parents and staff of both schools spent a lot of time in preparation.

"We always plan a year in advance," said Nora O'Neill, marketing director for St. Joe's. "Soon after the event is over, we start planning for the next year."

...Kind of like Santa himself, who prepares for Christmas Eve a year ahead!

JKPG President Shari Ange credits parent Sherri Wahr with coming up with the idea for the Pancake Breakfast at the group's last meeting three months ago.

"We used to have a breakfast at Applebee's for Easter," Ange said. "Sherri thought it would be great to have a breakfast with Santa. Hopefully we can make this an annual thing."

Kelly Mountain was a happy camper on Saturday.

Along with fellow Robert Morris Elementary School parent Kim Gloskowski, Mountain had just chaired the 4th annual Vendor Blender & Craft Show at the school, located at 80 Union St.

“We had a steady stream of people come this year,” Mountain said. “And we had a wonderful response to our Chinese Auction.”

Pictured Kelly Mountain, left, and Kim Gloskowski

The Chinese Auction featured one item donated by each of the event’s vendors/crafters. Along with a contribution of $25 for table space from each vendor, the proceeds of the auction went to F.O.R.M. — “Friends of Robert Morris” —  a parent volunteer organization which funds student field trips and classroom supplies. A total of 31 vendors/crafters representing various organizations in and around Batavia participated.

Here are some notable examples: