Please click here to download the complete schedule of events for this season's Christmas in the City celebration in downtown Batavia. Choristers, bands and other musicians will be touring downtown shops throughout the evening. Find out who will be where and when. Don't forget: the Batavia Concert Band and In Jest will be taking the stage in the Batavia City Centre.
This video should speak for itself. We visited the candy kitchen at Oliver's earlier this week as they were preparing their final batch of ribbon candy. Many thanks to Robert Pacer, Oliver's general manager, for narrating the process for us. Enjoy!
Groups are setting up for the annual Wonderland of Trees at the Holland Land Office Museum. The event starts Friday evening with the annual Kickoff Gala sponsored by Five Star Bank.
The Museum anticipates about 45 community groups, business, organizations and volunteers. There is still a couple of days left to get your trees up. If you or your business would like to decorate a tree, call the Museum at 343-4727. There isn’t a charge to put one up, but the group must supply the tree and all the trimmings.
On Friday night at 7:30 p.m., the annual Wonderland of Trees Kickoff Gala occurs. Come and view the trees, vote on your favorites, enjoy music and visit with friends and neighbors as we ring in the holiday season. Tickets for the event are still available and cost $20 per ticket or $30 per couple. Reserve your ticket by calling the Museum at 343-4727.
For more information, visit www.wonderlandoftrees.com
From the VA Medical Center:
Thanksgiving dinner will be served to homeless and other needy veterans and their families, Sunday, November 23, 2008 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Buffalo VA, 3495 Bailey Avenue. Judi Kaczmarek, Human Resources Specialist has organized the event for the last eight years.
She has been gratified with the response received by both the staff and the veterans served from previous years. The event occurs the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day in order to provide a hot meal to those in need. Admission is by ticket only. Homeless veterans and veterans in need can call 881-5855 to obtain a ticket and learn more about transportation.
About 150 veterans and their families will be treated to a turkey and ham dinner with all the trimmings that will be served by staff in the VA Food Court located in the hospital's lower level. Veteran Service Organizations and other community groups have made donations for the event.
Entertainment by children of staff and a magic show will highlight the festivities this year. VA health care and other veterans’ benefits information will be provided to veterans with the opportunity to enroll in VA health care at the event.
From the Batavia Business Improvement District:
Join in the holiday spirit at the 13th annual Christmas in the City is Friday, December 5, 2008, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. in downtown Batavia.
Activities include entertainment by the Batavia Concert Band and In Jest, over twenty vendors selling food and gifts, free horse and wagon rides, Batavia Muckdog & Red Wing mascots and lots more for all ages. Winners of the Holiday Ornament Contest will be announced that evening in Batavia City Centre.
More than twenty downtown merchants will have in store entertainment, special sales & drawings, along with refreshments for the holiday shopper.
For more information about the event or to be a vendor contact the Batavia Business Improvement District at 585-344-0900 or visit www.downtownbataviany.com.
From the Batavia Business Improvement District:
This is a contest for children, twelve years and younger, to make a holiday ornament and enter it into this contest. The ornaments will be displayed on a Christmas tree in the Batavia City Centre. The winners will be announced on Friday, December 5th. Winners will be announced at Christmas in the City, at 6:45pm, on the Main Stage in Batavia City Centre.
The Ornament Committee is looking to have prizes to give out to the various children whose ornament(s) win in the different categories.
If you are interested in donating a prize to this contest please contact Loretta Delpriore at 344-1283 by Wednesday, November 19th or fax the form below to: 815-4310. She will provide you with contest forms and other information.
A pair of articles in the Buffalo News this morning has bleak and bleaker pronouncements to make on the upstate economy as we head into the holiday season. While economists have yet to declare the big 'R' word at the national level, researchers at one local university have no trouble making such a statement about our own home turf. From one article: "University at Buffalo researchers are declaring a recession in New York."
Not only have we taken off with a head start, but it looks like we'll be huffing and puffing out on the track field of troubled economies even after the nation has made its laps and gone:
“Given that the current decline has been precipitated by the implosion of the real estate bubble that created a serious financial crisis for major Wall Street investment banks and insurance companies, New York state’s economy is again likely to be hit harder than the national economy,” said Isaac Ehrlich, a UB economist. Wall Street accounts for about 20 percent of the state’s tax revenues.
In another article, picked up from the Associated Press, holiday job seekers are found to be too many for too few open slots.
The odds of landing a part-time job at department store operator Bealls Outlet Stores this holiday season are slimmer than getting into Harvard University: It’s one out of every 45.
It's much the same across the nation. In California, one 7-Eleven received more than 100 applicants in a week for a position that pays $8.50 per hour.
The national trends are being borne out locally as department store, convenience chain and call center managers who only a year ago had to scramble to fill holiday jobs are seeing a surge in the number of seasoned applicants — many of them laid off in other sectors and desperate for a way to pay the bills.
That was the case with Tracey Gibbs, a Buffalo resident who landed seasonal work at keepsake store Things Remembered in the Boulevard Mall. She said last month that she accepted a seasonal job because full-time positions were scarce.
What have you seen here locally? A few weeks back, the Daily News published a handful of stories on the economy that all sounded the note of cautious optimism. Since then, it seems things have only gotten worse. We've heard about troubles with several downtown businesses, and whether that's linked to the general economic downturn or not, it doesn't bode well. Are you a local retailer? Have you seen more applicants than usual looking for a part-time holiday gig? Have you cut back your positions?
The Holland Land Office Museum is preparing for the 7th Annual Wonderland of Trees. This annual fundraiser begins November 22, 2008, and runs until January 3, 2009. The annual holiday display features over 40 trees decorated by area businesses, community groups, and local school children. With the theme of “Frosty’s Holiday”, this year’s trees promises to be exciting and creative. The annual event is sponsored by Five Star Bank.
The museum is open special holiday hours for this event. We are open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10:00am-4:00pm. And starting Sunday November 23rd, we will be open 12:30 pm-4:30 pm. The cost of the event is $4.00 for adults, $1.00 for children (ages 5-13), and free for children under 5. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Musem at 343-4727 or on our website at www.wonderlandoftrees.com. We look forward to seeing you this holiday season.
Local bookstore Present Tense has planned a fun and festive event to kick-off the holiday season this year! Three authors will sign books as part of the store’s two-day Holiday Open House, scheduled for Friday, November 14 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday, November 15 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The weekend event features authors Christopher Norment, Jennifer Ford Berry, and Peggy Thomas, who will appear at 1:00 pm on Saturday, the 15th.
Christopher Norment is the author of Return to Warden’s Grove: Science, Desire, and the Lives of Sparrows. A perfect book for outdoors enthusiasts, it chronicles three seasons of field research studying Harris’s Sparrows in the Northwest Territories. In a series of essays that explore the wild splendor of a harsh landscape, the often hilarious antics of a man alone in the bush, and the importance of nature in human lives, Norment gives readers a glimpse of the beauty of biological fieldwork as a vital way to pay attention to the world and be connected with something outside the self.
Dr. Norment is a professor of environmental science and biology at SUNY College at Brockport. Return to Warden’s Grove has just been nominated for the John Burroughs Award, which recognizes well-written and illustrated natural history publications.
Jennifer Ford Berry is the owner of Mothertime Marketplace, a semi-annual event for children and moms in Western New York and former owner of Berry Patch Kids, which was an upscale consignment store in Batavia, NY. Her new book, Organize Now!: A Week-by-Week Guide to Simplify Your Space and Your Life provides simple and effective tools to organize every aspect of life. The book is not only easy-to-use but covers a wide variety of topics from paperwork, time management, mental clutter, pets and specific rooms to special events such as moving or vacation planning. The advice is proactive, straightforward and presented in checklists so that readers can see immediate results as they work.
Jennifer, a resident of Attica, NY, founded her professional organizing business in 2002.
Peggy Thomas is a well-known children’s author who lives in Middleport, NY. Her books for children include Snow Dance, Joshua the Giant Frog, Farmer George Plants a Nation, and New York: The Empire State. In addition to writing, Peggy is also an instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature and a frequent speaker in schools and libraries.
Along with the visiting authors, Santa himself will visit the store from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Saturday.
Present Tense, a locally-owned, independent bookstore, is located at 101 Washington Avenue, Batavia, NY. For more information call (585) 815-7640, or visit www.presenttensebooks.com.
As the holiday season fast approaches, the Salvation Army readies its legion of bell ringers for the ubiquitous Red Kettle Campaign. Volunteers are needed, and anyone in the community can sign up.
From the press release:
“We call upon all businesses, families, individuals, clubs, churches, unions and associations – including sororities, fraternities, schools, business and civic organizations – to consider scheduling some time to ring the bells,” said Major Leonard Boynton, officer-in-charge of The Salvation Army in Batavia.
“A successful campaign is especially critical this year,” said Boynton. “With the economic downturn, this winter is going to be very difficult for many struggling families. We are already experiencing increases in requests for assistance and we anticipate that the demand will continue."
“The appeal of the kettle campaign is that it is very personal. When we see someone at a kettle, we know this is our neighbor, someone who is willing to sacrifice a few hours for those less fortunate or those having a temporary crisis.”
Money raised during The Red Kettle Campaign is used throughout the year to provide services to families, individuals, children and senior citizens. Programs include: emergency family assistance, older adult luncheons & activities, and after school youth programs.
Any person or organization wishing to help may call the local Salvation Army at 343-6284 or The Red Kettle Center, anytime at 1-877-764-7259. Information and volunteer forms are also available on-line at www.redkettles.org.
The Red Kettle Campaign began in 1891 when a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner to the area's poor. Kettles now are used around the world, including Korea, Japan, Chile and Europe. Everywhere, public contributions to the kettles enable The Salvation Army to bring the spirit of Christmas to people who would otherwise be forgotten - the aged and lonely, the ill, poor and disadvantaged, and inmates of jails and other institutions.
I know it’s early, but let's start thinking about Holiday Shopping!
The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the arrival of the fourth building in the Custom Wood Gift series. On November 1, 2008 the next building, the Old City Hall / Brisbane Mansion will be available at the Museum Store inside the Holland Land Office Museum.
The 5 inch by 7 inch gift features the old City Hall on the front and a history of the building on the back.
Here is the building history from the back:
Brisbane Mansion / City Hall
Batavia, New York
The Brisbane Mansion was built in 1853 by George Brisbane, the son of Batavia’s first merchant. The Brisbane family donated the mansion to the city and assumed it would be razed for a city park.
On February 5, 1918, Ellicott Hall which was serving as city headquarters burned to the ground.
After the fire, City Council decided the Brisbane Mansion would serve as City Hall. Frank Homelius drew up plans for remodeling and the Mansion opened as the new City Hall on September 28, 1918.
In 2004, City Hall was moved from this building to the new City Centre.
The Brisbane Mansion is part of the Genesee County Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
This is the fourth building available. The others are the Holland Land Office Museum, the Richmond Mansion and the old Genesee County Courthouse.
See the entire collection at http://www.hollandlandoffice.com/museum_store_woodgifts.htm
Call the Holland Land Office Museum at (585) 343-4727 to preorder yours today.
BUILD YOUR OWN BATAVIA!
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