I spent the morning at TedxRochester which is always an inspirational experience, but this morning it was expecially exciting as my friend Aprille was the first speaker. She talked about stories, storytelling and how stories can build up Rochester. Check out her work at Storychick.
Aprille did a great job and I was so proud of her hard work. Glad I got to see her and other people that are making a difference in Rochester.
For the second year my friend Aprille has a show in Rochester Fringe Festival.
Rochester Stories is made up of actors who tell stories which Aprille gathered from other people around the city. You don't anything about the owner of the story until the end of the story. The actors and Aprille did a great job. It was even one of 20 shows recommended by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Storychick (Aprille), Sweet & Cute (Tina) and JandaMade (me) banded together and peddled our wares at the North Winton Village Festival of the Arts today.
The JandaMade spread.
I had a new batch of mason jar bird feeders to sell.
I tried some new covers using melamine bowls instead of pot lids.
Also with slightly different bottoms.
I have a skillset that makes me especially suited to making mason jar bird feeders. My hand fits inside the jars.
Sweet & Cute goodies such as coffee syrup and pumpkin spice sugar cubes.
The day turned out to be unseasonably cold and rainy but Aaron saved our butts by bringing us a propane heater. There were a few moments of sunshine here and there.
Long enough for me to dart out and get a selfie with a patrol horse.
It was a tough day for selling with the weather but I still had fun hanging out with my peeps!
For the second year in a row, The Fringe Festival has come to Rochester. The first event that we went to was Bandaloop. Bandaloop is a group of aerial artists that dance and perform acrobatics as they rapel down the side of buildings.
The Bandaloop performance was on the side of the 21-story One HSBC Plaza. The event was free and Manhattan Square Park was packed!
We had a pretty good view though and it was amazing to watching them at night with the lights shinning on the building. (There was some idiot shining a green laser pointer on the show however and I thought Aaron was going to hunt them down and make him eat it)
PS - there were food trucks parked there too so we ate at the Cheesed and Confused Truck! I had roast beef and havarti while Aaron had bacon and gorgonzola. I wasn't sure how out of the ordinary a grilled cheese could be but these were fantastic.
Bandaloop was really cool but even cooler was opening the Festival guide to see my friend Aprille's event - Rochester Stories.
As part of her work with Storychick, Aprille collected stories from Rochester-arians and then had actors tell the stories. (I wish I had taken my good camera with me!) The idea is as you hear the story, you may create preconcieved ideas in your mind of who the people are connected to the story. After each story the original person was revealed and you learn more about the people that make up our city.
The stories ran from touching to funny. I totally thought I knew who one of the story owners would be and was surprised to learn that it was not them but somone else with a striking similiar story! Congratulations to Aprille on a great event!
Since we are in the midst of Aaron's birthday week I got us tickets to another Rochester Fringe event, Cirque du Fringe. I heard so many good things about the show and I was excited to see inside the Magic Crystal Spiegeltent.
"Originally constructed in Belgium around the turn of the 20th century, there are only a handful of them left—and one of them is coming to Rochester for the first time ever! Crafted out of oak and canvas and decorated with velvet, faceted mirrors and stained glass, these legendary “Magic Mirror Tents” are in huge demand as big-top, feature attractions."
Oh, and the show was amazing. We sat in the front row and I was oohing and ahhing and AIIIEEEE-how-do-they-do-that?! gasping the entire time.
Before the show we noticed "Oh hey! Food trucks!" We finally tried the Hello Arepa food truck. An arepa is a "it’s a grilled then baked corn flour patty, stuffed with tastiness." I got the traditional black bean and feta while Aaron had the ham and cheese. Yup. Tasty.
The food trucks at all the events were the frosting on the cake of our Rochester Fringe Festival experience!
Today my friend Aprille was at the Public Market collecting stories for the Story Chick Rochester Stories event at the Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival was a hit last year and we are fortunate to have it back this year. The Fringe Festival is a week of "theater, comedy, visual arts, family entertainment, music, dance, physical theatre, street theatre, musical theatre, opera, poetry, literature and experiences that have yet to even be imagined". It's pretty exciting that Rochester Stories is part of the lineup.
"ROCHESTER STORIES presents stories from people across our city. Hear their stories, and then connect with the people who own them." Check it out on September 21, 5:30pm at RAPA on 727 E. Main St.